Celeste
“Do you have any idea what this is about?”
Jason shakes his head. “I don’t know.”
I chew the inside of my cheek as I pace the length of the living room in Kourtney and Jason’s apartment. “Where was she today?”
He shrugs. “My flight landed early this morning. I just got home about an hour ago, and she wasn’t here.”
I pull out my phone and glance at the text I got fifteen minutes ago.
Little Mouse: Meet me at the apartment. It’s an emergency.
Worry twists my insides.
“If it were a real emergency, she’d have told us to meet her at the hospital. What kind of emergency could it be?”
Jason thrusts his hand through his hair, pulling at the roots. “I don’t fucking know.”
The poor guy looks like he’s about to tear down every building in the city to find his wife.
I clasp his hand and squeeze it. “We know she’s alive because she texted us. It’s probably something to do with the website. We’re reading too much into her text.”
Finally, the front door clicks as Kourtney pushes her way inside. Her eyes are swollen and red, and tears stream down her face.
Jason rushes over to her, beating me there with his long-ass legs. “Baby, what’s wrong?” He holds her out in front of him, inspecting her body parts and looking for any sign of injury. “What happened?”
She buries her face in his chest and sobs. “I just got into a fight with my parents, and it was awful.”
My stomach falls from my body and drops to the ground.
Oh, fuck.
“Your parents? Why?” Jason wraps an arm around her and leads her to the couch.
I stay rooted to the ground, my heart thumping like a bass drum against my chest.
Kourtney glances over her shoulder and locks eyes with me. “I told them about us.”
About us.
Jason’s eyebrows collapse. “You did what?”
Fresh tears stream down her face. “I told them about how Celeste and I were together in college...how we were in love...how I was too much of a coward to admit it to anyone.” She chokes back a sob. “And I told them that I wanted to be with you both—that the three of us are together.”
She did it. She told them.
Jason’s eyes widen. “And what did they say?”
She sniffles. “My dad told me that he doesn’t accept it, and then he told me to leave.”
That snaps me out of my shocked trance, and my feet carry me over to Kourtney.
I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight against me. “I’m so sorry, Kourtney. You didn’t have to upset them. You didn’t have to do this for me.”
“I did it for us. For the three of us. I want us to be together, and I don’t want to hide it.
” She pulls back and reaches up to touch my cheek.
“I’m the one who’s sorry. You deserve so much more than what I’ve been able to give you all these years.
Someone who could’ve been proud to call you her girlfriend.
Someone who would’ve screamed it from the rooftops.
Someone who would’ve fought for you. I’m so sorry, Celeste.
I know I hurt you, but please tell me that we can start over.
Tell me that you feel the same way Jason and I do.
Please tell me that you want to be together, for real this time. ”
I flick my watery eyes up to Jason. “Is this what you want, boss man? Are you okay with all of this?”
“Of course I want this.” A lone tear rolls down his cheek, and he lifts his hand to caress my face. “You’ve been ours from the beginning, kókkino. We’ve just been waiting for you to believe it.”
I close my eyes and lean into his touch. “I’ve been too scared to let myself believe that this could be real...that you’d both want me.”
“You don’t have to be scared.” Kourtney wraps her arms around each of us. “Not anymore.”
But I pull away from the both of them. “I can’t let you do this, Kourt. I can’t be the reason you’re cut off from your parents. I can’t ask you to do this for me.”
“You’re not the reason. Their stubbornness and narrow-minded beliefs are the reason for this.” She swipes a tear with the back of her hand. “A parent’s love shouldn’t be conditional. You’ve survived this long without yours. I can survive without mine.”
“My parents don’t give a shit about me because they’re selfish pricks who shouldn’t have had a child in the first place. But your parents aren’t like that. They’re loving and kind and generous.” I shake my head. “There’s still a chance for you to fix this with them.”
Kourtney closes the gap I created between us. “It’s not going to be easy. The world might not understand us. My family might never accept us. But as long as we have each other, we can get through anything. All that matters to me is right here in this room.”
I close my eyes and let Kourtney’s words soak deep into my bones. It feels like I’ve waited forever to hear her say this. When she married Jason, I thought she’d made her choice. I never expected there to be another option—one where we could create our own rules and have a second chance.
Sometimes the love you find doesn’t look exactly like the love you once envisioned for yourself. But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t jump in with both feet and give it everything you’ve got.
And you sure as hell shouldn’t let the world tell you what to do with your life.
“If you’re sure this is what you want...” I clasp Jason’s hand and hold onto Kourtney with the other. “I’m all fucking in.”
Kourtney throws herself at me, jumping into my arms and pressing her lips against mine.
I stumble backward, wrapping my hands around her waist. Jason engulfs us from behind, steadying the both of us.
That’s how it is between us—I’ll always catch Kourtney when she falls, and Jason will always make sure we get to the ground safely.
He’s our protector.
He’s ours.
He’s mine.
Emotion constricts my throat as I set Kourtney down and turn to face Jason. I reach up and cradle his face, looking into those bright emerald eyes of his.
“S’agapó.”
He blinks as his lips part, like he can’t believe what I just told him.
So I say it again. “I love you, Jay. I’ve always loved you. Even when you weren’t mine to love.”
“I’ve always been yours. It just took you this long to realize it.” He wraps me in his arms and speaks against my lips. “I love you, kókkino.”
He clutches my jaw, claiming me in an all-consuming kiss.
Kourtney’s hands roam over my body from behind me, sandwiching me between the both of them.
Right where I was meant to be.
I turn around to face Kourtney, gripping her face and peppering her with kisses. “I’m sorry about your parents, but I’m so damn proud of you. You don’t know how much it means to me that you finally stepped out into the light and let yourself be seen. For me, for us...for yourself.”
“I’ve loved you since we were fourteen.” She sniffles as she rests her forehead against mine. “All I’ve ever wanted was to have the both of you, exactly like this. And now that I have you, I’m never turning back.”
“My brave little mouse.” I brush my lips against hers. “I love you.”
Kourtney takes our hands and leads us into the bedroom. She stands in front of us and pulls off her clothes, baring herself to us and showing us what she needs.
I drop to my knees in front of her and trail delicate kisses along her hips, across her stomach, and down her thighs.
She shivers as I kiss her most sensitive spot and reaches out for Jason.
He stands behind her, letting his hands skate over her breasts, both of them gazing down at me as I go down on her.
I take my time, dragging out her pleasure in slow, languid strokes while Jason licks her neck and toys with her nipples. We devour her and bring her to the edge until her hips rock faster and she’s panting for more.
Jason’s hand comes to the back of my head. “That’s it, baby. Make her come.”
I work my tongue faster and relish in the burn as Kourtney grips a fistful of my hair and cries out, shuddering against my mouth.
Jason carries her to the bed and lays her head against the pillow. Kourtney reaches for me and pulls me down until I’m lying between her legs with my back against her chest. Her fingers glide over my clit, and I let my knees fall apart so Jason can get a good look.
“She’s so wet,” Kourtney murmurs. “Look how turned on she gets when she’s eating my pussy.”
Jason stands at the foot of the bed, watching as I roll my hips against Kourtney’s fingers and moan.
It’s not long before he’s crawling across the bed toward us, his eyes darkening as he prowls like a tiger who’s spotted its prey.
He leans over the both of us, caging us in with his arms on either side of our heads.
Kourtney takes his cock and rubs it over my pussy, and Jason lowers his forehead to mine, releasing a low groan.
I cup his face and look into his eyes. “Make love to me, Jay.”
His body stills, emotion swirling around in the intensity of his gaze.
“Please.” I roll my hips against him. “I want to feel you inside me. Make me yours.”
With Kourtney behind me, Jason pushes his cock inside of me, slow inch by slow inch.
“Fuck.” I widen my legs, trying to accommodate his size. “You’re so big.”
“You can take it.” He takes his time to work himself into me, and then he hisses as he lets himself settle inside. “God, you feel good.”
I hum, running my fingernails along his broad back while Kourtney nips at my ear.
“Keep playing with her pussy, baby,” he tells her. “Let’s make our girl see stars.”
Kourtney obeys, her fingers sliding over my clit as Jason pulls out and thrusts back into me.
And the final wall I’ve kept up around my heart crumbles at our feet.
Jason takes turns kissing us while he fucks me, and I tilt my head to kiss Kourtney too. We pour our love into each other, finally unrestrained and unchained from the secrets we’ve tried burying for over a decade.
Jason gazes down between us, watching as he plunges into me. I’ll never forget this look on his face—dark brows pinched together, a wild desire darkening his eyes, lips parted as he groans with each thrust.
“You’re ours,” Kourtney whispers in my ear. “We’re forever. We’re going to love you and care for you, and make you feel so good for the rest of our lives, baby.”
Hearing her talk like this spurs me on, and I let out a loud moan as my hips buck up to match Jason’s rhythm.
Jason hikes up one of my legs, tossing it over his shoulder. He claims my mouth, swallowing my cries as he drives himself even deeper inside me.
Memories from our past flash through my mind. All the times the three of us stayed up late watching movies in Jason’s bed in high school; the times we laughed until we cried; the way Kourtney curled up in my arms when she’d fallen asleep in college.
Kourtney’s right.
We are forever.
We always have been.
I break apart, coming hard, my body at the mercy of the two people I love most in this world.
“That’s it, kókkino. Come for us.” Jason pounds into me, each thrust deliberate, like he’s trying to make sure that I’ll never forget the feel of him inside me.
My body shakes, one hand holding onto Jason’s shoulder while the other reaches behind me to grip the back of Kourtney’s head. I scream their names, as if I’m claiming them to the universe, letting everyone know that they’re mine.
And I’m theirs.