25. Jay
JAY
“Before we break for Thanksgiving I just want to congratulate Michaela Jones again for not one, but two astounding pieces in our paper,” Ms. Cece said as the Alliance members burst into another round of cheers and applause for Michaela. Jay turned and beamed at her girlfriend.
In the last couple of weeks since Halloween, Jay and the Collective had been ruminating on how necessary the progressive college culture was, since it was the first place many people, especially from the queer community, could safely explore themselves while also having the right people guide them.
Iris had a lot to say about that last part, but despite Iris’ jokes about being their “Sex Fairy Godmother,” Jay thought Michaela’s point was valid in more ways than one.
Jay continued to work with Davis, flying solo on her class projects.
What if she had gone somewhere with less encouragement for who she was?
Would someone like Davis have even found her?
Would someone like Davis have even existed on campus if she had gone elsewhere?
Ms. Cece, the friends she had, all of it, she had been so caught up in her new relationship in school that Michaela’s words were a nice reminder that they all had gotten to be, or at least begun to discover, the “me” they needed.
“You all are too much,” Michaela said from beside Jay, and Jay reached out her hand and squeezed Michaela’s. Her girlfriend was so humble, but the article really had been so inspiring and authentic, and vulnerable.
“And all of this coming from the girl who wasn’t sure she could take on her assigned beat,” Ms. Cece said through laughter.
Jay watched as the color on Michaela’s cheeks deepened, but she knew, like Michaela did, that it was all love here.
Looking around the room, Jay couldn’t help but widen her smile at the sight of others looking at her girlfriend so admiringly—all except a very indifferent Erica. Jay decided not to dwell on it though, and she surely wasn’t going to point it out to Michaela.
“Anyway, listen, if you're staying here for Thanksgiving, you know the rules,” Ms. Cece finally said.
“What rules?” Michaela said from beside Jay, and Jay shrugged back.
“Dinner here, no way around it —me and the Mrs. will be cooking as per usual.”
Jay smiled at that and turned her attention back to Michaela, “You heard the lady, now we don’t have to figure out how to piece together a meal or sit in the dining hall.”
“Hell yeah, Ms. Cece and Ms. Edna’s cooking is the best,” a voice from behind Jay said and a second later she and Michaela were enveloped in Davis’ arms. Jay had already spoken to her parents about flights being expensive and the break too short to justify flying home, even if Mrs. Blake had offered to buy her a ticket.
She’d also just been open with her parents about wanting to stay with Michaela, who was staying over the holiday.
Kevin was going back to his family’s home, and so was Callie.
Callie had offered to bring both Michaela and Jay home, but Jay also knew Davis and Iris were going to be around, and definitely not working, what with all their clients spending their time with their families.
So she thought they could use the company.
“Ms. Edna?” Jay said, looking up into Davis’ blue eyes.
“Ms. Cece’s wife,” Davis responded easily, though Jay knew his word choice was intentional, considering there was no way for the two women to legally marry. Jay smiled at the sentiment.
“Oh, I wanna meet her wife,” Michaela said.
“You definitely do, she’s the sweetest woman ever,” Iris joined in. “Shall we head home?”
“Yeah, you three hanging in tonight?” Davis asked, a knowing smile on his face.
He knew what the three of them had gotten up to during the Halloween party weekend.
They hadn't gotten together again, what with school and the approaching end of the semester.
Plus, Iris had mentioned it was important to be very comfortable with one step before taking another.
Jay thought Michaela was definitely comfortable and knew she wanted to try more.
Tonight, considering there were no more classes and they were officially on break, felt like the perfect time.
But before Jay could answer, they were greeted by Kevin, followed by Callie with Bjorn in tow.
Kevin and Callie had informed the entire group one night at dinner that they were in fact, all still sleeping together, and it was going great.
“Hey, hey, wait, are we all pregaming right after dinner or are we just going to dinner and then heading to Sasha’s later?”
“Sorry homie, I’m staying in tonight. This week kicked my ass,” Michaela said sweetly.
“What?” he said. He looked from his friend to Jay and then his eyes narrowed knowingly. “Oh I see, that good, huh?”
They’d all stopped to form a small group just outside of the Alliance. Michaela’s mouth dropped open, but nothing came out.
“I know,” Kevin continued, “Davis and Iris, you two should open up a business or something.”
Iris crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh?”
Callie snorted.
“You know what I mean, it’s like you both are changing lives and sprinkling your magic fairy dust all over the world,” Kevin said lightheartedly. “It’s a gift.”
“While I don’t disagree with you there, Kev, it’s not all glamorous.
We are lucky, I am lucky to have Davis with me, to be able to stay relatively safe,” Iris said coolly, and Jay knew this was what Iris sounded like when she was making a point.
“Plenty of other girls are risking their lives to make ends meet and survive.”
Kevin’s demeanor shifted as he nodded his head solemnly.
“You’re right, and I wasn’t trying to make light of that, but I am seriously grateful.
I mean, like Kayla’s articles pointed out, there aren’t many resources for us to learn about ourselves.
Certainly didn’t teach ‘bratty top sub awakenings’ in sex ed. ”
Callie snorted again and for the first time ever, Jay saw Bjorn crack a smile. They didn’t know him that well or outside of Callie and Kevin. He was quiet and stoic, but she assumed he must be nice because Callie didn’t put up with shitty people.
“No, I suppose they didn’t,” Davis said with his cool and relaxed energy easing the slight buildup of tension.
“So, Iris, Kayla, and Jay are staying in, but after dinner let’s reconvene, I’ll meet you at Callie’s?
And then the three of us—ah,” he paused to take in Bjorn, “or four of us, can head over?”
“Phat,” Callie said, and no one confirmed whether or not Bjorn was, in fact, coming, but Jay noticed that Callie, Kevin, and Bjorn walked off in the same direction.
Bjorn stood in the middle, moving to hold Callie’s and Kevin’s hands.
The way Bjorn looked from side to side at each of them, and the way they beamed back at him, felt intimate and much sweeter than three people indulging in a casual threesome.
Jay decided to file the observation away for later.
“Jay and Kayla, so happy you could make it, welcome, welcome, let me grab your jackets,” Ms. Cece sang as Jay and Michaela entered the quaint home they’d traveled to for Thanksgiving.
Jay had woken up next to Michaela, both mattresses still shoved together in the middle of the room, still tired.
Callie and Kevin had convinced them, along with Davis, to go out anyway.
And they’d come back way too late and tipsy to do anything with Iris or with each other.
Instead, they’d done something Jay had thought was just as good–they’d just gotten into bed, naked, and cuddled.
Jay thanked the universe that Ms. Cece’s home wasn’t too far from campus, and Jay had been happy to see the house was a loud shade of lavender and had a rainbow flag flying over the door.
Standing in the open doorway, the smell of rich and savory food flooded Jay’s nose, and she squeezed Michaela’s hand in hers as she followed Ms. Cece into a small living room.
Iris and Davis had arrived earlier and were already seated on a plush loveseat.
There was another student Jay recognized as Greg, who had once danced with Michaela earlier in the year.
She gave him a warm smile. And Erica, who sat in a chair next to the couch.
Finally, Jay spotted a very stoic-looking Bjorn standing off to the side of the room.
Bjorn appeared like he always did: like he belonged.
Michaela greeted everyone, and Jay heard the slight pause as she acknowledged Erica. Jay didn’t miss the way Erica shot daggers at Michaela from where she was seated.
“We have drinks in the kitchen if you want anything, come on in, make yourselves comfortable. Dinner should be ready in about a half hour or so. We got a little behind this morning,” Ms. Cece said. She hung their jackets in a closet and then disappeared, presumably to help Ms. Edna in the kitchen.
“Hey, everyone,” Jay said, as Michaela rushed to sit on Iris’ lap and Jay took in the room.
It was a small living room, but big enough for all of them if they agreed to get cozy.
It had a hardwood floor with a big oval blue rug, a wooden coffee table, a small bookshelf holding way too many books, a blue loveseat and a brown leather chair.
The couch sat against a window, and the brown chair sat across from a small television set.
Jay smiled as she took in the scattered pictures on the wall of who she thought to be various family members.
On top of the bookshelf was a large framed photo of a much younger Ms. Cece and a beautiful woman with russet brown skin and a perfectly picked-out afro.
She wore a dress and her smile radiated pure love.
Ms. Cece had on a pair of long shorts and a tucked-in t-shirt and had her arm around the other woman, both smiling at the camera.
“Ms. Edna is the best,” Jay heard Davis say from behind her, and she turned to find the rest of the room looking at her.
“Yeah, wasn’t trying to stare,” Jay said, suddenly aware of how long she’d been wandering around the room, looking at things.
“Stare, who cares, I love it here,” Iris said. Squeezing Michaela against her on her lap she said, “And it’s about time you got here.”
“I was about to bet Iris you two wouldn’t show, maybe take advantage of an empty suite since we dragged you out last night,” Davis said teasingly.
There was a slight cough, and Jay turned to see Erica rolling her eyes. She looked back at Michaela in time to see her shift uncomfortably in Iris’ lap.
“Oh please, Erica, how many of us girls have you put in this situation,” Iris said unabashedly.
Erica scoffed and then she stood and announced, “I am going to get something to drink.” She left the room in a hurry.
“Don’t worry about her,” Davis said. “She’s pissed because a conquest escaped her. And then Kayla here wrote an article about it.”
“I did not write about that specifically,” Michaela said defensively.
Davis just smiled and said, “Yeah, but you mentioned it. You went on a date with someone and all you could think of was your hot roommate.”
There was a beat of silence and then Michaela’s shoulders relaxed. “Shoot, now I feel bad.”
“Don’t, trust me,” Iris said at once.
There was another beat of silence before Bjorn said, “Jay, would you like to sit?”
“Don’t mind me, just a dude sitting when there are ladies standing, way to make me look bad, Bjorn,” Davis said jokingly.
“You did that yourself,” Iris said in the same manner.
“Um, actually yes,” Jay said, walking over to the brown chair and sitting down. To her delight, Michaela then moved from Iris’ lap to Jay’s. It made Jay remember the feel of their naked bodies pressed together in slumber, somehow so intimate and sweet.
“Come sit, Bjorn, let’s get to know you,” Davis said, patting a very small sliver of loveseat between him and Iris.
Iris scooted as much as she could to the side of the loveseat.
Jay watched the war that crossed Bjorn’s face and realized he didn’t want to be rude, but the space was much too small for his frame.
“Here,” Iris said, finally taking mercy, “on second thought–” She stood and moved to sit on Davis’ lap. Once she was situated, Bjorn sat in her vacated spot.
“So, Bjorn,” Davis said from behind Iris, “what are your intentions with our Callie and Kevin?”
Jay could feel Michaela trying not to laugh.
“Ignore him,” Iris said.
“I do not mind talking. I have wanted to get to know all of you too. Especially since I am dating your friends.”
Straining around Michaela to be able to catch a glimpse of Davis, Jay could see he was surprised Bjorn had responded so honestly. Iris spoke first.
“Dating? As in a relationship, wow. I thought you three were just fooling around.”
Bjorn sucked his teeth, as if annoyed not by Iris, but by some conversation the rest of them were not privy to. “Yes, we are dating, yes it is serious. I am falling in love with them.”
This declaration took Jay by surprise; she didn’t know much about their relationship, but it felt fast.
“Wow, so soon?” Iris said, as if reading Jay’s thoughts.
Bjorn shrugged. “When you know you know.”
Jay certainly understood that.
“Kayla, did you know about this?” Iris said to Michaela, who hadn’t said anything. Jay couldn’t see her face.
“No, but I have been uh—”
“Busy,” Davis filled in.
“What about when you two are at work with Thing One or Thing Two?” Iris said, playfully referring to the absent Callie and Kevin while looking from Michaela to Jay.
Jay shrugged, “We’ve talked, but I didn’t realize—”
Bjorn let out a small sigh. “They are new to polyamory, so we are taking it slow, but I am just saying how I feel. Which they know. But again, this is all new for them.”
“Polyamory?” Michaela repeated.
“Yes, you know, the ability to love and be with more than one person. I am polyamorous, and so are Callie and Kevin, I think, we think.”
There was another bout of silence while this news was digested. Bjorn continued, “I know not everyone understands, and I have spoken to your friends about it. It is misunderstood a lot of the time but no, it is not just a sex thing. I love them. I have the capacity to hold love for both of them.”
“For sure,” Michaela said slowly, as if trying to offer reassurance that certainly no one in the room was judging him.
Most certainly not Jay, who felt something like understanding click into place.