All eyes are on Theron now, I can see that he wasn’t expecting the spotlight like this, but he accepts it. Sweet Theron.
“I guess what Dex here is trying to say, is that we understand the pressure put on women. We’ve been on this earth a long time, much longer than you can imagine and we’ve seen society change. However, one thing always remains the same and that is what women are allowed and not allowed to do. You think that because you made love with all three of us, we might think less of you, or you know, that you are… well, I don’t really want to say that word ever in a sentence which has you in it.”
“Thank you,” I smile at him, feeling my heart skip a beat.
“We actually wanted to have this conversation before anything physical happened, but that’s out of the window now,” Zarael chuckled.
“What conversation?” I wonder.
“A mating arrangement,” Zarael replies. “But we can call it anything else you’d like.”
“Wait, mating?” I repeat. “As in having babies?”
“Are you opposed to that?” Theron asks me softly.
“No, I just…” I turn to him. “I haven’t considered babies yet.”
“With us or in general?” Dex jumps in and I realize they feel so much at ease with this conversation, as if we’re discussing the choice of cereals for breakfast.
“Um, both?” I smile a little nervously.
“Well, you see,” Theron starts and by this point, we’re all sitting, still under the blanket. “We all like you. We’ve established that fact, early on. I think from your second day here. We had a conversation and first, we thought we’d do what we would always do under these circumstances.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“We fight,” Dex answers instead of Theron. Zarael just nods, as if a fight over a girl is the most normal thing nowadays. I guess here, it is.
“We realized that you were growing attached to us, too. All three of us. And, we thought maybe it was time to become more civilized.”
“Blah,” Dex rolls his eyes and we all chuckle.
“You know what I mean, Dex,” Theron corrects him. “We wanted to allow you to make your choice. Whoever you choose to be your mate would be the luckiest guy in the world and the other two would just have to - “
“Suck it up,” Dex interrupts again, much to our amusement.
“Indeed,” Theron nods, with a smile.
“So, when were you gonna fill me in on all this?” I ask, realizing that I’m also feeling much less awkward about all this.
Theron gives Dex a glance and Dex just shrugs his shoulders.
“We’re not sure,” Theron replies. “Your psychological state got us concerned and we focused on that for the time being. You can’t make a life-altering decision if your mind is somewhere else, can you?”
“No, I can’t,” I nod, smiling. “But last night was really off plan.”
Hearing those words, we all start laughing. There was really no plan last night. Only pure spontaneity. I guess that’s probably why it was so amazing. My first time. I can barely believe it, even now.
“You could fill me in now on the mating arrangement,” I ask, shyly.
I have to admit, never out loud though, that this is something I’ve considered in the back of my mind. Thinking about all three of them always came with a bitter realization that I could never have it all. And, having the three of them would be all, all I ever wanted. Never, in a million years did I think that it would be possible to have such an arrangement. So, of course I’m now curious to hear all about that mating arrangement. I want babies. I always thought I’d be a wonderful mom, I guess I just never thought it would be under these delightfully strange and unorthodox conditions. The very thought makes me all giddy, like a schoolgirl.
“It’s the pleasurable process of making little shifter babies,” Dex chuckles. “I mean, what else?”
“I think what Dex is trying to say is that the mating arrangement is sort of like a wedding. We promise ourselves to one another. Usually I’d say each other, but in our case, it’s different,” he paused a little, as if he’s trying to remember if there is anything else important, he can’t miss. “You would need to stay with us, though. That is the only condition. You will stay here. You will ride with us. Our way of life will become yours.”
“Does that mean I can’t speak to my family?” I ask, knowing that this would be a deal breaker.
“Of course not,” Theron assures me. “If you become our mate, your family can come visit. We would never keep you away from them.”