Page 53 of Advanced Chemistry

“You are living the dream, Chase. A recurring threesome,” said Amos from his dressing room.

I wish I could feel as ecstatic about the arrangement as my friends were, but the tense moment from the morning made me concerned that it was two-and-done.

“To be perfectly frank, I don’t know if it’ll happen again,” I said. “I thought we had a good time, but I got a sense that Sebastian seemed displeased.”

“Displeased? Did he not finish?” Everett asked.

“Oh, he did. He had a good time, but he seemed like he didn’t.” Typically, I wasn’t at a loss for words. I was in exception territory. “When we met up at a bar, he seemed not to want me there, but then we still had sex. And he was very much engaged. And then we showered together, where he was also very engaged. And then the morning after, he went back to acting upset that I was there. Is there such a thing as a split personality that only comes out during sex?”

“Sex can be a sort of truth serum,” Amos said.

“Truth serum?” I asked, intrigued. “Go on.”

“It can be a place where you shuck your inhibitions and let your true self out. You can act differently than you would normally and say things you might’ve been too afraid to say.”

“Because the chemicals flooding our nervous system overpower our brain’s ability to regulate our actions?” I asked, even more intrigued.

“When you fuck, your prefrontal cortex basically goes rogue,” Everett said with his usual directness.

“Interesting.” I sat on the tiny stool in my dressing room and stared at myself in the long mirror. Perhaps this flood of chemicals was skewing my feelings on Anton and Sebastian. I liked spending time with them, not just for sex, and I liked the way I felt in their arms, not just for sex. I wanted to spend more with them, not just for sex, even though our relationship was supposed to be just for sex. It was all very confusing.

I left the dressing room in my comfortable clothes but carrying a feeling of discomfort over the strange dynamic developing between Anton, Sebastian, and me.

My friends and I walked out of the store into the warm, sunny afternoon of downtown Sourwood. People were out and about, enjoying the weather. The decorative flower beds at street corners were in full bloom.

“Threesome Rule Number One.” Amos held up a finger, returning my attention to Sebastian’s odd behavior. “Never get in the middle of drama for the sake of sex.”

“Do you have an actual list of rules for threesomes? Did you compile this yourself or source it from somewhere?” I asked.

“I’ve never been in one, but I have gotten in the middle of awkward situations. Same rules apply, just with less clothing. It sounds like you might be a wedge between Anton and Sebastian. They’re close friends, right?” he asked.

“And business partners.” It was starting to make sense. Sebastian and Anton were under a lot of pressure to land a large client. Sebastian was probably worried about that and frustrated that Anton just wanted to fool around. “I wonder if our gatherings are distracting them from their vending machine business.”

“It could be. Maybe they’re feeling weird about having sex with the same guy. What if they think you have a preference for one over the other,” Julian said.

We walked down the street and stopped at a gazebo that in the fall would be overflowing with pumpkins.

“Do you?” Amos asked.

“No. I like them equally, in different ways. Anton is fun and charming. Sebastian is more reserved. I think we’re more alike.”

“It sounds like they’re dealing with their own drama. Drama can be a boner killer,” Everett said. Drama equated to mess, which I did not want in my life. “Are you sure you want to get in the middle of that for the sake of fun sex?”

It was a fair question. My gut was only giving me one inconvenient answer.

“Yes,” I said. Even though I didn’t want to deal with any mess, an unusually loud voice in the depths of my heart compelled me to keep seeing them. “I don’t want to stop,” I said with a resolve that took me aback.

“You don’t want to come between friends. Unless the position calls for it.” Everett bit back a smirk. “You know what I mean, though. Maybe it’s best to back off for a bit, let them figure their shit out.”

“True.” Everett had a point, which my brain agreed with, but my heart begged to ignore.

“It all sounds delicate, so it might be best to give things time.” Julian sat back on the gazebo bench. He, too, made a valid point, which I, too, wanted to ignore.

“You’re right,” I said. “But it also might be worth trying to be a peacemaker.”

In other words, forge deeper into the mess like a soldier advancing into enemy territory. This made zero sense, yet I could not stop the words from tumbling out of my traitorous mouth.

“You’re choosing to get further in between these two? That is incredibly illogical,” Everett said. “I’m totally here for it, but that’s because I’m a messy bitch who craves drama. But you’re…not.”

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