Mel hadnt expected the rings. It caught her off-guard, but in the good way.
After they were finished and everyone had congratulated them, they moved to the side, out of the way of the liquid nitrogen demo so her men could untie her.
She stared at the rings on their hands, the one on hers.
They all had the same one.
The missing piece had slipped into place, finally. Even before theyd been having s.e.x"and shed literally had more s.e.x in the past week than shed had in the last five years of her marriage to Mike"she felt like she was part of something bigger. Not just friends, but a family.
Once she had put her sundress on"without panties"Marcia raced over to hug her. Im so happy for you three! She hugged Don, then Carl.
Yeah, well, you should be. You worked your a.s.s off getting us together.
No, I worried my a.s.s off for months hoping you would end up together, she corrected. I was beginning to think it wouldnt happen.
All good things in their time, Mel reminded her. You would have hurt me in the bad way if Id jumped into the wrong relationship.
Yes, but these guys had my seal of approval from the start, she said. I knew they were perfect for you, and you for them.
You didnt even know I was kinky a couple of weeks before I met them.
True, but I had a feeling this was the right thing for all three of you. She grinned. And I was right. Ha! Tilly and Eliza arent the only matchmakers.
This isnt a compet.i.tion, Carl said, half-joking.
He knew some of the Venture women were every bit as compet.i.tive as their men.
Maybe more.
I didnt say it was. But Im glad to say I have a one hundred percent success rate. She smirked.
One out of one isnt a rate, Mel said. Its luck.
Quit p.i.s.sing on my parade, Marcia said, then dropped her voice, turning serious. Im glad this worked out. You all deserve to be happy. She hugged them, then hurried off to see why one of the volunteers was waving at her from the office door.
Mel snuggled against Don, pulling Carl against her back. This was something shed enjoyed, even when they were just friends. At least once a day, theyd had a group hug.
Now, she could sleep like this, with one of them on either side of her.
Never alone. Not anymore.
And now, they all matched.
Do you like the rings? Carl asked.
I love them. One ring.
The preeeeciousss, Gilo quietly joked from nearby.
Tilly swatted at him, making him and all three of them laugh.
Chapter Thirteen.
Six months into their new arrangement and being collared to them, and Mel wouldnt change a thing.
If her men were telling her the truth, they were happy, too.
The men had given Mel the master bedroom, and most nights, the three of them all slept together in the same bed, when she was home. Usually, if she was traveling and away from home, one of them slept in another room. She didnt know how they decided that, but it apparently varied from trip to trip. With the third bedroom now being used for storage and a home office, what had been Dons bedroom was now the guest room. Mels clothes were in the master bedroom, but the men shared s.p.a.ce between the guest room and the master bedroom.
It didnt matter. The men were happy, she was happy, and things were going well.
Except that Mel didnt feel good when she headed to the airport for a flight to Atlanta on a Tuesday morning. By the time she arrived at Tampa International and got checked in and through security, she barely made it to a bathroom in time to puke her guts up.
Holy c.r.a.p.
She doubted it was food poisoning. The men were apparently feeling all right, but shed awakened feelingweird. Off. Then again, maybe the eggs shed scrambled for herself that morning werent good after all.
Shed nearly made it to the gate when the feeling hit her again, causing her to run, dragging her carry-on behind her, back to the bathroom.
This is ridiculous.
She bought some antacid, mints, and iced tea at a vendor in the gate area and tried again, taking a seat near a garbage can in case the feeling hit again.
This time, her stomach obeyed.
For the first time ever, she double-checked to make sure an air sickness bag was tucked into the seat pocket in front of her. In the past, shed silently scoffed at them, being an easy flier who never got sick.
Not this morning.
Fortunately, by the time they were in the air, her stomach had apparently decided to behave. She ordered plain seltzer water with lime and sipped that, relieved when it seemed to have the desired effect, especially combined with the crackers they served.
By the time they landed in Atlanta, she felt much better and headed to the rental car outlet.
That evening, after several hours spent on-site at the clients location, she checked into her hotel and realized shed need every last one of the three days theyd slotted for this job. It was far more complicated than shed first been told, the server room a total disaster, with equipment needing to be taken offline and reconfigured properly before she could even begin to think about doing her job.
The rack wiring jobs were a mess, and she couldnt even tell what went where, waterfalls of wires all over the place. She couldnt clean up the whole place in the time she had"and that wasnt her job anyway"but her equipment would have to be completely shut down, the wiring pulled, and re-run the right way.
She suspected the vendor had simply slapped it in without closely looking at the diagrams. Based on how the rest of the server room looked, it didnt surprise her.
She relaxed in her bed, the TV on, and called the men. She hadnt had time to talk to them all day, only sending them texts when shed landed to let them know shed arrived safely.
Using FaceTime, she called Don and smiled as both men crowded in to talk with her.
See? You two would look so cute if youd just turn and kiss, she teased.
The men laughed. Not even for you, babe, Carl said. Sorry.
I know. But a girl can hope.
Are you all right? Don asked. You look tired.
She refused to lie to them. I had an upset stomach this morning. Strangest d.a.m.n thing. I puked my guts up twice at the airport before my flight.
Now both of them looked worried, You did? they asked in stereo.
Yeah, probably got a bad egg or something. I doubt it was from dinner last night or you two would have been sick, too.
They chatted for a little longer, Mel remembering to give them her hotel info before saying goodnight. Ill text you tomorrow, but Ive got a mess on my hands here, she said. I wont be talking much. Ill make sure to call you guys again tomorrow night. Love you both. She blew them kisses.
Love you, too, babe, Don said. Be safe.
I will.
Miss you and love you, Carl said.
Suck up, Don teased. Just had to outdo me.
She rolled her eyes. Stop it. Both of you. Have a good night.
She ended the call and stuck her phone on the charger. She suspected that, without her home, theyd likely sleep in separate rooms tonight. Which was fine.
Although it was funnier for her to think of them maybe snuggling together in the same bed and missing her.
Don stared at his darkened phone. This might sound stupid, he told Carl, but I wouldnt object if you wanted to sleep in the same bed tonight.
Carl let out a wistful-sounding sigh. I was going to say the same thing. Its lonely enough without her here. I wouldnt mind the company even though we arent doing each other.
They looked at each other. Howd we get here? Don asked.
I dont know, Carl said. Figures we find the perfect woman for both of us.
I dont mind if you dont mind, Don said. She d.a.m.n sure doesnt seem to mind.
Thank G.o.d for both of us.
Yeah.
They lapsed into silence for a moment.
Carl finally spoke again. I dont know how we got here, he said, but Im glad we did. Youre my friend, and yeah, I love you. I dont care what anyone thinks about what we have. Im not jealous of you, not even when you guys have alone time together.
Ditto. Im not jealous of you, either.
Carl stood and stretched. All I care about is that shes happy. I love watching her face when youre doing stuff to her. That turns me on. I never thought Id ever say that.
Well, like you said, ditto. Don stood. Figures that the woman I finally feel right about to risk half my s.h.i.t on, Im sharing her with my best friend.
Carl smiled. We could mess with her mind and marry each other.
Don burst out laughing. That would be a mindf.u.c.k, wouldnt it?
The next morning, Mel awoke and let the familiar disorientation settle for a moment after she opened her eyes.
Then she jumped from bed and bolted to the bathroom to puke her guts up again.
As she knelt there, feeling shaky and weak and suspecting another wave was about to hit her, she thought back to the sushi shed eaten the night before at a place two doors down from the hotel. Itd seemed nice enough, but it would be just her d.a.m.n luck to get some bad fish.
f.u.c.k.
Once she was steady, she skipped making her usual cup of coffee and instead opted for the hot tea the hotel provided with the coffeemaker. While that was brewing, she brushed her teeth and got her shower, her stomach feeling settled by the time she stepped out and wiped the steam from the bathroom mirror.
Never. Eat. There. Again.
She texted the guys before she headed downstairs to get her free breakfast and drive to the job site.
Morning. Ugh, bad sushi last night, more yakking this morning. Hope ur both well. Love U both.
They didnt have to be at work until ten. Carl was still lying in bed and staring at the text from her while Don had headed to the bathroom to get his shower.
Hey, stupid question, he called out to Don.
What?
Whens the last time Mel put tampons on the shopping list?
Dons head poked out of the bathroom. What?
We do the shopping, do we not?
Uh, yeah, usually. Why?
Look under the counter in there.