Trading with the Boys

“You don’t have to,” said Tate, his emerald eyes locking on mine. “We can all say it for ourselves. We love you, Serena. We consider you ours.”

My heart was racing, a mile a minute. I turned to face Cole, who was already smiling.

“Just because there happen to be three of us, it doesn’t make this any less real,” he said. “Not for me. Not for them, either.”

The others shook their heads in agreement. And in that moment I knew: they’d had this conversation already.

“It doesn’t look like other relationships,” said Tate, “we’ll grant you that. It’s unique. It’s strange. But for what it’s worth, we love it even more this way. We’ve always been friends, but there’s a camaraderie between us that wasn’t there before you showed up in our lives. You gave us that. And we love it so much, we’re not willing to trade it for anything.”

I was stunned. Elated. A little bit frightened… all at the same time.

“If you’re into this as much as we are,” said Jacob, “then that nursery shouldn’t make you sad. Because one day we’ll fill it with a whole litter of babies. So many babies that—”

“Dude,” Cole scoffed. “Litter?”

“Yeah,” said Jacob, his voice going defensive. “Why?”

“Do you think she wants to hear the word litter?” laughed Tate.

Shrugging them off, Jacob slid a hand over my shoulder. “What I’m saying is, we all want children, Serena.”

“Lots of children,” Cole added.

Jacob nodded before continuing. “All three of us want big families. We’ve been talking about it our whole lives.”

A voice nagged at the back of my head, screaming to be heard. As much as I didn’t want to, I had to let it speak.

“But I’m ten years older than you.”

I watched their faces, searching for reactions. The only one came from Cole, who shrugged.

“So what?” he said.

“So that’s a big deal!” I cried. “I’m at a point in my life where children should be in the near future, and you guys…” I paused, choosing my words carefully so as not to offend them. “You guys are at a different place. An earlier place.”

“And who are you to decide where we are?” Tate demanded.

I blinked, staring back at him. “What?”

“Everyone moves at different speeds,” he went on. “I mean, just look at us,” he added, waving his arm. “Do we look like carefree, responsibility-less twenty-two year olds, who need to party through our twenties?”

I paused, then shook my head. “No.”

“Of course not,” Tate continued. “And that’s because we took more mature paths. In fact, all three of us are entrepreneurs, running our own businesses. As someone looking to do the same thing, you already know the time and dedication that requires.”

“O—Okay.”

“So there’s an age gap,” said Cole, with a shrug. “That’s not a big deal if we’re all on the same page. And quite honestly? I’d kick my own ass for not starting a family in my twenties. I grew up in that mindset. It’s what I’ve always wanted.”

I watched as he blew a kiss to the sky. Then, more sadly he added:

“It’s what my mother would’ve wanted for me too.”

My heart felt heavy, but only for a moment. And that’s because Cole was smiling. They were all smiling in some form or another, staring back at me expectantly.

“Still in love with us after all that?” Jacob quipped.

“Fuck yes,” I grinned back. Using my knuckles, I wiped the corners of my eyes. I was done crying.