The Space Between Us Read online

  “I’m not a thing to bring anywhere,” I said to them both.

  They looked at me.

  I stepped out a bit from Charlie’s hug, though not so far he couldn’t reach for me if he wanted. “I’m not a bone for you two dogs to fight over, okay? Really. Meredith,” I said, facing her. “The fact is, there’s a reason why it’s called a couple. Couple is two. Not three.”

  “Nobody tells me how I should live my life. I’m not going to be ashamed of it, or conform to what society—” she began, but it was my turn to interrupt.

  “I’m not ashamed. Charlie’s not, either,” I added, hoping that was true. “But…you have to live in the real world. We all do. I love being with you. Both of you. But it’s not something we can just go flaunting around to everyone and expect the rest of the world to understand. Like Charlie said, it’s not anyone’s business.”

  She frowned, her brow creasing, and crossed her arms. She looked as beautiful being stubborn as she did acquiescing. “If we were dykes we’d have parades to march in. But what, because we’re three…?”

  I reached for her hand and, when she let me take it, tugged her closer to me and Charlie. “Baby, I don’t really care. I don’t need to go with you for Thanksgiving.”

  “But I want you there,” she said.

  “I want her there, too.” Charlie slipped his arm back around my waist and kissed the top of my head when I snuggled closer. “But I can’t just bring her in and tell them all the truth. I won’t subject Tesla to that, Meredith. You can call me a coward if you want, but I’m thinking of her, too.”

  I stroked my fingers along the back of her hand, but she wouldn’t join our hug. “And you. They’d give you a hard time, too,” I said. “Or maybe pity you, thinking Charlie’s got himself a side piece.”

  She glowered. “Anyone who knows me would not pity me. Ever. For anything.”

  Charlie laughed. “No, but they’d talk about you behind your back.”

  “You think I care?” she said, but her anger was softening. She sidled a little closer and hooked a finger through Charlie’s belt loop. “Fine. We could just say she’s our roommate. Let them think we made some bad investments or something and need the income. Though your sister’s not dumb, Charles. She’d totally see right through all of it, unless you can keep from looking at Tesla like you want to eat her right up. Which you can’t.”

  “Probably not,” he admitted, and kissed me again. “And I don’t want to have to.”

  “It’s better if I don’t go with you. Next year,” I offered boldly, since next year was something we’d never even talked about, “we can have it here and nobody needs to explain anything.”

  Finally, Meredith moved toward us. Her hand slid over the ass of my fleecy sweatpants, cupping my butt. Her other hand did the same to Charlie. She pushed up on her toes to kiss his mouth briefly, then gave me a slightly longer smooch.

  “That’s our Tesla. So smart.” Her forehead pressed mine.

  So close I couldn’t focus, her face blurred, but her eyes stayed clear. She blinked and kissed me again. Her tongue slipped inside my mouth, delicately probing.

  “You sure you’ll be okay? I hate the thought of you spending Thanksgiving alone.” She put her head on my shoulder.

  “I don’t have to be alone. Cap needs someone to hang out with, anyway. I should spend the day with him. It’ll be fine.”

  Charlie’s hand made circles on my back. “Hey, let’s stream a movie on Interflix. Just relax tonight.”

  I liked the sound of that. “I’ll make popcorn. Real butter. Salt. It’ll be awesome.”

  “All those calories?” Meredith said without real heat. “Guess we’ll just have to work them off.”

  “I like the way you think.” Charlie kissed her.

  He kissed me, too.

  The three of us eased apart, Charlie to head into the den to find something to watch, Meredith with the last of the dishes. I went into the pantry to pull out the plastic container of popcorn kernels and then to the fridge for real butter. I was reaching into the cupboard for salt when Meredith moved behind me to put something in the drawer. We bumped into each other and, laughing, she put her arms around me.

  She kissed me again, backing me up against the counter. Her hands fit neatly on my hips. Her tongue stroked mine as her thigh pressed between my legs.

  “Mmm,” I said into her mouth. “What’s going on with you?”

  “What do you mean?” She paused, her hands on their way to my breasts, but stopping just beneath. She frowned.

  I didn’t want a frown. I wanted smiling and sultry Meredith. Playful, not pouting. “Nothing. Never mind.”

  I leaned to kiss her again, but she pulled away enough to keep me from reaching her mouth. “Why should something be going on with me?”

  I didn’t want to point out that she rarely, if ever, initiated anything with me like that. Flirty caresses and a kiss here and there, yes. But she’d kissed me the way she kissed Charlie, and that was unusual. Because I liked it, though, I didn’t want her to feel self-conscious.

  I pushed my crotch lightly against her thigh. “It shouldn’t. I liked what you were doing. Don’t stop.”

  She drew in a breath, her shoulders lifting. She tilted her head, looking over my face. Her hands moved up to cup my breasts, her fingers tweaking my nipples before moving away. “Charlie’s waiting.”

  I smiled. “You think he’ll mind if we start without him?”

  “He might mind if we finish without him,” she said, and kissed the corner of my mouth before moving away. “Besides. I want some of your insanely fattening popcorn.”

  I caught her before she could move too far. “Meredith, you’re gorgeous. You know that, right?”

  Sometimes I wasn’t sure she did, even though now she tossed the fall of her perfect golden hair over her shoulders and gave me a look worthy of any silent screen vamp.

  “Of course I am.” She winked and moved toward the door to the laundry room that led to the garage. “Getting a soda. You want one?”

  “Sure.” I pulled down a pot from the rack and set it on the burner. “Thanks.”

  Twenty minutes later we were all settled on the big overstuffed couch with bowls of salty, buttery popcorn on our laps and cans of soda in front of us. Charlie had picked a horror movie I hadn’t seen, and though Meredith had curled her lip, she hadn’t insisted we watch something else. Set up between them, I could laugh when she jumped and hid her eyes, and discuss the plot points with Charlie.

  In that moment, I knew how that third bowl of porridge felt, that third chair, the third and final bed Goldilocks had tried. I wasn’t too hot or too cold, too hard or too soft. I was just right.

  The movie ended. I held up a handful of popcorn for Charlie to take from my fingers. He lipped at my palm, his tongue swiping along the flesh in a way that made me shiver. When I looked up at him, those dark blue eyes dug right into my soul.

  I kissed him because I could. Because here in this place, on this couch and in this house, Charlie belonged to me in a way that had nothing to do with rings or ceremonies. Behind me, Meredith’s breath caressed my neck before I felt the warm, wet press of her lips on my skin.

  Upstairs we went to their room by unspoken agreement. We’d fallen into the habit of bed-hopping, Charlie and me in mine one night, Meredith and me in theirs another, the two of them in theirs and me sprawled out decadently alone sometimes, too, but that was for sleeping. When it came to fucking, they had the better bed. Not quite big enough for the three of us to sleep in comfortably, at least not for the person who ended up in the middle, but for sex it was perfect.

  I loved how easy it was for Meredith and me to push Charlie back against the mattress and strip him naked. To cover him with kisses up one side and down the other, passing each other at his cock, which we both took turns sucking and licking. I loved the flicker of her tongue on mine as our mouths met on Charlie’s prick, and I loved the way his hands stroked our hair back from our faces.