Page 13 of You're Ours

He was having such a good time with Jackson and Sky. He could honestly see himself continuing on the way they were for a very long time. People didn’t usually seem to want that, though. They liked a sense of stability and promises of the future.

He could admit that he wouldn’t mind some stability. It would be nice to know what he would be doing on any given weekend. He could even see himself making a few promises if it meant they weren’t going to get tired of him and cast him aside. If they wanted this to continue as much as he did, that surely wasn’t a bad thing, right?

Clearly he wanted to be able to call themhis, but…“boyfriend” specifically? He hadn’t had a lot of success with that before. The word didn’t bring him joy or comfort. If anything, it made the sweat accumulating under his arms begin to drip down his sides.

“I mean, we’re sort of already doing that, right?” Tyler asked, a tension headache threatening at the base of his skull. He really didn’t want things between them to end, which meant he better not mess everything up this time. “I don’t exactly have the best track record with this. I think maybe we should talk more about what that means? Like, expectations and whatnot?”

Jackson nodded. “Of course. Why don’t you look at your schedule, and you can let me know when you’re free next?—”

“Or! Maybe I can actually get your number, and we can start a group text?” Sky interrupted, a hint of something leaking into his words as he stared up at Tyler. It wasn’t anger, and he didn’t exactly look sad, but there was something deeper, a past wound or deep-seated anxiety that Tyler hadn’t seen in him before.

Without stopping to think, Tyler stepped forward and pulled Sky into his arms. “Of course, sweetheart. Sorry I didn’t think to give it to you earlier. I’ve gotten used to going through Jackson, but I’d love to text with you.”

Sky’s smile lit Tyler up inside in a different way than Jackson’s did. It bubbled up in his belly, traveling up his throat and mouth, lifting his lips into a crooked smile that he pressed into Sky’s forehead with a kiss.

Sky’s slim fingers dug into the downy sides of Tyler’s coat. He accepted first the forehead kiss and then a cheek kiss and finally a brief kiss on the lips. When Tyler pulled back, Sky was smiling his own crooked grin.

They exchanged numbers, and by the time Tyler arrived home, they’d already exchanged dozens of texts in their group chat. Sky had also started a solo text chain with him, where he’d sent Tyler a cute picture of himself to use as his contact photo.

While both Jackson and Sky seemed eager to find time to finish their conversation, Tyler was busy the whole next weekend, going to see his parents with Clara and Stephanie. He decided that maybe he would use the extra time to think about what he could bring to their relationship conversation.

That proved a little hard to do, however, because his week was unexpectedly full of Sky and Jackson. It was as if just broaching the potential of being boyfriends had opened a door to a new part of their relationship.

He spent all Monday night in a texting debate with Sky over their favorite movies. Sky pulled Jackson in near the end, who insisted they all go see a matinee movie that Thursday after work.

Their meeting with the higher-ups had gone well—so well, in fact, that Tyler was tasked with launching a new project by the end of the week. He stayed late Tuesday and Wednesday, and Jackson inexplicably stayed late as well, even though he wasn’t on the project.

He went into Thursday evening sleep-deprived and uncertain what to expect in terms of PDA. He tried to keep his expectations low, even though he was finding it harder and harder to keep his hands to himself whenever he was around Jackson or Sky. He loved the way Sky so easily fit in his arms and against his side. Jackson’s steady presence and solid body made Tyler feel safe in a way he’d never craved before. Even better than the two of them alone, though, was the two of them together. Lying between them in bed or squeezing together on their couch were some of the happiest moments he’d had in ages.

As they walked into the movie theater, a bucket of popcorn, two extra large sodas, and a bottle of water in hand, Sky darted in front of Tyler, and Jackson fell into step behind him. They filed into their row and took their seats with Tyler happily in the middle. The previews droned on for almost twenty minutes, but Tyler couldn’t care less because he had Sky’s hand in his and Jackson’s hand on his thigh. They changed positions a few times throughout the movie, passing popcorn and napkins between them, but there wasn’t a single second where one of them wasn’t touching him.

When Sky demanded they get ice cream afterwards, Tyler said yes solely so he could keep holding Sky’s hand all the way to the shop. Jackson offered to split a scoop with Tyler, since neither of them had the biggest sweet tooths, and their hands bumped and brushed as they shared the dessert.

It was clear that one thing he brought to every relationship he’d ever had was physical intimacy. It felt so much easier to express his feelings with a sweet caress, anxious squeeze, or horny grip. It wasn’t that hecouldn’ttalk about his feelings, it was more that, in most of his past relationships, he’d never gotten the chance to.

All his past relationships had started off the same: hot and fast, with physical intimacy forming the bedrock of their connections. While he always felt like the emotional parts of his relationships moved at a reasonable speed, inevitably, one day he and his partners would get in a fight about it. He would be told he was a player and wasn’t capable of deeper intimacy and then his relationship would abruptly end before he had a chance to try and explain that, to him, theywereemotionally connecting. Every person he’d ever dated he’d enjoyed spending time with, whether they were being physical or not, and he thought about them when they weren’t around and wanted to see them at least once or twice a week. That never seemed to be enough, though. They always wanted this elusive “romance” that apparently Tyler had yet to master.

When he arrived at his parent’s house that weekend, Clara asked for updates on his life, and he hesitated to tell her about Jackson and Sky. She could be a little hard on him, and he didn’t think this new delicate thing between him and the other men could take the scrutiny.

He admitted that he would call himself off the market, but when Stephanie tried to inquire further, he changed the subject to her promotion at work. Stephanie was an architect, and she was finally being given a project to lead on her own. She’d actually met Clara while working on a large team responsible for redesigning the central courtyard of Clara’s office.

He could still remember the day they’d met. Clara had come bursting into his apartment, thrown herself down on the couch, and declared, “I have met the love of my life! She’s an absolute bombshell, without a doubt the smartest person at her company, and when she looked at me, I’m pretty sure my ovaries exploded.”

Tyler obviously hadn’t understood any of that aside from her being attractive and intelligent. He’d dutifully nodded along and somewhat sarcastically told her that he couldn’t wait to be the best man at her wedding.

A year and a half later, he did just that, and now four years later, he was bouncing their beautiful daughter on his knee. She had his eyes, which Clara always pointed out. That was pretty much the only thing she’d inherited from his sperm donation. The rest was all Stephanie, who had used her eggs for the IVF treatment.

Tyler wasn’t sure if he wanted to have kids, and if he did, he was quite content with adoption, but it was pretty cool that there was a little munchkin running around with his DNA. It had also been one of the proudest moments of his life, allowing his sister to share DNA with her child.

Layla had a way of melting his heart, and by the end of the trip, Tyler finally got up the courage to tell his sister about his new relationship.

“You’ve always seemed to end up in relationships with people who don’t want the same thing you do,” Clara said as she struggled to get Layla’s arms into her coat. “You always seem so happy when relationships start but then you get into disagreements about what commitment looks like, what your goals are, and how you actually feel about each other.”

Stephanie nodded along quietly.

With a quick glance at her wife, Clara continued. “Whether that means you aren’t meant for long-term relationships or if you just keep getting into them with the wrong people remains to be seen, but I hate seeing you hurt. I hope you have some of the tough conversations earlier this time and really figure out what it is you want–and if that isn’t a serious relationship, that’s okay! There are so many different kinds of relationships out there: sexual, loving, familial, and platonic. They all have a place in your life, and none are better than the others.”

“We’ll still love you no matter what sort of relationships you have,” Stephanie added. “If they’re meant to be in your life, I think they’ll want to accept whatever relationship will make you the happiest.”

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