“Like before it was just sex?” asked Michael.
“Basically,” said Thiago. “We cared for one another but the majority of the benefit we received was sexual. With Tinsley, this is not the case. I for one have such a relational connection to you. I hardly feel jealous when you are with one of them because I know you are being taken care of and that is my ultimate desire to assure that you are pleased.”
“Exactly!” Kai asserted. “It’s like normally the idea of another man touching, kissing, anything a woman that I was dating would piss me off. But with you Tinsley, it’s like thank goodness someone is there for her when I can’t be.”
I was shocked at the sentiments that these men were expressing. “I feel emotionally connected to each of you too. I just didn’t realize before that something like this was even possible. That is until I spoke with a friend who it turns out is in a similar situation.”
“Adrienne,” Ryan said. “It’s okay. We all know.”
Wow, they really had been talking. I guess it made sense. I was grateful that they had figured out where they all stood. It would save me having to feel like I was talking them into anything.
“Yeah, cause at first, I was a bit twisted up about it, Miss Tinsley. That’s just not how we ever did things in the South. But then I met Adrienne and her fellas and they just all make it look so easy,” Michael chimed in.
“But what about you guys? What do you feel, how does that work, romantically,” I asked, still trying to wrap my head around the semantics.
“Take for example the other day,” Thiago explained. “Michael and I were there to take care of you and your needs. There was nothing between him and I. We simply took care of and satisfied you.”
“That was incredible,” I said thinking back of the feeling of Michael in my mouth and Thiago inside of me at the same time. “Ryan, Kai, we’ve not done anything like that yet. Is that something you’re open to?”
“Hell yeah,” said Kai. “The thought of it is getting me going right now.”
Ryan rolled his eyes, and I turned my attention to him. “And you Ryan?”
“Tinsley, I have never had an emotional connection with anyone like I had with you back in college. I need that in my life. I don’t care how it's packaged. I just want you. I need you.” Ryan said with more vulnerability than I had ever seen him express.
“I don’t think we need to rush to put a definition to it. I don’t think there even is a definition for it. Let’s just be open and honest with one another and see where this goes,” said Michael. He may have been the baby of our group, but he certainly had a handle on life.
“We do need to have just a bit more discretion though. I can’t have what happened at the photoshoot happening again. I’ll lose my job and it will be a PR nightmare for all of you. I mean half the world is still convinced that Ryan and Adrienne are dating,” I said cheerily but stern as I looked at each of them.
“You’re right about that,” Ryan said. “Discretion will be key.”
“Okay,” I said, now fully convinced this could happen. “Let’s do it.”
“I agree, let’s do it!” said Thiago, taking one last bite of the pasta Ryan’s chef had prepared for us. “But unfortunately, Michael and I have an early call time tomorrow, so we have to cut this night short.”
Ryan, Kai and I said our goodbyes to Thiago and Michael and I felt like a giant weight had been lifted off our shoulders. Ryan and I made our way back to the kitchen to begin cleaning up.
“Do y’all mind if I pass on helping with dishes tonight? I have a 6 a.m. session with my trainer and he’s a real ball buster if he thinks I didn’t rest up well enough the night before,” Kai explained.
“Always trying to get out of dish duty,” Ryan kidded.
Kai lightly brushed his lips to mine, “Until next time.” I watched as he sauntered up the stairs and turned to Ryan.
“Ryan, I really appreciate you organizing this dinner tonight. I had so much anxiety building throughout the day, the last several days really. I just sincerely appreciate your openness. You honestly made this so much easier on me. Thank you!”
“It was no problem. Now I know you’ve got to relieve a babysitter at some point, but I want to make sure you get some time to relax. How about a glass of wine maybe or a cup of tea? You’ve certainly earned it over the last several days,” Ryan said kindly.
“That sounds amazing,” I said, but I really should call an Uber. “My best friend could only watch Lucas until ten.”
“Then let's get you home. Don’t call an Uber. I want to drive you. These dishes can wait,” he said, placing his hand ever so gently on the small of my back and ushering me towards the door.
The car ride was quiet but not uncomfortable. Ryan had rolled down the windows to allow the cool evening air to surround us as he drove. It was an easy silence that played out between us, one that you would imagine couples who had been married for fifty years must feel.
As we pulled into my drive and Ryan moved the car into park, he finally broke it and asked, “Are you sure everything’s okay? You seem like you have something else on your mind?”
I looked at the clock, 9:15 p.m., not a ton of time but we could make it work. “I actually do. Come with me and I’ll show you.”
I pulled Ryan with me inside the house and as soon as we were in the door, I led him toward my room. “We don’t have a ton of time, but I can’t let the night end quite yet. We have some unfinished business to attend to,” I said as I pushed him down onto my bed. I slowly unzipped his jeans, leaned over him, and took his now aching, hard dick into my mouth.