HUGE X3: A MFMM Menage Stepbrother Romance (10 page)

“Why are you doing this?” I ask.
 
I have to keep my eyes closed because it
feels like such a big question.

“Doing what?” they ask in unison.

“Being here, with me.”

“Apart from the fact that you’re the coolest, sexiest
girl that we’ve met in a long time, you mean?” Austin says.
 
I can hear a smile in his voice that warms my
heart.

“And the fact that you know your comics?” Jason says.

“Apart from that,” I whisper.

“The universe is a strange place,” Jason says
dreamily.
 
The weed has definitely made
him mellow.
 
“There is something about
you, and about this moment that just fits.”

“Yeah.”
 
Austin’s voice is breathy.
 
I open
my eyes and look at them both, and I realize that what they’re saying is
exactly right.
 
We don’t know each other
well but being with them is more comfortable than anything I’ve ever found with
a man before.
 
Even my ex who I was with
for two years and lost my virginity to was more ‘separate’ from me than the
twins.
 
It’s like there are fibers that
links us.
 

“Do you believe in fate?” I ask.

They both nod.
 
“We weren’t supposed to go out the night we met you.
 
Bryan had asked us to go to a party but
neither of us felt like it. We were sitting in the pool house, watching a
movie.
 
Austin started to fidget, which
he never does. Then he told me he felt like hitting a club.”

“That’s not like me at all,” Austin says shaking his
head in a bemused way.

“He’s a real home body,” Jason says, grinning.
 
“It’s always me that’s dragging him out into
society.”

“So you came to the Red Devil,” I say.

“Yeah.
 
We were
only there for five minutes before you came in.
 
I said to Austin, check out that girl with the pretty hair.
 
He knew I was talking about you right
away.
 
And I knew something was going to
happen that night.
 
I can’t tell you why,
I just did.”

“You know, I thought you were Bryan at first.”

They both smile.
 
“Yeah, we kinda guessed that after we found out you knew him.
 
I guess it was our lucky day, huh?”

“Best result from a case of mistaken identity ever,”
Austin says.

I close my eyes again and drift a little more.
 
The background noise seems to be getting
louder as the sun disappears.
 
A distant
thought that I should be getting home to mom flits through my brain but it
disappears as I feel someone drape a blanket over me.
 

A little later I wake up in Jason’s arms.
 
He carries me to the car and sits in the back
with me.
 
I’m so damn tired that I lie
with my head in his lap and drift.
 
I
hear the twins talking about Bryan and try to focus on what they’re
saying.
 
I catch something about him not
answering his phone.
 
Austin says he’s
being a fool for not fighting for me.
 
Jason agrees.
 
And in the midst of
everything, my heart breaks a little more.

11

“Oh
my goodness, there is so much pink.” Walking into Carrie’s mom’s front room, I'm
greeted by the full baby shower spectacular; pink balloons, pink streamers,
pink gifts, pink cake.

 
“This is
nothing,” Carrie says.
 
“You should see
what Eth and Nath have done to our spare room.
 
I need sunglasses to walk into the nursery.”

“What?” the twins say in unison.
 
“You mean you don’t love our decorating
efforts?”

“Did I say that?” Carrie laughs.
 
She rubs her huge belly absentmindedly.
 
I haven’t seen her for a few weeks and she
seems to have doubled in size.
 
Mind you,
if her boyfriends are anything to go by, her babies are likely to be big!
 
I wince, thinking about what she is about to
go through, twice!
 
“Come and sit with
me,” she says, patting the sofa cushion next to her.
 
I’m early and most of the other guests who’ve
arrived are family members, fussing over the food on the long trestle
table.
 

I slump in next to Carrie and smile as Eth brings her
a tall glass of water.
 
Whenever I see
them all together, they’re looking after her like she’s a princess.
 

“So, what’s been going on with you?” she asks.
 
I’m quiet for a moment.
 
It’s not the time or the place to be talking
about what I’ve been facing, but I can’t lie to her now that she’s asked.
 
This was what worried me about coming today,
but she’s my best friend and there was no way I could make an excuse not to
come.

“I’ve had some stuff going on,” I say.
 
“I won’t tell you about it now but we can talk
after, okay?”

Carrie looks at me with concerned eyes.
 
We’ve been friends for so long that I know
she’s trying to figure me out.
 
I must be
giving off bad vibes because she grabs my hand and squeezes it.
 
“You’ll stay after everyone’s gone?”

“Yeah.
 
Of
course.” God, my throat burns from her concern.
 
I swallow against the tears that want to spill.
 
Kindness can hurt so badly sometimes.

I need a distraction so I hand her my gifts for the
babies and tell her to open them before everyone arrives.
 
I managed to get the cutest Wonder Woman
onesies from Etsy, and a ‘Wonder mom’ tank that will look great on Carrie when
she’s back to her usual size.
 
I can’t
stop looking at her giant bump.
 
It’s
like she’s been taken over by an alien infestation!
 

She gives me a hug and I cling to her warmth.
 
My lovely friend is going to be a mommy.
 
It seems crazy, but she’s going to do great,
and with her two sexy boyfriends looking after her, I know she’ll be well
supported.

“So, I have a confession,” I whisper as she folds her
gifts.
 

“What.
 
Tell
mommy!”
 
We both burst into fits of
giggles.

“I had my own bit of twin fun this week,” I say, with
such a huge smile on my face that it hurts my cheeks.

“Fuck off,” she says, punching me on the arm.
 

“Shh with the potty mouth, the babies will hear.
 
I’m serious.
 
You wait.
 
You’ll meet them
later.”

Carrie frowns.
 
“You mean Bryan’s brothers?”
 
I
nod and her eyebrows practically hit her hairline.
 
“But what about Bryan?”

“I didn’t know they were his brothers,” I say, like
that explains everything.
 
“In other news
his dad is dating my mom and that’s the reason he’s never made a move on me?”

“Shut up,” she gasps.

“And, apparently he wanted to all this time.”

“Oh my God.
 
The
idiot.
 
And now it’s too late.”
 
I know my face falls when she says that and
she tips her head to one side.
 
“Well, I
mean, now that you’ve hooked up with his brothers.
 
And we need to talk about that part. I want
all the details.
 
We can compare notes.”

“Oh my God,” I say.
 
“Now I know why you have a permanent smile on your face.”

I look at my friend and the glow she’s been radiating
since she finally admitted her feelings for Eth and Nath and settled into a
relationship with them.
 
That’s what you
call inner happiness.
 
It shines from
deep inside.

“Was it just a one-night thing?” she asks.

“No, but they’re going back to New York in a few
weeks.”

“And then it’ll be just you and Bryan.” Carrie winks
suggestively.
 
This is the girl who found
a way to tell her mom and stepfather that she was having a polygamous
relationship with her stepbrothers.
 
I
guess once you have achieved that feat you’re going to be the kind of person
who thinks that anything is possible.
 
I’m finding it hard to think that anything is
possible right now.

“I don’t think things will ever work out with
Bryan.”
 
Admitting that to Carrie is like
finally admitting it to myself.
 
I get a
lump in my throat again.
 
Just as she
starts to tell me that anything is possible, Nathan heads to the front door and
is followed into the house by Bryan and the twins.
 
When my eyes meet Bryan’s I get a shiver down
my back. He’s so damn sexy but it’s the worry I see in his gaze that hits me in
the heart.
 
I smile but it feels small on
my face.
 
Smaller than he deserves as a friend
who I know is worried about me, but I can’t help it because I’m still so mad at
him.
 
Jason and Austin appear behind him.
They all look so much alike that I want to laugh.
 
Doug must have some mighty powerful genes to
override two women’s genetic material so much.
 
If I didn’t know better, I would think they were triplets.

The twins smile.
 
They look naughty which I like.
 
I
love the way they’re not treating me like I might break down at any point.
 
Carrie nudges me in a totally obvious and
very mortifying way.
 

“You go girl,” she mutters under her breath.

“Says the girl who’s already there!” I laugh.

“Hell yeah.
 
I’m
living proof of the merits of multiple love.”
 
She rubs her stomach and beams.
 
Ethan comes into the room carrying a tray of mimosas in tall glasses and
she watches him hungrily as he passes.
 
“Damn, look at that ass.”

“Carrie!”

“What?
 
He’s
mine.
 
I can ogle him if I want.”

“God,” I say, but inside I’m so happy for her I could
burst.
 
Life is for living. That’s what
Jason said and Carrie is living proof that seizing what you want is the way to
happiness.
 
Love has made her like a
super charged version of herself.
 
Gone
are the insecurities and inhibitions.
 
I
feel a pang of emptiness that my life is still so different than hers.
 

When I look up I can see Austin staring over.
 
This time he does look worried.
 
He must be able to tell that my mood has
changed.
 
I tell Carrie I have to use the
bathroom and she looks at me seriously again.
 
For a moment I curse the fact that I can’t conceal my emotions for
shit.
 
My mom always said I was as
transparent as a window.
 
I head toward
the hall and when I reach the door to the restroom, I feel a hand on my
shoulder.
 
I’m expecting it to be Austin
but it’s Carrie.
 
She’s followed me out
of the room and now that we’re out of view of the other guests, she’s not going
to wait for answers.

“Tell me what’s going on with you,” she says.

“I don’t want to spoil your day.
 
Please.”

“Even if you hadn’t said anything I’d know there was
something up.
 
I can feel it…your
anxiety.”

I sigh and look to the ceiling, trying to control my
emotions.
 
If I have to spill my awful
news, I’m going to do it with restraint.
 
Carrie doesn’t deserve to have be blubbing all over her sweet blouse.

“I found a lump in my breast.”

“Oh my god,” she says.
 
“When?”

“A few days ago.
 
Well, it was Austin that found it.
 
He’s a med student.”

I can see that she’s getting emotional and I feel so
terrible.
 
“It’s okay.
 
I’ve had a scan and a biopsy and I’ll have
the results soon.
 
It could be nothing. Maybe
it’s benign. That’s what everyone keeps telling me.”

“Yeah, it’s probably nothing.”
 
She pulls me into a ridiculously awkward embrace
where we struggle to hold onto each other around her monster bump.
 
Even though she’s trying to sound upbeat,
there is a desperation to her hug that shows her true feelings.
 

I pull back and smile as broadly as I can manage.
 
“Anyway, I really need to pee.”
 

Carrie opens her mouth as though she wants to say more
but must see how difficult this is for me.
 
“We’ll talk later, okay?” she says as I back my way into the
bathroom.
 

“Sure,” I reply.
 
I’m in there for a while, looking at myself in the mirror.
 
So much has changed in my life recently that
I feel different.
 
In some ways I look
different too.
 
Tired.
 
My sleep hasn’t been great due to all the
anxiety.
 
My hair and skin look
duller.
 
I take a deep breath and rub my
hands over my face.
 
Telling Carrie was
hard and although she tried to be reassuring, I know she’s worried.
 
I just hope it won’t overshadow her happy
day.
 
When I eventually exit the bathroom,
I look to the side and see Carrie in the kitchen being hugged by Nathan.
 
His eyes catch mine over her shoulder, and he
looks so sorry for me that all the resolve I just built up seems to crumble
away.
 
I turn to follow the hallway to
the front door so I can take a moment outside in the fresh air to regain my
composure but Bryan is standing between me and where I need to go.
 
I start to walk and wait for him to move but
he doesn’t immediately.
 
He’s looking at
me with yet more worry and I feel like I need to scream.
 
I need Jason and Austin to make me feel
normal again.
 
I need them to focus on
silly things like comics so that I don’t have to think about anything serious.

“Katy,” he says, resting his hand on my shoulder.
 
I shrug it off and push past him.
 
As I reach the door I can hear him behind
me.
 
“Wait,” he says but I don’t listen.

In the driveway I stop and rest my hands on my
thighs.
 
I take deep breaths because I
need to stop the swimming feeling in my head.
 
I expect Bryan to leave me alone. That’s what he’s best at right?
 
But he does what I least expect and puts his
arms around me and pulls me close to his chest.

“I’ve got you, okay?” he says, kissing the top of my
head and rubbing my back.
 
For about a
minute I lean against him, weeping silent tears and soaking up the unbelievable
comfort I feel in his arms. This is Bryan, the man I have yearned for for so
long that I’ve forgotten what it’s like to not have him in my mind and my
heart. This is the man who’s always been there but never in the way I needed or
wanted.
 
And now he is.
 
Now he’s doing exactly what I need but it
still isn’t enough.
 
This feels like
pity, not affection, not caring and certainly not love.

Eventually I turn myself so I’m looking up at him. I
need to see what’s in his eyes.
 
I need
him to see what’s in mine.
 
We gaze at
each other, his furrowed brow seeming to show his concern.
 
His breathing is fast, and his grip around me
is still as fierce.
 
I’m about to tell
him I need to go when he bends his head and presses his lips to mine.