Quadruple Duty

Ryan chuckled. “Sorry, couldn’t wait.”

He leaned down and kissed me, and my whole world went warm and beautiful. It was the kiss of two lovers at an airport. The kiss of people who hadn’t seen each other in a long time, and were desperate to drink each other in again.

We kissed long and deep, until the sound of Jason clearing his throat brought us back to reality. Ryan held me around the waist, my hips against his. I could feel his heat now. Smell the distinct scent of his body.

They all smell different, I noticed absently. Wonderfully, delectably different.

“Thanks for taking care of her while I was gone,” Ryan said to his friend. His expression was serious now. Apparently he knew.

“She could’ve taken care of herself,” said Jason. “If you’d only shown her how to—”

“I know, I know,” he nodded quickly. “I was trying to protect her, to keep her from all this. But you’re right. We should’ve taught her to protect herself.”

Jason stepped in, and I was suddenly between them. It felt incredible, being ensconced by my two big lovers. I slid an arm around each of them.

“You’re back for good?” I asked Ryan hopefully.

“Yes.”

My eyes lit up. “Then we’re celebrating tonight!”

He smiled. “Hell yes we are.”

I squeezed them and they squeezed me back. In the entirety of my life, I’d never felt more loved. More protected. More—

“You guys were right,” Jason said happily. “She’s absolutely perfect.”

Ryan kissed my forehead. “Sure is.”

“We could’ve run the algorithm a thousand times,” Jason smiled, “and it couldn’t have picked a better match.”

On one side of me, I felt Ryan stiffen. For the next few seconds, the kitchen went awkwardly silent.

“Algorithm?” I blinked in confusion.

“The computer,” Jason went on, talking like nothing was wrong. “The—”

He stopped abruptly, looking into Ryan’s face. His expression was borderline terrified.

“Oh you’ve gotta be fucking kidding,” Jason sneered at his friend. “I thought we were all on the same page here!”

“Algorithm?”

I repeated the word, glancing back and forth, but it was like I wasn’t even there. Neither of them would even look at me. Their eyes remained locked on each other.

We all let go at the same time. Ryan stared uncomfortably at the floor. Jason was shaking his head in deep disappointment.

“You mean you never told her?”

Fifty

KYLE

I was grinning ear to ear, since the second the name popped up on my screen. Moving quickly, I took the phone into a private tent. Someplace quiet. Someplace I could talk without waking anyone else up.

I pushed the button and there she was… glowing brightly in the darkness.

“Hey baby!” I smiled.