Sometimes, when it was early in the morning, and I couldn’t sleep, I thought about how I’d eventually explain this situation to Huey when he was older. What he’d call me. Would he call me Nova? Would he call me Mom? This situation was so fucking hard, and I didn’t think it would get any easier as he learned that somehow we were different to other families. I wasn’t sure if having three male parental figures would help or hinder that. But I mean, in for a penny, right?
I spun on the tiles in my socks, making Huey kick his legs as Springsteen sang about being born to run. On my second turn, something caught my eye, and I stuttered to a stop. Rigby and River stood in the entryway to the kitchen, their expressions both soft.
“You’re back!” I scooped Huey out of the bouncer and sped toward them. I’d missed them. “How long have you been standing there?” I asked with mock disgruntlement.
“Long enough.” River reached out and cupped the back of my head, swooping down to kiss me. The caress was filled with an aching feeling, so tender it made my heart break. He pulled back, his nose touching mine. “Missed you,” he murmured softly, then grabbed Huey from my arms.
While he made baby noises, Rigby tugged me into his body. He encompassed me so completely in his arms, and I sank against his chest. He kissed the top of my head, then my temples, and then tilted my head back so he could give me a searing kiss that I felt down to my toes.
“You feel so fucking good.” Lifting me into his arms, he buried his face into my neck. “If I wasn’t starving, and it didn’t smell so damn good in here, I’d take you upstairs and show you how much I missed you,” he purred.
My whole body flushed hot. He kissed me once more, his tongue pushing between my lips until it was basically a promise of what was to come. Then he pulled away and slid me down his body, one hard muscle at a time.
I wasn’t going to survive these men, I knew it, but I was too stupid to care. I wanted what they were offering. I wanted it so bad that I wasn’t going to deny myself, like I normally would. I wanted the happiness they promised, and I didn’t care about what Ishoulddo.
I looked at the clock. “Devan should be home soon. Do you want me to put Huey down or…”
River held the baby closer, blowing raspberries on his cheeks. Yeah, that shouldn’t have been hot, but it did something primordial to my ovaries. Pretty sure they just exploded. “Nah, I’ve got it. Let’s go get you ready for bed,” he said to Huey in a high, sing-song voice that still managed to be gruff.
Rigby grinned, his arms still around me. “I’ll make his bottle and bring it up when I drop my shit in my room.”
I’d gotten lucky somewhere. It was hard to think that after the year I’d had, but these guys, they made it so much easier than it would have been.
Rigby herded me into the kitchen, and I took a moment to get the bread out of the oven before it turned into a crouton. I also pulled out the beef stew, which was now smelling amazing.
When I spun back around, Rigby was watching me closely. “What?”
“Do you want to go on a date with me tomorrow?” he asked softly, and I nodded immediately.
“Of course. But you know, you don’t have to take me on dates.” This wasn’t a conventional courtship. This wasn’t a case of wooing me into something more.
He placed the bottle in the warmer and pulled me closer. “Babe, you deserve dates. You deserve pretty things, and for us to tell you how amazing you are, and anything else your heart desires. You deserve the world, and I intend to give it to you.” He kissed my forehead. “But we’ll start with a date.”
After a few moments, the bottle finished warming, and he grabbed it out. With one last brush of his lips on mine, he grabbed his bags and climbed the stairs shouting, “Shots! Shots! Shots!” like this was a frat house and Huey was about to tap the keg.
I laughed as I finished prepping the salad for dinner, and was still chuckling when Devan strolled in, right on time. He hadn’t been staying late at work the last couple of nights. I didn’t know if it was because the guys were gone and he didn’t want me to be lonely, or if he just liked it better at home. Either way, it was nice.
He shucked off his jacket and tossed his briefcase onto the hall table. He strode toward me and swept me up into his arms, kissing me like he couldn’t wait to get me naked again. Over the last few nights, we’d had a routine: we came home, ate some kind of takeout, and then we’d put Huey to bed. After that, he’d fuck me on every surface available.
It was a good system. But it wouldn’t happen tonight, because tonight, we probably needed to have one of those conversations. You know the ones—slightly awkward but entirely necessary.
He pulled back and squeezed me close to his chest. “The guys are home?”
I nodded. “Yeah, they just got in. They’re upstairs putting Huey to bed.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Did they seem okay?”
“Same as always, but maybe more touchy-feely?”
He hummed an amused sound, unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt and rolling his sleeves up his forearms. Why was that so damn hot?
“I just bet they are,” he growled, kissing me again.
Rigby bounded back down the stairs and grabbed us both in his long-armed reach. “What, starting with dessert first, Dev? Who’s a bad boy? You are, yes you are,” he simpered in a baby voice. He messed up Dev’s perfectly coiffed hair with his knuckles, making Dev swat at him.
“You’re a fucking child, Rigby Engman,” he grumbled, making me laugh.
Rigby’s wide smile conveyed the message that he didn’t give a shit, better than any words could. “Hands off our girl. You’ve had her for a solid five days, and I’m touch starved.”