Sexcathalon and Erototoxins [2/2]

My mouth dropped open at his revelation. I wanted to wiggle my index finger in my ear to clear it out because there was no way he said what I thought he said. I shrugged one shoulder, touching my chin to it as I looked at him. "How do you feel about it?" I asked, hoping for more clarification.

My question was followed by another long silence. I bit my lip as I watched his expressions changing. It was like I was watching him in slow-mo and the array of emotions crossing his face had me worried.

"I-I don't know," he mumbled.

I dropped my gaze to my lap and clasped my hands together. My heart hurt at his answer even though I knew I should've expected it. Ethan couldn't help his sexual preference. He was gay through and through and... and we'd been just friends for so long a transition to relationship status was a big mouthful.

"Relationships are complicated."

Okay.

That wasn't what I was expecting him to say.

"Relationships are complicated?" I repeated what Ethan said.

He took my hand. "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about this myself. I mean, even before Seth brought it up."

I gaped at him like a fish. "Really?"

Ethan rolled his eyes and lifted his arm. His finger popped me gently under the chin, making me close my mouth. He took a step closer, still between me sitting in the passenger seat and the car door. "I had to. After you asked me to—"

"Stop pussy-footing around," I interrupted him. "Are you attracted to me?"

He tilted his head to the side and let loose a slow smile as he stared at me. "You're so pushy," he said softly.

I pleaded with him silently. I needed to know because what he was offering me—to belong to him and Seth and them to me in this way—seemed too good to be true and if he didn't say it out loud...

"Cassie, don't overthink this."

"How can I not? I want—" I stopped before I could spill the beans and turned in the passenger seat so that my legs were dangling out. I reached for him and pulled him between my legs, wrapping my arms around his waist tightly. My head pillowed against his muscular stomach muffling any further words as I hugged him close.

His hand dropped to the top of my head before sliding down to my shoulders and returning my tight hug. He didn't pull away, but he did lift my face so that I wasn't buried in the material of his white t-shirt. I settled my chin against him while looking up at him. His hands cupped the sides of my face and his thumbs caressed the curve of my cheekbones on either side.

"Cassie," he whispered. "You're so important to me. I think about the three of us being together and I do want it. I want it more than I thought I could ever possibly want it, but on the flip side, you're almost too important to me to do this. What if something goes wrong? I don't want to lose either of you."

I smiled and tears blurred my vision. "You'll never lose me. I can promise you that. I'm stuck to you like super-glue. If it doesn't work, we'll get over it but we'll always be friends, Ethan. I promise, even if I'm the hurt, lonely party in the end."

With a half-hearted grin, he knelt down so that we were eye-level to each other. "And if I end up the lonely party?"

My eyes softened. "Seth wouldn't choose me over you. You don't have to worry about that. He likes me, he doesn't love me."

Ethan chuckled. "You're a very easy person to love, Cassie."

"So are you, but a relationship between three people isn't about choosing one over the other. Obviously, we'll have to work it out. There'll be kinks—not the good kind—but that's what a relationship is about. This will just be new grounds for us," I said and licked my bottom lip as a new thought surfaced. "Society's against stuff like this, so I think we should keep it quiet until we find our footing with each other too."

Ethan snorted. "No problem here. My family still doesn't know I'm gay, Cass," he paused and frowned slightly, "Well, bisexual, I guess."

"Okay, but your friends know," I said, but he shook his head and tried to talk. I covered his mouth with my hand. "They do know. They don't care, Ethan. It doesn't matter that you never said it outright to them, they know. They talked to me about it, and before you get butt-hurt they brought it to the table, not me. You know I'm a crap liar. They called me out. And I'm sure your dad knows too. It's your mother that we will have to work on, but after we've figured it out for ourselves."

"Why my mom?"

I scowled at him. "I know you've seen the big white wedding book, right?"

Ethan groaned. "Oh God, I forgot about that thing. I still don't know how she got those pictures of you."

I nodded, pursing my lips to the side. "I concluded a while ago that she stalked me."

"What?" he asked around a half-gasp, half-chuckle.

"Still does stalk me, she's taken up to stalking you too, now that you don't live with them anymore. Have you seen the new 'additions'?"

Ethan slowly shook his head, his eyebrows snapping together.

"Oh yeah, talk about crazy. I love your mom, but she's got some far-fetched ideas about us. I have no idea how she made our kids... must've been some kind of digital photo-shop deal."

"So we're not only married in this book but now we have a child?"

I held up four fingers, trying to keep a solemn face as I nodded.

"Four!" Ethan cried out. "She's nuts! I'm not having four kids."

"Who you tellin'? I'm the one that's gotta pop 'em out. I don't want four kids either."

Ethan shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know how Dad deals with her some days."

"That's the thing about love—so I hear—you're supposed to take the bad with the good. And-and I do want us to be together. If you and Seth are willing to make this work with me, then so am I."

Ethan's face shifted, became more serious, as he stared at me. "Are you sure about this?"

"Are you and Seth sure?"

Ethan nodded without hesitancy, "Yeah."

I couldn't hold it in anymore and I squealed with happiness, launching myself at him in such a forceful way that he had braced his hands against the roof of the car or he'd fall. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs around his lower back, and held on to him like I was on the Titanic and he was my life jacket. He laughed as he shifted his weight so that he fell into the door instead of face-first into the roof and so that his arms could wrap around my waist to hold me in place.

"I take it you're okay with it," Ethan said, still laughing.

Instead of saying I was okay with it, I pulled slightly away. I moved my hands to cup his face, letting him see the utter devotion I was going to have in this relationship to them both, and then I pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss that left us both breathless. When I pulled away, Ethan's eyes were fluttering open and his face was flushed.

"I'm more than okay with it. Now, let's go tell Seth."

Ethan turned with me, still holding me as he kicked his leg out to shut the passenger car door. The car beeped signaling Ethan had locked it and his shoes squeaked on the pavement as he swiveled around.

"Seth is already in bed waiting for us. He didn't have any doubt you'd say yes."

"He's so conceited," I said with an amused snort. "He's not really in bed waiting for us, is he?"

Ethan nodded, "Said he'd be naked and waiting."

I bit my lip with anticipation, and the erotic image of white sheets slinking down his hips swamped me. "Mm, maybe you should walk faster," I said.

Ethan laughed again, but he knew I was serious. We were at the elevator in record time, but when the tan-colored sliding doors opened to reveal a woman, we both paused.

"Mom?"

Ethan's mother's eyes widened as she noticed the way Ethan was holding me, and she screamed, startling a yelp out of me. Ethan just rolled his eyes.

"Well," she said, after her impromptu screech of joy, "it's about time! Oh just wait until I tell your father!"

"Ma!" Ethan interrupted her.

She stepped forward and patted Ethan on his check then gave me a quick corner-of-the-mouth kiss. "Darling, I brought you some groceries. Not a lot, just a few extra things. That handsome boy of yours, Seth, helped me put them away," she paused to fan her face, "I must've caught him just coming out of the shower because all he had was a towel around him when I walked in."

"Ma!" Ethan's face was lobster red and all I could do was shake my head in disbelief.

She frowned. "Let's not tell your father that part."

"Oh my God!" Ethan cried out mortified.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Ethan. Nothing happened! He's very handsome though. I think I understand the whole... what is it called?"

I snorted and shook my head. "Cougar, I think. Where an older woman goes after a younger man?" I asked, now biting my lip to keep the wide smile off my face as Ethan shot me a glare.

"That's it!"

"Cassie, please don't encourage her," Ethan said.

His mother dropped her hands to her hips. "Okay, okay, I'll stop," she said. "I'm so happy you two are getting together. Don't rush things and ruin it though. I have very specific plans for your wedding." She stopped and tapped a finger against the face of her watch. "Now look, I've got to run, but I want you three to come over for dinner sometime this next week. Okay? Promise!"

"We will," I answered for Ethan.

He gave me another tiny scowl but kissed his mother's cheek as she left and power walked towards her car. Ethan dropped his arms from around my waist, no longer holding me up. All that kept me in place was my arms and legs, which were wrapped around him.

"Get off," he grumbled.

I dropped a laughing kiss to the tip of his nose. "Don't pout. Seth and I will put you back in the mood."

"She was checking out my--I mean our--boyfriend. You aren't a little disgusted?"

"It's cute. Besides, she's so in love with your dad I'm surprised she even notices the opposite sex."

Ethan harrumphed and I wiggled against him, encouraging him to take a step forward into the elevator. "Why does it have to be Seth when she does notice though?" he asked, faking a gag.

"Oh stop!" I smacked his shoulder and then snorted as I thought about Seth and the little adventure he had. "Poor Seth," I said and chuckled.

Ethan nodded. "He's probably curled in a corner somewhere. Might have to get him back in the mood too," Ethan paused and wrapped his arms back around me, settling his lower hand against my ass and patting it. His already flushed face turned a brick red as he quickly pulled his hand away like my ass had scalded it. "Whoops, sorry."

I smiled and put his hand back in place. He gave a sheepish grin and squeezed my ass cheek before talking. "This is gonna take some getting used to."

"We'll get there... sooner than you think," I whispered against his cheek.

He nodded and pushed the elevator button to make the doors open again. When he walked us in, he tipped me towards the button panel and I tapped the one for the fifth floor.

"So," Ethan started, "are you up for it? I don't want you to think you have to right now. A lot has happened today, so we would understand..."

"Don't even!"

"I'm just saying I'm not sure you're ready to get both Seth and me back in the mood. I mean what we just went through was fairly traumatizing."

"Your mother is not traumatizing."

"Well, we'll just ask Seth how much he appreciated her impromptu visit then."