22. Yara
Yara
" W e're a throuple!" I said, reaching for Kai's hand on my left, and Casey's on my right and squeezing them, thrilled to begin announcing things to our friends and family. It had been two weeks since Kai had moved in, and I'd never felt closer to my two men. Having Kai beside me through the mundane parts of everyday life was lovely. I could kiss him whenever I wanted, touch him however I wanted.
And watch him fuck my husband all the goddamn time.
Not right at that moment, though. We were seated at a table at our favorite sushi restaurant with our closest friends, and I figured there was no time like the present to spit it out. "We're all really into each other, and we've decided to give it a go as a relationship."
I looked at the stunned faces of my closest friends, Rowan and Autumn, and their partners, Autumn's husband Joaquin, and Rowan's new boyfriend, Owen. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have invited Owen to this dinner. Awkward.
Autumn's mouth opened, then closed again, and I could tell my sweetheart of a friend was trying to think of something nice to say. To my surprise, Owen was the first to speak, deep dimples forming in his cheeks as he ginned widely.
"Dope," he said. "I can see it. You three make sense."
Rowan elbowed him, laughing. "You don't even know Casey and Kai."
"Nah, babe, there's a sort of synergy there." Owen was Chinese American and cute, but I'd never really understood what Rowan saw in him. He was younger than her, in his early twenties, and spoke with the slow, chill way of a skater boy, as if he was always a little stoned. I decided right then and there that I liked him.
Autumn finally recovered. "I agree. I think you three make sense. And if it makes you happy, I'm happy."
Joaquin was holding his wife's hand, gnawing on his bottom lip as he nodded from Casey to Kai. "So… do you two fuck, or is it just the guys on either side of Yara?"
"Honey!" Autumn gasped, elbowing her outspoken husband, who grinned.
"What? I think it's hot. That must be—" His words were muffled as his wife slapped her hand over his mouth.
"He supports you as well," she said calmly.
With her free hand, she reached for her glass of wine, silencing Joaquin in a way that made me suspect my sweet friend was a domme. Joaquin, a big, muscular Latino man with the most adorable deep dimples, would me a rather cute submissive.
"Cheers to you guys, and we wish you all the happiness in the world," Autumn said.
"Agreed," Rowan said, holding up her glass and clinking it with Autumn's. "I always wondered why you and Kai weren't a thing. This makes so much sense. Congrats guys!"
"Cheers! Thank you all!" Casey raised his glass, and we all followed suit, clinking glasses and taking sips. The warm burn of the sake made me smile.
"Thank you all for being so supportive. This was our first time out as a throuple, and it eases our hearts to know that we have a chance of our love being respected."
"Also, I'm bisexual," Casey added. "So you can figure out what that means, Joaquin."
Joaquin tapped his nose and winked, laughing.
With that, Casey leaned in and kissed Kai, the tenderness of it making my heart skip a beat. It was clear this wasn't their first kiss; there was an easy familiarity in the way their lips met, and the way Kai melted into Casey's touch, his body visibly relaxing as he cuddled closer.
"To new beginnings," Casey said, lifting his glass. We all joined in, clinking our glasses together in a silent promise of the journey ahead, and our meal resumed, at least until a throat cleared behind us.
"Professor—Doctor? Calloway!" I gasped, almost choking on my sake. "What brings you out tonight?"
He tilted his head, frowning. "I enjoy sushi."
"Right, um, I mean…"
"She's wondering if you'd like to join us," Casey said smoothly. Kai elbowed him under the table and he ignored it. "We're celebrating Kai's first day as a Greendale University professor, and our first official day as a throuple."
"A throuple?" Calloway stiffened, looking at the three of us. "That is beyond the pale. Have you discussed this with the school's administration—"
"I think you'll find that the school handbook states that, as an educational institution, it is important to be welcome of all sexualities, beliefs and gender identities. We're polyamorous, and we have different beliefs about love than some more conservative people. That doesn't make it inappropriate."
Kai had finally stood up to Calloway, and it was Calloway's turn to stammer. "I'm not conservative!"
"Well then," Rowan butted in. "I'm sure, as a progressive, that you'll acknowledge that humans did not always bond in pairs. There have been many types of relationships throughout history. Many indigenous cultures embrace polyamory and harmonious relationships within larger family groups."
"Says the coffee shop girl," Calloway said snidely, causing Rowan to bristle.
"Fuck off, Calloway. This is a private dinner," Kai said. "My boyfriend kindly invited you to join us, and you could have, I dunno, made some friends. Instead, you insulted our brilliant friend."
Calloway turned bright red, then huffed and stopped off, and I turned to find Casey beaming.
"What are you so happy about?" I asked.
"Kai just called me his boyfriend!" Casey said.
Kai laughed and rolled his eyes. "You are, aren't you?"
"Of course. And I'm your girlfriend. This is the beginning of something amazing," I said.
"To new beginnings," Casey said, lifting his glass in another toast. "I love you both."
Rowan reached out and put her hand on Kai's. "Can he really get you fired?"
"No, I talked to the dean of the art department, and told them I was in an unconventional relationship. I didn't explain the details, and she didn't ask, but she was the one who told me that the university had a strict non-discrimination policy."
"What about your job, Casey?" Joaquin asked. "Engineers seem pretty straightlaced.