Page 2 of Any Which Way

Of course, being in love is amazing. And seeing the two people that I care for most share that bond makes me want to burst with joy at times. But it’s so much deeper than that. Watching people love one another, truly care for one another… It’s the most beautiful thing in the world, and I want to experience it in as many forms as possible while I’m alive.

I wait for Eleri to leave, giving Kai a few moments to settle. It’s rare he and I spend time alone in the room Eleri and I call ours but not unheard of. Just as it’s not odd for one or both of us to sometimes spend time in the separate room Kai keeps in the home the three of us share in Ellison Harbor.

“Are you sure you don’t want to…”

I don’t get to finish, Kai cutting me off. “Were you trying to snoop in my belongings? You’re never going to put so much as a toe on the top rung of the stepstool again, are you, little troublemaker?”

Ugh. Even now when my mind is scattered like a handful of hay in the wind, his voice goes straight to my core, commanding every ounce of my attention when all I want to do is confront him about what he’s hiding away in those plastic bins.

“I suppose not.”

It might not have been my intention to sneak a look inside his private belongings, but I’m sure as hell thinking about it now.

His derisive snort has me stifling a giggle.

“You might be sporting a goose egg on that cute noggin, Brynn, but don’t think for a second that I won’t turn that ass rosy red if you continue to sass me.”

I squeal, trying to catapult myself off the bed. Kai’s faster, grabbing me and tackling me to the mattress as I explode into a fit of giggles. “No! I’ll never step on the top rung of the stepstool again!”

Kai might win this round, the pictures I saw pushed somewhere to the back of my mind as his fingers find their way under my shirt, tickling my sides as I squirm and squeal.

But of everything my relationships with Eleri and Kai have taught me, it’s that communication is paramount. And even if I’m afraid of confrontation, at the risk of keeping both my lovers happy, a little discomfort is worth it in the end.

Besides, even Kai and his teasing fingers can only keep me distracted from the truth for so long.

The late morning sun pours in through the oversized storefront windows of Steeped in Pride.

All around me, people bustle about. Several couples sit at cozy bistro tables to the left of the entrance, a nearby counter serving as the point of sale for patrons choosing to dine in. To the right, a small retail section carries a wide variety of teas—both loose leaf and in the more consumer-friendly tea bag—along with small gifts and gizmos for the sophisticated and novice tea drinker alike.

An aroma of peppermint and bergamot collides in the air with the scent of the baked in-house pastries and scones. While they would normally have me salivating, today they do little to bring forth any appetite.

It has been nearly two weeks since Brynn’s performance ofSwan Lake—also known as her tumble off the stepstool and into a mountain of photos neither of us ever expected to find. And in those two weeks, I have been able to sense the walls going up around Kai all while Brynn desperately tries to claw them down.

Somethinghasto give.

I can’t keep living in a house where both my long-term partners are unhappy. Not even a first date with a beautiful new woman has been enough to make Kai smile the way he normally does. Nor has a new painting project or puzzle helped Brynn to stop the nervous energy that seems to radiate off her in waves.

Thankfully, I don’t have time to further spiral when a beautiful woman I recognize as Ryan steps up to where I am standing at the small check out podium on the retail side of Steeped in Pride. We don’t cross paths more than a few times each year, but as both the owner of the building I rent space from as well as the owner of Glittering Vices, we’ve become casual acquaintances over the years, and I always make a point to keep her favorite darjeeling tea on hand.

“Anything else I can get for you?”

Her smile is near blinding in a way that I know instantly makes people feel at ease. As I place her items in a canvas tote and run her card, she takes a flyer from a folder and places it on the podium. “Actually, I was hoping I might be able to leave you with a flyer for your community board for my upcoming workshops.”

I pass over her tote before reaching for the flyer, quickly reading its contents as a plan begins to form in my mind. “This is a fantastic idea. My partners and I have been to Glittering Vices several times and have always enjoyed ourselves and the performances. In fact, could I grab a second one of those?”

“Got someone in mind you think could benefit from learning the art of radical self-love and acceptance?”

I can’t help but smile as she hands over a second flyer. “As it happens, I think I just might.”

I’m thankful the morning passes quickly after Ryan leaves, a steady stream of customers coming and going. With my store manager, Polly, and two other employees, we handle food and beverage orders for the cafe and retail shop while chatting withboth new and returning customers. I order inventory for the upcoming summer and place the last of the spring products on sale. And when I look up after a particular busy stretch of the early afternoon to see Kai leaning against the far wall of the tea shop, I smile, excited to share a quick lunch with him before he returns to his office.

His strides quickly eat up space between us, and before I can open my mouth to say hello, he lifts his hand to present me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers I hadn’t previously seen. Peonies and ranunculus in shades of pale pinks and purples mix with light yellow carnations. Bits of greenery fill in the spaces between the blooms, and a thick butcher’s paper holds the bouquet together tied with a ribbon from the local florist.

“Please tell me you have some of those cinnamon-toffee bagels? It’s all I’ve been thinking about since you texted me.” His smile is enough to melt the panties off most women. Clearly, not even I was immune to his charms, and now here I am three years later not just sharing a partner with my wife but sharing amanwith Brynn.

Our relationship developed much slower than the initial one that grew between Kai and Brynn, but over time, he’s become just as important to me as Brynn is, and I couldn’t see myself existing without either of them in my life.

We grab food from the counter and take a seat at one of the small tables. Thankfully, the rush has passed, only a few stragglers still shopping on the retail side of the store. Kai takes a bite of his bagel, managing to cram about a quarter of the dough into his mouth in one bite. Meanwhile, I pick at my food, silently praying I’m not misreading the situation we’ve found ourselves in, that I’m not about to send not only my relationship with Kai to a watery demise but Brynn’s relationship with him as well.

---