6
C ruz looked over the software in front of him. It was performing well, but there was something about it that he couldn’t put his finger on. Something that kept it from being at his standard, and until he could get it worked out, he wouldn’t be able to implement it into the new system they were working on. He had time, but Cruz liked to have the software completed and tested before the systems placed on the client’s property were complete.
He looked at his watch and saw it was a little after noon. He’d gone in at seven that morning and spent the past five hours working with his software team. He pulled his phone from his pocket, deciding to text Erin. They would take lunch since he and Paetyn would see her at one.
Cruz: Paetyn and I are bringing lunch with us. Do you have a craving for anything?
After saying goodbye to his team, Cruz exited his development facility and headed towards his car. He and Paetyn had driven into the city together that morning, and he’d dropped him off at Aefinity to do more training with the chef he’d hired. Cruz had just slid into his car when his phone notified him of a text.
Erin: You can choose. I’m not picky.
Cruz placed his phone on the dock in his car and started it before calling a Chinese restaurant near Erin’s apartment, placing the order, and continuing to Paetyn.
He placed his key in the restaurant’s front door twenty-five minutes later, locking it behind himself. The restaurant was empty, but he’d known that it would be. Most employees wouldn’t show up to start prepping for dinner service until three.
Cruz entered the kitchen and found Paetyn watching a young man as he plated and garnished a dish. Cruz leaned against the wall by the door, watching them. He noticed Paetyn’s left eyebrow twitch slightly as the young man placed a garnish on the plate, and Cruz knew it was either placed incorrectly or the incorrect garnish.
The garnish wasn’t meant to be eaten, and people just moved it to the side, so he’d never seen it as necessary. However, Cruz knew that for Paetyn, it gave the plate a presentation and made it look pretty, and people paid high dollars for pretty.
“Okay, Jonathan. That was good, but be mindful of how you place the garnish,” Paetyn spoke when the other man stood up and looked at him after finishing. “Each dish is an experience our customers come for, regardless of the restaurant or cuisine served.”
“Right,”Jonathan responded with a nod. “I’ll work on memorizing it. I’m going to study the recipes more tonight.”
Cruz watched as Paetyn nodded before looking up at him, which caused Jonathan to turn and look at him as well.
“Oh, hey,”Jonathan greeted, wiping his hand on a towel before walking over and holding his hand out to Cruz. “I’m Jonathan. The chef Mr. Silva hired.”
“Cruz,”he responded, briefly shaking Jonathan’s hand. He then turned his attention to Paetyn. “I ordered lunch. We should get going soon.”
“Give me a few minutes. Jonathan and I will clean up quickly.”Paetyn then turned his attention to Johnathan. “As always, you can take the dishes we made home.”
Cruz went over, taking Paetyn’s wrist and rolling up his unbuttoned sleeve before helping him with the other one. Cruz would have volunteered to help, but he knew Paetyn well enough that he wouldn’t allow him to unless they were open and highly shorthanded, which was rare.
He waited ten minutes for them to clean the few dishes they’d used and sanitize the prep station they’d been at. When they finished, the three men left, Paetyn arming the alarm and locking the door behind them.
Once in Cruz’s car, they headed towards the Chinese restaurant to pick up their order. It should have been ready by that time. He knew that it typically took them longer to prepare to-go orders during the lunchtime rush.
When they had the food, they went to Erin’s apartment, showing up a few minutes before one. Cruz knocked on the door, and a minute later, he heard movement on the other side, and it opened.
Erin stood in the open doorway in ripped boyfriend jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt tucked into them. Her hair pulled into a ponytail on top of her head. Cruz wondered if there was anything she wore that she didn’t look good in, and he was sure the answer was no. She smiled at them before stepping aside and allowing them in.
“Hey. That smells delicious,”Erin stated, gesturing to the dining room table as she headed into the kitchen.
Cruz went to the table with Paetyn, where the other man began unpacking the food they’d brought.
“I’m going to have apple juice,”Erin told them from the kitchen. “Do you want some? I also have a couple of different sodas and bottles of water.”
“Bottled water is fine,”Paetyn responded, and Cruz hummed in agreement.
Erin returned with the three drinks and took one of the seats at the table as she passed them around. Cruz handed her some plasticware, chopsticks, and napkins.
They passed the food containers around and ate silently for a few minutes before Erin broke it.
“So, you both went to work today, I’m assuming? How is it?”
“I hired a new chef I’ve been training for the past couple of months,”Paetyn responded.
“I worked on software today. It still has a way to go,”Cruz replied.
“Speaking of software,”Erin stated, turning her attention to Cruz. “Before you leave, will you show me where I can add my billing information for the security system? I tried to find it in the app butcouldn’t.”
Cruz was not going to do that because he’d already paid for it. He and Paetyn wanted her to be safe, and keeping the security system had given them peace of mind. He knew telling her he wouldn’t let her pay for it would likely start a disagreement.
“We can talk about it after lunch,”Cruz responded.
She nodded at him. “I won’t be keeping either of you from returning to work if we talk about it later, right?”
“No, Ma?y. We don’t answer to anyone. When we want to leave, we leave.”he told her as Paetyn nodded.
They ate the rest of lunch, making small talk. Erin told them that she had plans to travel to a tattoo convention in a few weeks before looking for a station she could place in the second bedroom to take clients until she found a shop to work at.
Cruz and Paetyn shared a look at that. Neither of them thought that was a good idea, and Paetyn had informed Cruz he’d found a building that would make the perfect studio for her. They were waiting for the building owners to accept the offer. They’d decided to do so even if she told them no. It was another conversation they’d need to have with her at some point.
P aetyn returned to the apartment with the small black and purple gift bag. He’d placed it in the back seat of Cruz’s car when they’d left that morning. He sat on the couch with Cruz while Erin occupied the loveseat. He figured it would be best to give her some space when they began the conversation. They did not want her to feel as if they were crowding her.
“Cruz and I wanted to talk to you,”Paetyn stated.
Erin tucked one of her feet under her. “Okay. What’s up?”
Paetyn was never one for cliches, and while he was far more subtle than his counterpart, he didn’t believe in beating around the bush either. He was aware that Erin didn’t need him to. He also knew that while she may not have thought of the three of them together, her reactions to them, to the small things they’d done, and the one Cruz should have waited to do, said she at least was attracted to them separately.
“We’re all adults here; there’s no reason to sugarcoat this,”Paetyn started. “I know that it has to be obvious to you that Cruz and I are both attracted to you.”
Erin looked between him and Cruz. While most of their actions had been subtle, there was no way they could have been mistaken. If, somehow, they were, they planned on making it clear to her now.
“I…sort of got the feeling, yes,”Erin responded after a pause in the conversation. “I assumed that the two of you were just being flirts.”
Paetyn shook his head. “No. While we were flirting, we weren’t doing it to do so. It was with a purpose. And if I’m reading it correctly, you’re attracted to both of us.”
“I’d be lying if I said you both weren’t attractive and that I wasn’t attracted to you. However, if this is the sit-down where you ask me to choose, I won’t do it. I have no interest in coming between you, and I’m fine remaining friends,”Erin told them, and Paetyn couldn’t help but smile at her.
“We aren’t asking you to choose,”Cruz responded. “We don’t want you to because we do have intentions of you cumming between the two of us,”he finished with a smirk.
Paetyn watched Erin furrow her brow, her nose scrunching up in thought. He saw the exact moment that realization dawned on her.
“You mean…”she trailed off, and Paetyn figured she wanted one of them to say it to verify what she was thinking.
“We’d like for you to be in a relationship with both of us,”Paetyn responded. He chose the word relationship instead of date because what they wanted from her was exclusivity.
“I have so many questions,”Erin responded.
He had expected her to. However, if they answered every question she had in one sitting, it would probably take them hours and be information overload. On top of that, he was sure answers to several of her questions could be shown rather than told.
“We’ll answer three now and the rest when you decide.”
“Are the two of you dating?”Erin questioned.
“No, I think the correct term would be platonic life partners. We aren’t sexually or romantically attracted to one another, but we live under the same roof, make life decisions together, share finances, etc.”They grew up together, so it made sense; it came naturally.
“And women, apparently,”Erin stated. “Why is that?”
“We don’t share all women,”Cruz informed her. “Just those we’re looking to have a serious relationship with.”
“That sounds backward. Wouldn’t you share if you weren’t serious and not share when you are?”
“No,”Paetyn responded. “It’s like having two halves of a whole. We’re both different; we both lack something, but the other one makes up for that.”
“How did you even start this?”Erin inquired, waving a hand between the two of them.
“We had a threesome my freshman year in college, and somehow, that transitioned into the three of us dating. It just worked out. It was the best relationship either of us had been in,”Paetyn told her.
“When she broke up with us, we tried to go back to dating separately, but it wasn’t the same. This way, everyone involved gets what they need and want, even if they don’t know it at first,”Cruz added.
“How many women have you dated together?”Erin questioned.
“That’s four,”Paetyn told her. “But I’ll answer it. Six.”He then placed the gift bag on the table. “Inside is a gift. If you accept it, it’s you telling us yes. If you give it back, then we understand it’s a no.”Paetyn stood, as did Cruz. “We’ll give you time to decide.”
“See you later, Ma?y,”Cruz said as they headed towards the door.
They wanted to give her time to think without them around and make her decision. Regardless of what it was, they would still answer any other questions she may have if she wanted them to.
Once in Cruz’s car, headed home, Cruz broke the silence that settled over them.
“What do you think her decision will be?”
Paetyn turned to look at him. “I don’t know, but I’m sure she’ll think everything over before she comes to one.”Cruz nodded, and Paetyn turned back towards the windshield. “And don’t think you got off easy. I have no doubt she will bring up the security system again.”
“And when she does, I’ll tell her it’s already taken care of.”
Paetyn smirked because he knew that convincing her wouldn’t be that easy. Just like he was sure, them giving her a tattoo studio would take even more convincing.
Leaning back in his seat, Paetyn let his thoughts wander to the present they’d left Erin with. He had chosen it because it seemed fitting to the situation. It symbolized what essentially jumpstarted their pursuit when Paetyn knew it would have initially taken a few more weeks or months. Though, he knew there was no point in dwelling on it. The decision was solely Erin’s; they would accept it either way.
E rin was seated in the same position she’d been in since the men left, staring at the couch where they’d been seated. Of all the things she’d thought they wanted to talk about when Paetyn asked if they could come over. That had not been it. Dating them both would have been the last thing she thought the conversation would be about.
While they answered a few of her questions, she still had more—follow-ups to the ones she’d asked. She wanted a more detailed answer to why they shared women. Erin could understand that it worked out better for the two of them, and it just seemed to fall into place, but she wanted to know more.
It was something that they’d been doing for a long time—since Paetyn’s freshman year in college—which meant it had been almost twenty years. Six women over twenty years wasn’t a bad number. It also meant that the relationships had lasted a longwhile,or they didn’t often find women that they were both interested in.
Dating two men at the same time had never crossed Erin’s mind. The thought of it seemed a bit tiring. The way Erin assumed it was for people with a significant other who also had a little something on the side. However, it wouldn’t be as stressful if both people knew about each other. The relationship may go smoothly with nothing to hide and everything out in the open.
Erin knew that other factors would play a key role if she tried it. She would have to figure out how to spend equal time with each of them and keep up with their differences—what they each liked and disliked. It didn’t sound too difficult, but Erin knew that putting it into practice would be different.
She hadn’t seriously dated someone in a couple of years, and she wasn’t sure if the first time she got back into the dating game should be with two men. While they’d stated, those relationships worked out best for them. How was Erin supposed to know whether it would work out for her?
With that thought, she shook her head. The same way people found out anything. Try it to see. The question was, was she willing to try it? Willing to give being in a relationship with two men a shot when her relationships with one man never really panned out the way she thought they would.
Erin’s attention slid to the gift bag on her table. The decorative paper was arranged neatly and sticking out of the top. It was cute. Whatever was inside was supposed to be her answer to their question of whether or not she wanted to date them both.
Sliding up on the couch, she grabbed the bag and sat it in her lap. Moving the tissue paper aside, she peeked inside to see what she would be accepting or refusing. When she saw what it was, Erin couldn’t help the smile that overtook her face. She laughed lightly, shaking her head.
Erin placed the bag on the table before stretching out on the loveseat. They’d given her a big decision, and she wanted to think about every aspect of what came with telling them yes or no. It wasn’t a decisionshecould make lightly, and while they hadn’t given her a timeframe in which they wanted an answer, Erin didn’t want to keep them waiting forever. It would be unfair to all of them because it would mean she was indecisive, and she couldn’t walk the fence in a situation like this.
Picking up her phone, Erin opened her notes app. There was no better way to make her decision than to write down all the pros and cons of each option.
She couldn’t listen to her head or her heart separately. She needed them to be on the same accord and determine what would be best for her. Because while being with two unbelievably attractive men was appealing, that didn’t mean it suited her.
With a deep breath, Erin began to list all of the cons. Once she finished with them, she’d list each man’s pros separately. It made more sense for the pros of each to outweigh the cons because she was sure listing their pros together would automatically do that, and she wanted to be more definitive.
Erin moved around her kitchen several hours later, making herself dinner, when her phone rang. She’d listed several pros and cons over a couple of hours when something jumped out at her.
Picking the phone up, she looked at the screen, seeing that it was her grandmother calling. Erin couldn’t help but smile. Her grandmother had been calling her every day since the move. It always happened that way when Erin moved. Her grandmother would call daily for the first few weeks until she felt Erin was settled in enough.
“Hey, Grams,” Erin greeted.
“Hi, Sweet Girl. How are you?”
“I’m doing good. How are you? Today was Rum and Rummy with your friends, right?”
Her grandmother lived an active life, and she and her friends had themed days throughout the week at their retirement community. It kept them all young and gave them something interesting to do during the day and evenings.
“It was, and we had a blast. However, Helen made the drinks strong. I think she forgets that we all aren’t as versed in drinking as she is.”
Erin laughed. She wasn’t sure that her grandmother had ever been versed in drinking. More than one tended to make her tired, and it was easy for her to stumble into a nap depending on the liquor used.
While Erin cooked and ate, she spoke to her grandmother. She learned that she and her friends would play croquet tomorrow. It was the first time Erin had heard of her grandmother playing the game, but she figured it would be fun for her either way.
By the time the two ended the call, Erin was almost finished washing dishes. After drying her hands, she placed her phone on the countertop and then rinsed the dishes and put them into the dish drainer.
Once finished, she dried her hands again and grabbed her phone, leaving the kitchen. It was a little before eight, so she grabbed her sketch pad and created some new designs. She would be going to a convention in a couple of weeks and wanted new pieces for people to choose from if they didn’t know what they wanted when they arrived.
For the rest of the night, Erin worked on different designs. Stopping now and then when a pro or con to add to her list pushed its way to the forefront of her mind.