Stitches

“Nope,” I murmur, leaning in the nibble on her ear. “It’s a promise.”

Her head drifts forward and sags against my shoulder. “Stop tempting me. You know we can’t leave. Between you and Seb, I swear to God, you make it impossible for a girl to get a night out with clothes on.”

“You prefer a night in with clothes off,” I point out.

“I do,” she agrees, strongly. “Why do we ever leave the house? We should stop doing that. There’s nothing for us out here.”

As if to emphasize her point, I catch an older woman watching us, her mouth pursed in disapproval. After a few months of keeping things quiet about our relationship, Sebastian decided it was time to take it public. He wanted to control the narrative, he said. Didn’t want people thinking me and Moira were doing anything we shouldn’t. Moira, of course, was fine with whatever he wanted, but I was a little more worried about it. Ultimately, though, I wanted to be able to take Moira out from time to time, and I wanted to be able to kiss and touch her the same way he could. I didn’t want anyone thinking anything bad about Moira either, so I came around to it.

Most people who found out where surprised. Some didn’t care; a couple thought it was interesting; some thought it was weird, and a few became irrationally outraged by our situation. The woman glaring daggers at Moira’s back right now is one of them. On impulse, I run my hand protectively down her back, like I can fend off her bitter disapproval. Of course, I can’t. The judgmental old broad hones in on the wedding band I wear to symbolize my commitment to our relationship, and her lip curls up in disgust.

Keeping my hand on Moira’s back protectively, I close my hand but for my middle finger. The old biddy gasps, her gaze jumping to mine, and I give her my most charming smile as I flip her off.

Mind your business, lady.

Now she huffs and storms off the dance floor like I’ve ruined her night.

Oh well. She sure hasn’t ruined mine. I still get to hold the most beautiful woman in the room and call her mine. I get to build a life and a family with my two best friends. Somehow all three of us were lucky enough to find each other; this perfect mix of cast-offs the world didn’t have a proper place for. We made a place.

A lot of people look at us and see something bizarre, something sordid, maybe something sad. They look at us and think we share because we have to.

We don’t have to share; we get to.

The End