Chapter 8
Blue
Ella, Anika, Collins, Honey, and I stood on the footpath staring up at the wreck of my house, watching as a flurry of workers swarmed the ruins of my roof.
Without fail, the Steamy Book Club met every two weeks on a Monday. Over books, booze, and burgers at the closed Bronze Horseman, we bonded becoming a close knit group of phenomenal women who supported each other.
But noting my currently homeless predicament, we’d agreed to pause the book chat in order for us to survey the damage to my house.
“I know it sucks that you’re homeless for a little while longer,” Honey said, her eyes twinkling. “But the eye candy is totally worth the inconvenience.”
A chubby blonde with a big heart, Honey often wore character-themed outfits to book club, and, despite our change of scenery, today was no exception.
She wore workman overalls and had a toy chainsaw clipped to her belt, her long hair pulled into two adorable pigtails.
She looked like the preschool version of ‘My First Tradie’.
She glowed—and not just from happiness. Her pale, pinkish skin burnt easily and in difference to our outdoor location she’d smothered herself in a thick layer of sunscreen.
I’d already caught Anika eyeing her off, no doubt plotting how to draw a penis in the cream.
“Speaking of eye candy.” Anika hip-checked me. “How goes it with your delicious men?”
Hilariously dry and irreverent, Anika was one of the most fascinating women I’d ever met. Her long black hair had been tied up in a top knot, and her tawny brown skin held a touch of pink on her cheeks.
She looked happy. Healthy. And far too relaxed for this afternoon.
“You got laid,” I said, eyeing her off.
“Twice,” she admitted with a happy sigh. “Mac loves going down on me. The man can’t get enough of my dessert.”
Collectively we groaned, tossing popcorn, chips and bottle caps at our friend.
“I hate you all,” Honey said with a heavy sigh. “Why can’t I find a man?”
“Because you want a fairy tale and that takes time.” Collins tilted her head my way. “Now, answer the question, Blue. How goes it?”
Collins, a yoga instructor and physical therapist who worked at Honey's health clinic, crossed her arms over her chest, narrowing her rich emerald green gaze on me. Her skin had tanned throughout the summer, offsetting her bronze hair.
I groaned, slumping back against my car. “I love it, but I’m also worn out to the point of chafing. Do you think a vagina can chaff?”
Collins chuckled, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re the nurse, you tell me.”
Ella handed me a beer, popping the cap and catching it with one hand in a practised and impressive move. Perfectly abundant, with long curling hair, mahogany locks, and a smile that could kill, I’d never met anyone as at home in their body as Ella.
“It can,” she told me with a knowing wink. “Just offer blow jobs or anal instead.”
Our group snorted with laughter. Ella’s Viking fiancé was known to be insatiable, and she’d shed many a story of their sexual escapades over the last few months.
I couldn’t help but gaze around at the women surrounding me, thankful for their friendship.
“I love you all,” I said, wrapping an arm around Ani’s shoulders. “Even you.”
Anika shoved me, chuckling. “Of course you do. I’m adorable.”
One of the workers shouted from their place on top of the roof, the noise ceasing for a moment while they hauled out chunks of the thick tree branch, tossing them to the ground with a heavy thud.
“It’s… good,” I said softly, watching the tradies work. “It’s hard to explain exactly how good it is.”
“Try,” Honey said, offering me a smile.
I closed my eyes, imagining Drake and Dane were beside me.
“It’s like all the pieces of myself that were missing have come back.
There’s no jealousy or envy. They share freely with me and without me.
If one of them wants to make out with me, there’s no pressure to do the same with the other.
And same for them. We share, but we also separate.
It’s like no relationship I’ve ever seen or heard about. It’s just…”
“Perfect for you,” Ella said with a knowing smile.
“Yeah.” I shook my head. “But now I need to work out how to tell my parents. My family is great. Mum and Dad even apparently called Drake and Dane and told them to come back. But it’s one thing to do it in theory and a whole other to….”
“Actually see them in your life,” Anika finished for me.
“Yeah.”
She gave me a little shake. “It’s your life, Blue. You get to choose how to live it.”
“And if they’re half the people I know your parent’s to be, then they’ll love that you’re cared for, supported, loved and happy,” Honey said firmly.
My heart swelled. “Are you sure?”
Collins nodded. “Absolutely. You should call them now. Tell them.”
I mentally did the calculations on timezones and nodded. “Yeah, they should be awake.”
Pulling my mobile from my back pocket I sucked in a deep breath and then hit their international calling number. Dad, predictably, picked up immediately.
“Blue? You okay?”
“Hey, Dad.” I closed my eyes. “Everything is fine. Is Mum there?”
I heard him move, the phone shuffling between them.
“Blue? What’s happening?”
“Am I on speaker?”
“Yes, baby.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “Guys, I’m in love.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line.
“That’s wonderful, darling,” Mum said, sounding amused. “And this couldn’t have waited until we returned because…?”
“Because I’m in love with not one man but two.”
Honey clasped my hand, giving me a reassuring smile and a warm squeeze.
“And you don’t know which one to pick?” Dad asked.
“No, Dad, I—” I laughed quietly. “We’re in love together. All three of us. And I want you to be okay with this.”
“Blue, are you talking about Drake and Dane?”
“Yes.”
My mother sighed heavily down the line. “Oh, thank the gods.”
I collapsed back against my car in relief, my eyes drifting shut as I tried to stop tears from falling.
“Baby girl,” my father said softly. “We love you. And we’ll love whoever you love. We made a mistake years ago and drove off men who were deserving of you. Men we know you loved. You’ve never been happy without them, Blue. And for that, we’re sorry.”
“So sorry,” my mum whispered, her breath hitching. “Oh, darling. I’m so glad they’re back in your life. You deserve nothing but happiness.”
We spoke for a few minutes longer then hung up.
“See?” Honey said, brushing hair from my cheek. “They love you.”
I nodded, unable to find speak.
“Now that’s done.” She stepped back, holding her arms out wide. “Can we work on finding Collins and me a man or three? I could do with my own personal bordello. They’ll have to put up with decorations and my psychotic family but it’s a small price to pay for the glory of me.”
“You should definitely put that in your dating profile,” Anika said with a laugh. She glanced at me. “You good?”
A genuine smile pulled at my lips, lighting my face. “I’m perfect.”
“Good.” She clapped a hand on my shoulder.
“Let’s get to the bar. We all need a beer, and I am dying to talk about that scene with the rope.
Did you read that with one hand? I did. I then immediately made Mac go out and buy rope.
He said the guy at the warehouse looked at him funny for testing the softness.
That author must have done her research because phwoar! ”
Chuckling, I tugged open the door to my car and slid in, grateful once again for my incredible life.