Chapter 15
Fifteen
Bennett
I’m glad it’s Saturday so we can all spend the day with Bree, if we so choose.
Jack has remained at the apartment, too, staying quiet and keeping to himself.
After breakfast, Arthur draws up a grocery list, for which he asks Bree’s input.
She didn’t say it, but I can tell she hurts physically, too.
She clutches her belly often, as if we can’t see.
While Arthur’s gone, I take her over to the couch and flip on a movie.
Jack sits in the nearby chair as we watch.
It feels good and right to have Bree under my arm, and the sourness in her scent fades as she relaxes.
All I want is to make her happy, to keep her at my side, to make sure she has everything she needs.
When Arthur returns, Jack hops up to help him unpack the groceries.
“Thanks for all this, guys,” Bree says. “But I’m really doing all right. You can go home.”
“But what if we want to be here?” I ask smartly. “Didn’t anticipate that, did you?”
Even she seems surprised when a laugh bursts out of her.
“I missed you,” she says quietly, reaching out to touch my hand. “But please don’t tease me, either.”
I cock my head. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t let me think I mean something to you that I don’t. I’m too fragile right now for that.”
It hurts to hear. She thinks we’ll be done with her after this is over, like she’s disposable, when the complete opposite is true. I don’t think I can live without her.
There’s something I need to do, something I need to say. So I grab her hand and clutch it tight, then turn to Jack as he sits back down at the table.
“I’m still sorry for what we did,” I tell him, almost choking on the words. “I’m so, so sorry for lying to you about it. But I can’t… I can’t just go back to how life was before.”
Jack watches me steadily, daring me to continue.
“I know Marilee hurt you,” I go on. “And I know I went about this all wrong. I should have been more open about how I felt, and I should have never gone behind your back. But I can’t keep denying part of myself, either.
I want Bree in my life. And if that isn’t acceptable to you, we have to talk about what that means for us. ”
His face slackens as he takes in my meaning. If he doesn’t want me to have a relationship with Bree, then I’m not sure a relationship with him is in my best interest anymore.
“Stop,” Bree interjects, sitting upright in her chair. “You don’t have to do this. I don’t want to be the reason you—”
“No. I do have to.” I level my gaze on Jack. I can tell Arthur is listening, too, because he’s no longer flipping the bacon. “I need this. And it doesn’t dim how much I love you. You know that, right?”
Jack grits his teeth. “I get it. And… I won’t get in the way, Bennett. I want you to have what you need.” He bends his head. “I want you to be happy, more than anything.”
Bree’s voice is hoarse as she says, “Please, I don’t want to fuck up your lives like this.”
“Bree.”
I’m surprised by the softness in Jack’s tone.
“I don’t know you like Arthur and Bennett do. But given how they feel about you…” He turns his head and swallows hard. “I would like to try knowing you. And I want to be there for you, too, while you go through this.”
A thousand emotions cross Bree’s face at once.
“But—”
“I said what I said.” Jack is using his bossy tone now, and for once, I think maybe she needs it. “You can’t drive us away. Sorry.”
I nod in agreement.
Arthur comes to the table with a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich and sets it down in front of Bree.
“Listen to him,” Arthur says. “He may be kind of a dick, but he’s right.”
Then he retreats to the kitchen to make another sandwich, and she halfway smiles.
I scoot closer, put an arm around her shoulders, and squeeze her tight. “You’re stuck with us now.”
Bree
I’ve announced to my viewers a “spur of the moment vacation” while I take time to recover and heal.
Jack, Arthur, and Bennett go home that night to give me some peace and quiet, but as soon as they leave, the silence left behind stretches.
On Sunday, when Mangelli checks up on me, I say that I’m not feeling well and need the day to rot in bed.
I can’t monopolize their time when they clearly have their own issues to work out.
He offers to bring me food, but I tell him not to worry about it.
Then it’s Monday again. I lounge in my pajamas and sleep, then when I’m feeling better, head to the tea shop to hang out while Tilly works. I update her on the entire saga, and by the time I’m done, a few customers are also listening raptly.
“So what are you gonna do?” she asks, cleaning out a strainer. “Move in with them?”
My mouth falls open. “I don’t even know what kind of relationship we have now.” Certainly nothing I could describe with a traditional label.
“Well, if you plan on trying for another baby…” She waggles a brow.
I cover my mouth. “What?! That’s not on the agenda. I’m just trying to get through the next few days.”
Tilly shrugs and moves on to serving a customer, and I end up stepping in to help when a rush comes in, even though I’m not supposed to be there and I’m not even getting paid.
The thought of trying to get pregnant again hadn’t even crossed my mind. I simply figured it was all over now. But maybe someday I can still help them get what they wanted.
Around three o’clock, I get a text from Mangelli.
Hey babe. Can I come see you?
It’s so casual, as if we’re dating, that I don’t know what to say at first.
Sure. I’m just sitting around.
I’d love to sit around with you.
I hop up onto my knees on the couch.
Then come on over.
He shows up not twenty minutes later, smiling like a huge dork.
“Sorry, I’m kind of sweaty,” Mangelli says, flopping down on the cushions beside me. “Last class of the day played basketball, and I always get too into it.”
I wonder if being a satyr gives him an advantage at basketball.
He puts an arm around me and brings me in against his side as he asks me about my day. It’s so easy to chat with him, an hour passes in no time at all. But a loud ringing interrupts us, and I cover my ears.
“Sorry,” he says, pulling out his phone as it blasts a ringtone. “It’s Bennett. He must be getting off work.” He taps the screen and answers. “Howdy. I’m at Bree’s house.”
I can’t hear what Bennett’s saying, but Mangelli turns to me and asks, “Can Bennett join us?”
“Of course.”
Bennett arrives a little while later, and we all curl up in front of a cooking show. It’s not long before Jack gets off work, too, and also decides to come over.
“I’ll cook!” Bennett says. “Maybe Jack can pick stuff up on the way over.”
When Jack arrives, I’m not sure how to greet him. I stick out a hand to shake, and he gives it a perplexed look. Then he takes my hand, encircles it with both of his palms, and lowers his head until the tip of his nose is touching my knuckles.
“It’s good to see you again,” he says in a quiet voice, like he’s trying not to scare off an animal. Then he releases me and gives me something I haven’t seen from him before: a tentative smile. “I brought food.”
We all sit and chat amiably while Bennett cooks. When I offer to help, he shoos me away. My apartment is small for four full-grown adults, but they don’t seem to mind.
I learn about what Jack does for work—upper management at a shipping and logistics firm—and it’s clear he takes his job seriously. Mangelli whines that Jack works too much.
“Guess someone has to bring home the bacon,” Mangelli says with a sigh. “Not like I’m getting a promotion anytime soon.”
Jack rubs his shoulder. “What you do is still valuable. We need someone who’s good with kids.”
My heart softens watching them. Jack clearly loves his husbands and values each of their contributions.
Then dinner’s ready, and we dig in. Bennett truly is a great cook, and we all shower him with compliments. Once everyone’s done, I carry the dishes to the sink, but Mangelli steps in.
“You guys go watch a movie,” he says, leaning down to kiss my cheek. Then he pushes me out of the kitchen, where Bennett grabs my hand.
“You heard him,” he says with a wink. This time, Jack joins us on the couch, sitting on the other side of me as we flip on a movie.
I’m still unsure of our relationship, so I keep a healthy distance between us.
Bennett pulls me in to cuddle, and once again, I worry that I’m getting in the way.
They need intimacy right now to help heal, and I don’t want to be in the middle of it.
Then Jack scoots closer, putting his arm up on the couch behind me without touching me. It feels like an important gesture, so I recline more, leaning back into the cushion. Jack’s eyes dart to me, and his mouth curls at the edge.
When Mangelli’s done cleaning up, he joins us, sprawling out with his head on the couch arm and his legs across my lap. It’s interesting being this up close and personal with his furry ankles and tawny hooves.
“Are hooves ticklish?” I whisper to Bennett. “Human feet are.”
He snorts. “A little bit.”
While Mangelli watches the movie, Bennett’s hand creeps down to his right hoof and around the bottom. There, he tickles, and Mangelli lets out a very loud eep! as he wriggles on top of us. Jack pins him down as Bennett tickles him harder, and I gasp as he writhes from side to side in my lap.
Apparently, satyrs are ticklish right underneath the hoof.
Eventually, the movie comes to an end, and I find myself a little disappointed.
“Well, thanks for coming over,” I say to them as I pick up the blanket we’d all found ourselves under and fold it up to hang across the back of the couch.
Mangelli cocks his head. “Is this you politely telling us to leave? ‘Cause I’ll stay the night if you want.”
I shake my head. “You guys should all go home to your house and your bed. Things have been hard lately, and I think you deserve some alone time together.”
“But—” Mangelli begins.
“I could use the alone time, too,” I lie.
Bennett approaches me, his arms held out. “Bree. Give me a hug, please.”
I’m confused by this turn of events, but I walk into his embrace anyway. He pulls me close and hugs me tight.
“Thank you,” he murmurs. “For looking out for us. But what I feel about you—it’s not temporary. You can send me home now, but I’ll want to sleep by you tomorrow.”
I flush all over. “Your home is somewhere else, Bennett. With your husbands.”
He pulls away far enough that he can peer down at me. “I get it. You think you’re not as important to me as they are.”
“You guys are married!” I draw back, tucking my hands behind me. “And I’m just… an intruder in that.”
Mangelli’s mouth falls open. Bennett frowns. But Jack is the one who crosses his arms and nods, like he understands what I’m saying.
“Maybe you should come to our house, instead,” he suggests. “A do-over from the last dinner? I’d love to, erm, cook something for you.”
I don’t know what to make of his invitation. Is he just being nice because of everything that’s happened?
“Oh. All right.” I give him as bright a smile as I can muster. “If you want.”
“I do want.” He steps closer and ever so gently raises a hand to brush his fingers over my cheek. It’s such an intimate touch that my whole body freezes. “I want very much.”
I swallow. “Then I’ll be there.”
With that, Mangelli gives me one more hug before they all depart.