“I have a question,” Suki shouted in his ear.
“Go ahead. I’m an open book.”
“I asked Beni, and I asked Adil but now I need to ask you,” Suki was waving her arms in the air with careless abandon, and he noted more than one person ducking away from her frantic flailing.
He wondered what was coming and she didn’t disappoint.
“What happens if Juni decides kissing you isn’t the best out of kissing the three of you?”
“Then I’ll raise the toast at their wedding and be thrilled for my best friend for landing the woman of his dreams.” He called into her ear, and she nodded.
“Good answer!” She shook her ass in his direction, and her dark eyes were mischievous as she looked at him over her shoulder and took his hand and rolled herself back towards him, “and if she, after kissing three very hot, rich men who are clearly packing a punch,” she looked boldly at his waist, “decides she needs different things from different men and wants it all?”
Phineas’ feet stumbled at the question, and he pulled her closer and in her ear questioned, “are you asking me if I’d share her with my friends?”
Suki nodded excitedly, her eyes bright, luminous, “they both said they’d do whatever it took to make Juni happy. What if that was what she needed?”
He looked to where Juniper was currently being twisted and turned back and forth between his two best friends and a strange, unbidden desire began to take deep root in his psyche. His eyes narrowed, his breathing quickened, and he looked at Suki. “What did she say to you?”
“She hasn’t said a damn thing. I think she’s always been too much woman for Kyst Kennedy. My opinion? He cheated because just for once, he wanted to feel like she wasn’t enough because she is superior to him in every way. She brought toys to their bedroom because he couldn’t keep up. I’m her best friend. I was his best friend until he cheated, the motherfucker. A woman like her? She needs a man, or men, who aren’t going to be intimidated by her sexuality. If it takes all three of you, are you in?”
He looked from Suki, back to the trio and then back to Suki with what he knew was probably the kind of smile he gave his competitors right before he stole their business.
“Suki, I’m man enough for her on my own but if my sweetheart needs more than what I can offer, there isn’t anyone else on the planet who I’d be happier in a quad with, than those two men right there.”
Suki’s shit-eating grin probably matched his own.
“One last question, actually it’s an order since this is all my idea.”
“What?”
“Make sure when she finally does get to have a baby, I get at least a middle name out of it.”
“I need to pee!”
The words tumbled from her mouth as she waved frantically at Suki who was dancing with a tall, skinny guy who did not match her energy at all. She was dancing circles around him, but the guy seemed thrilled to be where he was. He was all smiles as he ducked away from flailing hands, while Suki danced with her eyes closed. She and Suki both drank three drinks now and neither of them were.
“I can take you,” Adil called from behind her. Beni and Phineas
“What if she needs to go?”
“I don’t think she does, or she’d come out and say it.”
“I don’t want to leave her alone.”
He waved at Beni who was standing to the edge of the dance floor laughing at something Phineas was telling him. They’d gone for more drinks but stopped to chat first. She watched Adil make a series of hand gestures which made her wonder what the hell he was doing but then Beni gave him a thumbs up as if he completely understood and turned his full attention to watch Suki. Phineas headed to the bar.
“Come on,” Adil dragged her in the direction of the bathroom.
“What was that?” she yelled at him over the noise.
“What?”
“The,” she flapped her arms all over the place, “between you and Beni?”
He laughed loudly, “you mean sign language?”
She stopped in her tracks, “you know sign language?”
“Yeah,” he grinned at her confusion. “Why not?”
“All three of you?”
“Yes.”
“Why? Do you know someone deaf?”
He laughed, “it was Phineas’ idea when we were in middle school. Our school was pretty pretentious, and we could select one elective class. We were nerds, man. I mean real nerds. Beni still wears the ugly glasses but Phineas and I both got Lasik. Anyway, we realized most people can’t speak sign language. One of the teachers taught a sign language class. We took it from seventh to tenth grade. Phineas uses it a lot in business, but I found I’m really good at reading lips in addition to the sign language. It comes in handy.”
“You learned sign language as an elective in middle school?”
“None of us wanted to do home-economics. Christ, we were already getting slammed into lockers. The last thing we needed was to put aprons on and make cupcakes. All three of us were already fluent in English, French and Phineas even spoke some Spanish because of a housekeeper they had at one point. He got really good in Spanish in college because he dated the same girl all through and her mother was from Puerto Rico or something. She hated Phineas so he took extra lessons to find out what the woman was saying about him behind his back.”
They reached the bathroom, and she was reluctant to leave the conversation, “you three might be the most interesting people I’ve ever met.”
“Does being interesting earn me a kiss?”
She was reaching for the bathroom door at his comment and then turned back to face him, “you want to kiss me?”
“I really want to kiss you.” Adil smiled at her.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.