“So, what’s up?”
“Kent kissed me,” I blurted out.
Now that I had a tasty treat in front of me, I couldn’t see my way clear to eating it. I just stared at it, consumed with the more important task of unburdening myself of these guilty feelings.
“He’s cute,” Petra observed.
“He is,” I agreed. “But he’s a little grumpy.”
Petra shrugged. “Grumpy can be good. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you.”
“That’s exactly the problem,” I explained. “I think he likes me too much.”
“How much is too much?”
“I’m kind of in a relationship with Damien.”
“Damien’s the guy that you used to go out with?” Petra checked her facts.
“Yeah, we started dating again, and he wants to get more serious.”
“But now you’re thinking about Kent?”
“And Sean,” I said.
“Wait, who’s Sean?”
“He’s another partner. Another one of my bosses.”
“How many bosses do you have?” she wondered.
“Three. Damien, Kent and Sean.”
“And you’ve kissed two of them?” Petra asked with a wicked smile.
“Three, actually,” I corrected her. “Sean kissed me last week.”
“Girl!” Petra sat back in awe. “Three grumpy bosses.”
“I wouldn’t really call Damien grumpy,” I protested.
“It doesn’t matter.” Petra waved my concern away. “Tell me everything.”
I explained how each errant kiss came about, starting with Sean. “I sent flowers to his father. It just seemed like the right thing to do. He was busy with his clients, and I knew that he would have done it himself if he had the time. He was just trying to thank me, and I think he got carried away.”
“But?”
I sighed, remembering the taste of Sean’s lips. “It was wonderful. I was so conflicted, though, I had to tell Damien.”
“And what did he say?”
I remembered Damien’s question about a polyamorous relationship like Millie’s. “He asked me if I wanted to see both him and Sean at the same time.”
Petra sat stunned. This was more than she had bargained for, but I could see that she was right there with me. It was a secret fantasy that I didn’t want to admit to having. Yet the closer I got to the reality, the more excited I became.
Putting it into words in front of my friend made the whole thing real in a way it hadn’t been before. I hoped she didn’t think badly of me. She knew Millie, after all. Just because I was lusting after more than one person didn’t make me wicked or cheap, did it?
Petra inhaled sharply, her eyes twinkling with delight. “And?”