Frisky Freefall – By Michelle Mars #2
Matias and my coworker came running up to us, asking if we were okay.
Both stopped and stared as I, too, began to laugh.
What can I say? Artemis has an infectious sense of humor.
Besides all that, she felt really good nestled between my thighs and didn’t seem to be in any rush to change our current position.
My coworker wandered away to check on the next group to land, but Matias stayed by our side, and I could feel the charged bubble that formed around the three of us.
It was so tangible that I was sure if I stuck my tongue out, I’d be able to taste it in the air.
Once we recovered from our amusement at the situation, we stood up, unlatching everything that needed unlatching.
Suddenly, Artemis tensed. This was when she would realize the danger she had briefly faced and freak out.
“I guess I got the crash landing I was so worried about, but all I crashed into was you. Are you okay?” Artemis looked at me for reassurance, and I didn’t want her to worry for even a second.
“I am perfectly fine. I’ve landed harder a few times before. I was mainly worried about you. I hope you had a fun time up there.” I grew tense as well, waiting for her response.
“Soaring with you through the sky was the most incredible experience.” Was there an emphasis on the “you,” or was I overthinking it?
She continued, “Thank you for helping me overcome my fears at the beginning.” Turning to Matias, she said, “You, unlike me, looked like you were having the time of your life from start to finish.” She playfully nudged him with her elbow.
He winked and replied, “Voló mi alma. My soul soared along with my body. It was amazing.”
I busied myself with detaching and collecting everything as they clearly hit it off.
Who could blame them? I was experiencing g-forces from how hard I was falling for them both.
We headed into the skydiving facility, where they were surrounded and greeted by everyone from the group they’d arrived with.
Stories of each person’s adventures and excitement were recounted in animated chatter until, one by one, they began to break off and head home.
As sad as it made me, I thought that would be the end of it.
It took me a bit to finish everything I needed to do after the tandem jump.
I accomplished it all while feeling a bit down for having found and lost them both in a single afternoon.
I wished them well and hoped they would at least have found each other through today’s outing.
Okay, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that was what I was telling myself I should feel, all while actually being quite grumpy that they would get to have each other while I was left with the memory of their beautiful smiles.
Matias had dimples when he laughed, and Artemis had the most kissable lips.
Their group was the last thing on my agenda at work, so I grabbed all of my things from the lockers and headed out the door, waving to everyone as I passed. To my complete surprise and delight, outside the entry door, I was greeted by dimples and kissable lips.
Matias stood with Artemis, their expressions full of what I could only describe as hope.
His tight, curly brown hair, light brown complexion, and deep brown eyes drew me in as they had earlier in the day.
When he spoke in his soft voice and asked, “Would you be interested in joining us for dinner tonight?” there was only one answer I could possibly give.
“I would love that.” While I sounded nonchalant in my response, my insides were doing a victory lap. Most unpredictable day ever.
DINNER FOR THREE: MATIAS
If someone had told me that morning that by the end of the night, I would be having dinner with not one but two beautiful women, I would have laughed.
I was not known for having much game, as I preferred the solitude of my books most of the time.
In fact, I still couldn’t explain what had gotten into me when I signed up for the adventure dating group for skydiving.
I suppose a part of me thought that joining would shake me out of my normally scheduled programming so I could experience something–anything, really–new.
Recently, it came to my attention that, while I was buried in the stacks, my life had the audacity to pass me by.
Something had to change. Companionship, combined with a daring adventure, seemed like a significant departure from my day-to-day routine.
So, in a spur-of-the-moment decision, I found myself having coffee and meeting Artemis.
An awesome day made even more awesome upon meeting Yael.
Then, the exponential of awesome when it became obvious that they were both really into each other. An awesome sandwich of a day.
The librarian in me cringed at my own thoughts, which were apparently limited to the word “awesome.” However, even librarians can have runaway thoughts filled with high emotional impact and low language fluency.
At least I could be proud of the words actually escaping my mouth.
I’m not sure who that was that had the cojones to invite both of these incredible women out to dinner because it normally wouldn’t be me, but I didn’t want to let either slip through my fingers.
I called a friend who co-owned a lovely restaurant along the beach in Santa Barbara, and she managed to squeeze us in for dinner.
We agreed to meet there and each took off in our respective cars.
On the way, my anxiety about whether I could hold both of their interests started to make itself known.
I could regale them with the things I read, but I wasn’t sure if they were even readers.
It had been some time since my last girlfriend decided to bail, and when she did, she undermined my confidence by telling me how boring I was to be with.
What if she was right? Gah. I hated letting her affect me in any way.
I started reciting the self-affirmations I’d worked on with my therapist: “I deserve love. I can give love. Boring is subjective, not an objective truth. I can find people who appreciate everything about me, including the part of me she found boring.”
When I pulled into the parking lot, both of my brunette dinner companions were waiting for me.
They looked stunning in the soft golden light of the setting sun.
I chose to be bold once more and gave them both a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Shall we go inside?” I offered them both an arm, and as they wound their own around mine, I settled into the same ease and comfort I had felt with them earlier in the day.
See? Nothing to worry about.
The hostess greeted us with a look of curiosity, but we all confidently smiled back.
She shrugged it off and, menus in hand, escorted us over to our reserved window seat for three.
The owners had come up with the coolest idea for an adjustable table arrangement.
What starts out as a circular table for a larger group can be folded over onto itself through an origami-like design, forming a half-circle that sits right up against the glass.
This design allowed us to see the view and each other at all times.
A charged quiet descended on our little group as we all focused on the menus, deciding what we wanted to eat.
My instinct was to fill in the silence, and the stress of not doing so had me reading about the main courses for the third time without comprehension.
I finally gave up and decided that the salmon in puff pastry sounded delicious and was the only thing my brain retained.
Yael broke the silence before I could. “Would you mind if I’m direct with you both?”
“Not at all. I prefer directness.” Artemis smiled at Yael as she said this.
“I appreciate plain speaking as well,” I responded. I never understood the game playing some people do. What is the point of not putting your authentic self out there? It honestly sounds exhausting to try to pretend to be someone I’m not.
Yael smiled at us and said, “I am wildly attracted to you both, and I hope that you invited me to this dinner as more than just a gesture of gratitude to one of your instructors today. If that isn’t the case, that’s okay too, and I appreciate the meal and company, but if you both feel the same as I do, I’d rather know that at the start of the evening so I can set my expectations accordingly. ”
Wow. When she said “direct,” she truly meant laying herself bare before us.
I was blown away by such open communication.
No ambiguity. No hedging. Just a simply expressed statement of what she desired.
Thank goodness, it aligned perfectly with what I wanted as well.
I wondered what Artemis would say to all of this.
She’d agreed with my idea to invite our instructor out for dinner, but we hadn’t really dived too deeply into the why.
For all I knew, she was just in it for a night, and that was all. That wasn’t what I was looking for.
Both Yael and myself looked to Artemis when she gently cleared her throat.
“I…” She sounded a bit nervous, but after taking a deep breath, she continued.
“I think… no. I want… no. I am interested,” she nodded to herself, seemingly affirming she’d landed on the correct words, “I’m interested in getting to know both of you better and hope that what feels like a promising beginning can potentially lead to a three-way future.
” She’d added her own vulnerable truth to the conversation.
I wanted to honor how open they were being with me and each other, but the devil on my shoulder won.
What came out was, “Any relationship with me is a relationship with my books, so I hope you’re open to a four-way relationship.
” Metaphorically, my mental palm was slapping my mental forehead like it was a ping-pong tournament. Humor was a deflection, and I knew it.