Chapter 20

I went home and sat in my office for two days, thinking. Despite our age difference, he was probably the best friend I'd ever had. I shook it off the second day. He was an adult, and he made his choices. Nothing I could do or say could change anything. So I mentally wished him well, and got on with my life.

The girls had walked around me gently, until I walked in to the kitchen smiling, and asked them to fix some sandwiches for a picnic. We took the meal, some water, a bottle of wine, and went down to look at our pond, now completely full. Now we could dangle our toes in the water while we sat on the dock. We spread out the quilts we'd brought, ate, touched, drank the wine, touched more, talked a little, until we decided to let our bodies talk. Sated, we lay back, a girl under each arm.

"We're really sorry about the way it turned out with Eric, honey. I remember how he was when we started, funny, happy, joking around while he sexed every little starlet he could. He only changed when Savanna started spending time with him. I never told you, but the few times we played with her, I got a vibe she was trying to break us up. I don't think she really wanted either of us, she just couldn't stand our happiness. When she saw how committed we were, the playing stopped right after that, mostly our decision."

"I'm glad you recognized what she was about. I think she's one of those people who isn't happy until every one around her is unhappy. I have to wonder, what caused her to be that way? What event altered her view of life? It must have been pretty traumatic. Thank you for keeping your distance from her. And watch Eric, I don't think he's in his right mind. I wish he would talk to me, us, maybe we can help him. That being said, what I saw in L A was very disquietening, so if he shows up while I'm not here, be very careful around him. Promise me."

They promised, passionately, and I believed them. Time to change the subject to happier matters. I reached into the pocket of my discarded pants, feeling the two small cases.

"Girls, sit up. I want to have a serious discussion, and you laying naked is not going to help my acuity at all. Please."

They mumbled, but slipped on their tank tops, sans bra, and wrapped the quilt around their bottoms, covering up, but letting me know they were ready to play in seconds. I guess I'll have to settle for that. They both managed to stick their chests out, nipples springing out like mushrooms after a rain.

"Stop it! I need to be serious here. Cathy, do you love me? Why? Do you love Tory? More than you love me? I need to know, this is important to me."

Their flirty manner came to a screeching halt. This was going to be deep, and they knew it. Her answer was direct, yet simple. "Yes, I love you. Deeply. And I love Tory as much as I'll ever love you. I need you both to be happy. I know it flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but I don't think I could be happy with just one of you now. I need you both to be fulfilled. If I had to chose, right now, this very second, it would be neither of you, if the other was left out. I'd rather die alone."

Wow. I wasn't expecting that. I turned to Tory, waiting. She took her time before answering. "Everything Cathy said and more, sweetheart. We looked for you for a long time, and didn't even know it. Now we do. You'll have to die to get away from us, and that's not written in stone."

I grinned. "Right answer, girls. Now flip a coin. The winner gets to hear what I say first, but it doesn't make it less so for the other. Now flip."

Cathy won. "What do I get?," she asked, smiling.

"This, " I said, holding up the large solitare. You have no idea how hard it is to find two flawless diamonds exactly the same in size, clarity, and cut. Judging from their reactions, it was worth every dime. Cathy took one look and fainted. I grinned at Tory. "Try to stay awake, baby, I need at least one of you to say yes. Victoria Marie Cross, would you be our lifemate?"

This wasn't going the way I hoped. Tory started crying and shaking Cathy. Still managed to get the ring on her finger, though. Cathy woke quickly, her eyes wide as I managed to slip the ring on. "Catherine Zoe Wiggins, would you be our lifemate? It's a lifetime commitment, but it has some perks. Well?"

Finally they managed to find their voices. I bet I heard yes(between some serious kisses from and to all three of us) fifty times. Then the tops came off, the quilts laid out, and I was buried under some pretty intense, but delicious, women. They wouldn't let me alone. Forty minutes later, just as I thought I was going to have a heart attack, they rolled me out of the way and did a little reaffirming between each other. I was content to watch, enjoying their obvious passion. Finally breaking apart, they dragged me back in the middle, snuggled up to me, and we all slept the sleep of the exhausted and sated.

I barely woke, feeling somethig tickle my nose. It got worse, and I brushed it off several times before I heard someone giggle. Looking up, I saw Leah, holding a blade of grass, and her grin was a mile wide. She had become my best friend, filling the hole Eric left, a writer thing I guess. It made sense, because when I was single Eric and I had a lot in common, but now that I was for all purposes married, our interests were different. Leah and I were in loving, stable relationships, building on them for the future.

We could bounce ideas off each other, tell the other how stupid it was, and not get angry. I usually didn't get much done if she brought Cat, because I would end up playing with her. When she finally wanted to get some work done, she'd call the girls, and they would fly down the path, grab the baby and her bag, and tell us to take our time. Usually when we were done Cat would have on an outfit Leah had never seen, and the girls would mention they'd seen it at a shop and thought it would be just adorable on her. Leah would just snicker, punch me in the ribs, and tell me it was time for us to start on our own before we wore hers out. The girls would agree that was one of the best ideas they'd heard in ages. They were slowly bringing me around to the same thought.