“I don’t know, I guess it almost feels like a conflict of interest or something.”
“Nah,” she shakes her head, “Wasn’t there some company that made a whole huge thing around some slogan like ‘I’m the president, but I’m also a client!’ or something like that?”
“It sounds familiar,” I shrug, “But even so…”
“You brought up concerns like this before, when you were thinking about joining in the beta test,” Sofia reminds me, “And I told you then that there was nothing wrong with it, so I’ll tell you again, it’s fine. There’s nothing unethical about using a product you created, so long as you’re truthful about it.”
“Which I wasn’t,” I grimace.
“Yes, you were, you just didn’t tell them the entire truth.”
“Lying by omission is still a lie.”
“Did you intentionally keep the info from them?” she asks.
“Well, no, not exactly, I kind of got interrupted and then it didn’t come up again.”
“Then it wasn’t a lie,” she says firmly, “So stop guilting yourself. Just tell them the whole truth on your next date if it makes you feel better. At least, I’m assuming there’s going to be a next date, since it went well?”
I nod. “Friday.”
She grins. “Good for you!”
“I don’t know how good I’m going to be at this whole ‘dating two guys at once’ thing, though,” I admit, “I have no idea what I’m doing. Even those first kisses with them, amazing as they were, I felt kind of silly,” I explain that I’d had to ask Alex how to proceed, and Sofia laughs.
“There’s no one right way to do it, just like there’s no one right way to have a ‘normal’ relationship. Everyone’s different, it’s just a matter of finding what works best for you and your partners.”
“When did you get so sage and wise?”
“When you set me up with two guys at once,” she replies drily, and both of us crack up.
“I’m scared I might be in over my head,” I admit, “I really like these guys, but it’s been forever since I’ve been with anyone. And I never really did the whole dating thing, I was fourteen when Toby and I got together. I never dated, I just had a boyfriend, then a husband, so now I’m not even sure where to start. Let alone with two of them.”
Sofia nodded. “There’s no right or wrong way to do this, Jo, just follow your heart. Remember, you’re the one who taughtmeabout this whole thing.”
I shake my head. “All I did was show you a few articles.”
“And those articles turned my whole world upside-down,” she adds, “Just look at what’s happened in less than six freaking months, Josie. You pushed me to face my fears, got me out on a date for the first time in how many years? And even though it was an accident, you wound up showing all three of us a whole new side of ourselves. Now I’ve gone from a hermit who hadn’t gotten laid in half a decade to moving in with two amazing men who I think I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
My eyes widen a little. I knew Sofia’s feelings were serious, but I had no idea it was quite that intense. “Really?”
“Yeah, really,” she smiles, “I’ve never been this happy. Even when they do shit that annoys me, even when we fight, I’d still rather be with them than anywhere else,” she says before quickly adding, “Except for hanging out with you, of course.”
I laugh. “Nice save. But I didn’t really take offense. I would kind of expect your partners to be your favorite people. If they weren’t, I’d be encouraging you to find different ones.”
“I can’t even imagine being with anyone else at this point,” she admits.
I nod. “I get that.”
She eyes me knowingly. “I know it’s hard, Jo. But letting yourself love someone new doesn’t mean you love Toby any less. If I can love two men at once, why can’t you love three?”
“I guess I hadn’t really thought about it like that,” I confess.
“Like I said before, I’m not going to force anything on you, but I think if you’ve got a chance at something good here, you should take it. And yeah, it’s going to be weird and hard, but you’re not in it alone. You’ll have your partners to lean on to help you through it, and you know you’ll always have me,” Sofia tells me.
A lump forms in my throat and tears sting my eyes. Sofia really is an amazing friend. More than that, in spite of not being blood, I think of her as the sister I always wanted.
I nod. “I know. Thanks, Sof,” I choke out, trying to keep it together and not burst into a flood of sappy tears.
She just smiles and knowingly passes me a napkin so I can blow my nose.
And she’s right. I think maybe deep down, even though it terrifies me, I’m ready to take the next step to move on, but I’d been too chicken to do anything about it. Maybe that glitch wasn’t karma, but the kick in the ass the universe knew I needed.