I couldn’t believe how cool Bridget was with everything. After we left the Treasure Chest, we walked for about five minutes until we reached her house. She then let Ashlee use her shower and gave her some fresh clothes. The three of us then ended up in her living room where Ashlee sat on the couch, Bridget sat on her recliner, and I pulled in a chair from the dining room. I turned it the opposite way and sat backward on it so I could lean against the backrest.
“I like your place,” Ashlee told the gracious brunette as she leaned forward and held a glass of water Bridget had given her in both hands. Her voice had matured over the years, but it was still just as melodious as I remembered it. “It seems very…homey.”
“Thanks!” The brown-haired hostess chirped. “It may not be the largest house around, but it’s my little slice of paradise!”
“I think it’s perfect,” Ashlee kindly said. Just from the sound in her voice, I was getting the hint that she lived most of her life on the road much like I did.
Seeing Ashlee after a shower without her black eyeliner and lipstick made her look almost entirely different: She may have been smokin’ hot before, but now she had a natural beauty on an entirely different level. It was like she looked somehow divine.
“That was pretty damn awesome the way you flew off the stage!” Bridget then pointed out as she relived what had gone down back at the strip club. “How you didn’t roll your ankle when you landed…”
I didn’t mean to cut the beautiful brunette off, but I couldn’t help but stare directly at the gothic babe as I asked, “What exactly happened? I was talking to Bridget when I heard the commotion…and the next thing I knew, you were bolting right at me!” I lowered my eyes and pretended to cough as I mumbled, “Naked, mind you…”
Ashlee smiled as she set the glass down on the coffee table in front of her. She then asked Bridget if there was a coaster she could use, but the cheerful brunette told her not to worry about it. After setting her drink down, the raven-haired stunner stared directly at me as she answered, “When I noticed you through the smoke and other concertgoers, I thought I was about to have a heart attack, Marcus. I’ve been waiting to see you again for years, and part of the reason I decided to stick with the band was in hopes that one day we’d travel to a city where you’d come see me play. I hoped that by making a name for myself, I would maybe see you again.” The gothic beauty made an effort to not let her emotions get the best of her when she glanced over at Bridget and said, “I never would’ve expected to find him way out here. I…I was getting to the point where I never thought I’d see him again.”
Bridget maintained her smile since she could tell how sad my old friend had become. I think she wanted to cheer her up, so the crafty brunette mentioned, “Marcus told me all about you, Ashlee!”
The dark-haired woman looked somewhat surprised. Her head slightly turned so she could look in my direction as her question remained aimed at Bridget. “Really? What did he tell you?”
“He told me how the two of you dated for a while back in school, and he said that when the two of you parted ways, he blamed himself for the fallout.”
I glanced at Bridget with a confounded expression on my face. I couldn’t understand why she was being so sweet and making me look like a decent guy in front of a woman she hardly knew. I was grateful…but terribly confused.
“Really?” Ashlee asked. “He said all of that? He blamed himself?”
“He said he was pretty upset at the time, but after he had plenty of time to think about it, he knew that the reason you were showing that tape off was because you were proud to be with him! He…whoops.” The bountiful brunette covered her mouth because she felt she had said too much.
The gothic beauty once again placed her eyes on me. I think she was somewhat floored by what she had been told and wasn’t expecting me to shoulder any of the blame. I could tell she not only didn’t mind that Bridget knew the story, but the fact that my new friend did know it meant something to her: It meant that I obviously did feel remorse about what had happened since I had bothered to relate the story to her. “I honestly didn’t even think you would remember me, Marcus. I have to say…I’m moved deeply that you would think enough of me to tell a new girlfriend that story.”
I caught what Ashlee had referred to Bridget as…and I didn’t correct her. I’m sure she was testing the waters, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want my brunette compeer to think that I had forgotten about her just because a past flame had arrived on her doorstep.
“Marcus thinks an awful lot of you, actually,” Bridget added as she continued to smile in an inviting manner. “He’s a rather unique individual in the fact that he still thinks very highly of all the women he’s had feelings for and speaks very highly of all of them.”
“Really?” Ashlee asked while studying me a little more. “And just how many women has he been with since I last saw him? Thirty? Forty? Fifty?!”
I let out a soft chuckle as I shook my head and said, “Not even. It’s been quite a few years since I last saw you, but I’m not as much of a playboy as you make me out to be!”
We all had a decent laugh for a minute until Ashlee turned her attention back to Bridget and stunned both of us by nonchalantly asking, “Do you love him?”
I couldn’t believe my old friend had been gutsy enough to ask the question point blank. I think I was even more surprised when Bridget answered it.
“Yes.”
I glanced at my brown-haired friend in awe. Talk of love in this day and age was almost as taboo as girls showing their bra straps back in the old days. I couldn’t believe Bridget had confessed to such a thing. I know that sounds outrageous since we had spent the entire day rolling about with one another, but the “L” word always seemed to make people uncomfortable. I have to admit that hearing her say it made me feel ten feet tall.
“I figured as much,” Ashlee sighed since she felt like she had lost me all over again. She turned her eyes to the glass of water on the coffee table as she apologized, “I’m sorry for kissing your man the way I did back in the club. It’s just that I haven’t seen him in so long, and even after all these years, I haven’t been able to forget about him. He’s definitely always been ‘the one who got away,’ so I’m sorry if I upset you in any way by laying hands on him.”
Bridget surprised me yet again, but this time, she even shocked Ashlee when she responded, “It didn’t upset me at all. How could I be upset since I know that you and I love the same man…and he also loves both of us?”
The gothic beauty across the room from me stared at Bridget with her mouth agape…as did I. I’m not sure how I managed to find my voice at that moment, but I finally uttered, “Bridget…”
“You don’t have to deny it, Marcus,” the beautiful brunette said to me as she gazed in my direction with a loving light in her amber orbs. “I realize that you didn’t say it with words, but you didn’t have to since you expressed it with actions. I know exactly how you feel about me…and I know that you feel the same way for Ashlee.”
I was very confused. What she said was one hundred percent true and I couldn’t deny it. I have met some wonderful women in my time, and I can’t begin to explain the impact each and every one of them has had on my life. I wouldn’t take the time to tell stories about them if I didn’t still care about them. I guess my shock and awe came from the fact that Bridget seemed to be totally cool with the fact that I adored both her and Ashlee as I sat in the same room with them.
“Whoa, hold on a second,” Ashlee stammered as she waved her hands and stood up. “Marcus doesn’t actually love me. Maybe he had some pretty strong feelings for me at one time, but that’s in the past. Even if he takes the blame for what happened between us nearly two decades ago – and he shouldn’t since that was my fault – he wouldn’t have any kind of romantic feelings for me after all this time. He couldn’t! He may still care about me in some small way, but it’s nothing more than that. As much as I yearn to have his love again, he would never…”
“You’re wrong, Ashlee,” Bridget cut the goth babe off. She intensely stared up into the dark eyes of my old friend as she told her, “Marcus is different than all other men. He’s special.”
“I know he is,” Ashlee responded in a faraway voice as she avoided Bridget’s gaze. “I’ve always known he was different than all the other guys around me.”
The beautiful brunette nodded her agreement. “He doesn’t just tell you in words, but he shows you through his actions. He has a way of making you feel…respected and cared for. He has a way of letting you know you’re loved when you’re with him.”
Being the “cut right to the point” old Ashlee that I knew and adored so much, the gothic babe bluntly asked, “I’m assuming you’ve fucked him, right?”
Bridget was only slightly caught off guard by the question. She then truthfully answered as she replied, “Yes…but I wouldn’t call it ‘fucking’ with Marcus. I would call it ‘making love.’ Sure, I’ll shout the word with wild abandon while doing it in the heat of the moment, but when it’s all said and done, I know that Marcus made love to me not because he wanted a quick roll in the hay or because he wanted the accolades in order to brag to his friends…no, Marcus loves a woman because he truly loves her. That’s how I feel about it.”
Ashlee’s face showed that she respected the answer as she nodded. “Yeah, I would agree with that. I only had the honor of ‘making love’ to him once…but I still remember the passion I felt at that moment. It may have been a cold winter’s night outside, but Marcus kept me warm and made me feel special…so yeah, I totally get where you’re coming from.”
I would just like to point out that as I tell this story, I’m not editing it or changing what these two women were discussing in any way. They were actually speaking this highly of me and swapping stories about how they felt about me right in front of me. I was beyond confused in every conceivable way, but I continued to sit there in silence since I could think of nothing else to do. I almost contemplated getting up at one point so I could grab Ashlee’s glass of water and dump it over my own head. I thought maybe it would shock me back to reality since I figured I had to be dreaming.
Bridget decided to mention, “He was telling me the other day about how no matter how long he’s been with a woman, as long as it’s someone he truly cares for, he’ll always have a place for her in his heart. While I didn’t exactly understand him at first, I started to think about it and then saw how he acted as I got to know him a little better. I have to admit that I found this to be quite refreshing for a change. Most men speak quite poorly of their exes, and ninety-nine percent of them lump the blame for a failed relationship on the woman. I know we females aren’t flawless by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m fairly certain we’re not always the cause of a breakup.”
Ashlee nodded in agreement and then glanced my way again. “Do you really blame yourself for you and I splitting back in the day?”
I leaned forward against the back of the chair I sat on and finally met the brown eyes of the gothic beauty. Nodding, I told her, “I overreacted about the videotape. Yeah, I was upset at the time and thought you had back-stabbed me, but a year after I was with you, I met a woman in college by the name of Madelyne. You got brought up one night, and Maddie asked why I wasn’t with you anymore. After I told her about the videotape incident, she explained to me why you had shown your friends the tape…and she told me that in your own way, you were proud of me and showing me off. I wasn’t sure if I believed that at first, but after dwelling on it for quite some time, I figured she was right.”
Ashlee looked to be reminiscing about the time, long set in the past, and then sat back down on the couch. She fidgeted with her hands a bit as she stared down at them and said, “Well, this Maddie of yours was half right, Marcus. In all honestly, I really was infatuated with you…and showing the other girls that I scored with you meant the world to a nobody like me. I really felt like something, and having your love meant the world to me.”
“Ashlee…”
“But where Maddie’s wrong,” the woman with raven tresses continued, “Is that the incident was my fault. I should’ve asked for your permission before showing that tape to anyone. Hell, it was wrong of me to even record it in the first place without so much as asking you. But I was just a young girl in love who wanted to have a memento of an unforgettable night.” Ashlee couldn’t help but let out an ironic laugh that held a hint of sadness as she informed me, “I actually still have the tape if you can believe that. Actually, had it converted to disc a few years back, but I have the original also. Still, watch it at least once a week.”
“I wouldn’t mind seeing that!” Bridget giggled in order to add a little levity to the situation. She then made my old friend laugh by stating, “As long as it would be okay with Marcus, that is!”
I caught the shot she was taking at me and took it in good sportsmanship. I then turned my attention to Ashlee and asked, “Do you really still watch it? Surely, you’ve had guys fawning over you while on the road and other groupies banging your door down…”
“Marcus,” Ashlee spoke up in that hauntingly attractive voice she possessed, “I think there’s something you need to know about yourself that Bridget here will agree with me on.”
I couldn’t help but notice the nebulous look in her otherworldly eyes as she stared through my very being and into my soul.
“To know and be sexually ravaged by Marcus Veovin is something a girl would never forget.”
I felt a shiver down my spine when I realized Bridget had spoken the exact same words to me earlier at the club. For the briefest of seconds, I wondered if the two women in the room with me had some kind of telepathic link between them. It was downright unsettling that they had both said the same thing word-for-word.
“Right?!” Bridget energetically agreed as she sat forward on her recliner. “I mean, the guy’s not only INCREDIBLE in the sack, but he makes you feel special instead of like a piece of meat! When I’m with him, I feel important…”
“And did he check on you throughout the act to make sure you’re okay?” Ashlee asked the gracious hostess. “He always cares enough to make sure you’re comfortable…”
“YES!” Bridget shouted as she practically fell off her chair. She then focused her attention on me and placed a hand up in my direction as she lowered her voice a bit while lecturing, “And don’t take this the wrong way, Marcus, but almost annoyingly so! You’re too damn sweet for your own good! We’ll be right in the middle of something earth-shattering when you stop to see if I’m okay! Am I right, Ashlee?”
The goth chick laughed since she knew exactly what the brunette meant.
I couldn’t believe it. Under normal circumstances, a guy being reunited with a lost love in front of a current love would cause all sorts of problems…but these two women had practically become best friends in the last fifteen minutes. Again, I can’t stress enough how happy I was to be seeing them so cordial with one another, but it just didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
“I can honestly see why you’ve missed this guy so much over the years,” Bridget then spoke up. “Hell, if he disappeared from my life…”
“Wait a minute,” I then spoke up as I cut the bountiful brunette off. “I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but I have a few questions.”
Four of the most enchanting eyes I had ever seen were on me.
I scratched the back of my head as I tried to word my first query correctly. When I was finally ready to ask it, I think I kind of butchered it by simply asking, “Huh?”
Both women stared at me with quizzical expressions on their charming faces.
I stood up and waved my hands about while closing my eyes and trying to recollect my thoughts. I stood in front of the coffee table as I stated, “I’m truly thankful that the two of you have hit it off and gotten along, but this seems a little…odd, doesn’t it?”
Again, both women continued to stare at me. It was Bridget who finally replied, “How so, Marcus?”
“Shouldn’t one or both of you be mad at me?”
“What for?” Bridget asked again. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
I’m not saying women are difficult, but usually, females are a lot more difficult than this. I mean that in a respectful way, of course.
Bridget suddenly stood up as well and then walked over to the couch to have a seat next to Ashlee. The gothic beauty moved over a bit in order to give the bountiful brunette more room, and once Bridget was seated, she glanced up at me as she told me, “Marcus, there’s something about you that I can’t express in words…I only know it exists because I can feel it.”
I had no idea what my brown-haired compeer meant, but I was more than willing to listen to her explanation.
Bridget placed a hand on Ashlee’s left thigh and then asked me, “Marcus, if I was to walk out my front door at this very instant and a truck came cruising down the road at me, what would you do?”
“Well,” I spoke up, “That scenario seems a little farfetched since the only vehicle I’ve seen around here on the road other than my own has been that horse-drawn carriage…”
“Marcus!”
Answering the question to the best of my ability, I told the beautiful brunette, “I would bolt out into the road and shove you out of the way, of course. I would do my utmost best to do so in a way that you wouldn’t wrench an arm on the way down, but you’d have to be a little lenient with me if I did so since I would more than likely be getting splattered at that moment.”
With a smile of victory on her gorgeous countenance, Bridget then motioned toward the woman beside her and asked, “Same scenario, but it was Ashlee crossing the street.”
I glanced at the raven-tressed beauty and honestly answered, “The same. I would push her out of the way because I couldn’t bear to see her hurt. The very thought of something bad happening to one of you…”
Bridget still had a look of triumph on her face as she patted Ashlee’s leg again and asked, “Do you see it yet, Marcus?”
“See what?”
“If another person around town – let’s say, Rutger – was crossing the street and that happened, would you save him?”
“Hell, no!” I chuckled. “Why would I want to help that guy?”
“Okay. Maybe that was a bad example. How about Cathy?”
“Um, I know she’s your co-worker and friend and all, but no.”
“How about a mother carrying a baby?”
I knew my answer wasn’t going to be popular, but I couldn’t lie about how I felt. “I’m sorry if I come off like an ass for saying this, but no. It’s not that I’m a heartless bastard or anything, but…well, maybe when I say it like that, I am, but I’m not willing to sacrifice myself for someone I don’t care about.”
Bridget slapped her hands against her thighs as she smiled and called out, “Don’t you see it yet, Marcus? You’re not a heartless bastard or anything of the sort…you’re just an honest guy who knows what he cares about!”
I still wasn’t making the connection. I understood the fact that I was being straightforward with my answers, but I couldn’t see why they excited the brunette…and apparently the dark-haired beauty next to her as well. I could see Ashlee actually smiling, and it was an amazing expression I had sorely missed. Both women looked ravishing when they smiled.
“I’m going to give you one more scenario, Marcus,” Bridget then told me as she straightened herself out on the couch and became deathly serious. “Now, I want you to think about this and give me an honest answer. Neither Ashlee nor I will be offended by how you answer because this is quite a moral dilemma. Are you ready?”
Even though I had no idea what was coming, I nodded. I prayed with every fiber of my being that it wasn’t going to be a question that could emotionally harm one of the women seated before me.
“Let’s pretend that in the mountains near here,” Bridget started, “that a wizard suddenly appeared waving a magic wand around.”
“A wizard?” I asked, no longer taking the story seriously.
“Yes! A wizard!”
“Shouldn’t he have a staff or rod or something? A wand sounds like something a street magician would carry around.”
I could see Ashlee giggling since she and I had at one time played a lot of RPGs together. She understood my nerdy sense of humor.
“Hey!” Bridget called out. “Whose story is this, anyway?”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized with a bit of a snicker. “Wizard in the mountains with a wand. Got it. Go on.”
Ashlee continued to laugh as Bridget tried to become serious again and said, “If you don’t like my wizard, I’ll make him a sorcerer!”
“Isn’t that in essence the same thing?” I teased the brunette.
“Not necessarily,” Ashlee chimed in. “Most wizards are sorcerers, but not all sorcerers are…”
“You too, Ashlee?” Bridget squeaked.
The gothic beauty laughed again and looked absolutely wonderful while doing so. I was so glad to see her happy. “I’m sorry, Bridget! I couldn’t resist!”
The brunette regained her bearings and then faced me once again. Getting down to business, she finally said, “A wizard in the mountains – and yes, that’s what I’m going with – decides one day to descend the slopes and comes for the village. He has the power and magic at his disposal to raze the entire community to the ground. He sees you, Marcus, and gives you a choice: He tells you he will spare the town and all of its inhabitants by not using his magic on it as long as you give Ashlee up. Would you do it?”
“What about you?” I asked my brunette friend as I took her scenario to heart. “Are you counted amongst the villagers, or did you get out?”
“I got out. It’s everybody else…or Ashlee.”
“Oh,” I let out a sigh of relief. “That makes it easy. I’d take Ashlee and tell him to fry the town. No offense to your friends, or anything, but since you said you were safely out of harm’s way, I’d take Ashlee, come find you, and get the hell out. Problem solved.”
“What if that wasn’t the case?” Ashlee decided to get involved. “What if Bridget was with the others and you had to make a choice?”
I spoke from the heart as I told my raven-haired friend, “Then I would find a way to knock the wizard out and get the two of you to safety. I wouldn’t let him harm either one of you.”
“What about all the other people?” Bridget asked. “There are at least three hundred people here…maybe more. You would let all of them die just to save the two of us?”
I solemnly nodded. I didn’t care if it made me look like an ass.
Bridget looked deep within my soul as she sternly asked, “Morally, you could live with the decision that you let an entire village of people die just so two women could live?” She sounded almost disgusted.
I was an honest man and had never cared what anyone else thought of the decisions I made in life. Sure, I didn’t want to upset the two wonderful females seated before me, but I wasn’t going to lie about what I would do if something – no matter how outrageous – like Bridget said came to pass. “I could…and I would gladly do so if meant keeping the two of you alive. What I couldn’t live with, Bridget, is knowing that I would have had the chance to spare the two of you and screw it up.”
Ashlee gained my attention by inquiring, “You would let hundreds of men, women…and even children die just to save the two of us?”
I stared deeply into the beautiful, brown eyes of my old friend as I simply nodded and said, “I don’t care if it makes me sound like a monster…I would do anything for the two of you. And that goes for the other women who have made a difference in my life as well. You ladies are all that truly matters to me, and thoughts of past loves have kept me going through some pretty dismal times on the road.”
It was Bridget’s turn to add to her make-believe plot as she added, “So if Eve and this Maddie you mentioned were added to the mix…”
“I would save them, too. I love them just as much as the two of you…and if a meteor came screeching toward the planet, I would take it head on if I knew it would do anything to secure the fate of you all.”
Surprisingly, Bridget suddenly smiled as she placed her hands out and asked, “Do you see it now, Marcus?”
I was once again thoroughly confused by the beautiful brunette’s behavior. When my eyes went to Ashlee, I could see that she seemed to understand what the woman beside her was saying. I was beginning to wonder why I was the only one not catching on.
“Marcus,” Bridget tried to make me understand, “I said you were special earlier not just because most guys don’t give a rat’s patootie about their exes, but because you take things to an entirely different level! It goes without saying that you’re the most honest man I’ve ever met, and while most men would lie and try to be macho by telling a woman he would jump in front of a moving train for conquest in order to score points, you have no problem telling Ashlee and me that you’d let a woman and her baby die…but not us!”
I wasn’t seeing why that made Bridget happy.
“Marcus,” Ashlee took over the explanation, “I think what Bridget is trying to say is that you’re not only honest with your feelings, but you care a great deal about the people who care about you.”
I was kind of starting to come around…
It was back to Bridget as she sternly said, “Marcus, you obviously know that I care a great deal about you, and it’s pretty evident that you’re still a central part of Ashlee’s life after she proved it by lunging off that stage and running into your arms earlier tonight. We also know how you feel about the both of us after everything you’ve just said…and I have to say, it makes me a little excited just to hear it.”
Ashlee was just as blunt as ever as she admitted, “Hearing you say you’d sacrifice an entire village just to see to my safety makes me a little wet.” She looked at the brunette next to her and apologized, “I’m sorry if I got any on your couch, Bridget.”
Our gracious hostess simply smiled and waved her words off as if to say, “It’s okay…I understand.”
I scratched the back of my head while looking both women over. I’ve never claimed to be the smartest man in the world by any stretch of the imagination, so I had to admit, “I’m probably too much of a blockhead to understand what the two of you are saying…”
Bridget stared directly into my soul with those brilliant, bright eyes she possessed as she told me, “Marcus, you told me a couple of days ago about how you loved all the women who had done something meaningful for you in your life. At first, I didn’t understand it. You made it pretty clear that it didn’t matter if you had been with one of them for two days or two years…you cared for each and every one of them because of what they had meant to you at one time. Again, it seemed ludicrous to me at first, but after seeing the way Ashlee reacted to you tonight…well, I get it now. I see how much she still loves you, and I can see how much you still love her. It’s no different than the way I’ve fallen so hard for you…and you’ve fallen for me in return.”
Was I hearing all of this right? I mean, everything she had said was true, but she was honestly okay with all of this? And what about Ashlee? Was she okay with all of it too? This wasn’t a normal setup by any stretch of the imagination, but to know that both of these women understood that I actually loved both of them…
Bridget suddenly stood up and walked over to me. She stood right in front of me as she gazed up into my eyes and ordered, “Kiss me.”
I was back to being confused all over again. “Huh?”
“Kiss me, you big lug!”
I glanced at Ashlee and saw her nod. This was definitely another test. I wasn’t sure what it was leading to, but I did as I was told.
I took Bridget in my arms and swept her off her feet. I felt like the two of us were pouring our souls into one another…and the only regret I had was that poor Ashlee was being forced to watch on after confessing how she had felt about me after so many years. Still, I couldn’t deny my feelings for Bridget and wanted her to know that I truly loved everything about her. I put my heart into that kiss and gave her everything I had.
When it was finally over, I could see that the brunette actually looked a little lightheaded for a moment. I made sure she was okay, and she reassured me that she was fine. She then motioned for Ashlee to get up and walk over to where we stood. The dark-haired beauty did so without questioning her.
I had no idea what to expect…and what happened next was the last thing I would’ve anticipated.
Bridget had Ashlee step up to me. She had us look each other dead in the eyes as she surprisingly commanded me, “Kiss her, Marcus.”
I was hesitant for a moment because I was still convinced that this was some kind of test. Perhaps Bridget was seeing if I’d go through with it because she was going to throw me out on my butt if I did so. Still, she had heard me confess my feelings and knew how much Ashlee meant to me…and she had already seen the two of us lock lips when we had been reunited.
I knew how I felt, though, and as long as Ashlee was okay with it, I was going to be honest to myself and the two women standing in that living room with me. As time and space stood still for a moment, I grabbed onto the goth babe and pulled her in close. Since I could see that she clearly desired it just as much as I did, I laid my lips on hers and slipped my tongue into her mouth. I felt hers against mine and recalled the time we had wrestled on the floor in her basement. A floodgate of joyful memories ruptured as all the happy times we had shared in the past hit me like a tidal wave. My knees nearly buckled as the two of us felt like one with Bridget watching on.
When the euphoric moment finally ended, Ashlee and I took a step back from each other as Bridget jumped toward us and placed her right hand on Ashlee’s left shoulder and her other on my right. She stared directly at the goth chick as she blissfully told her, “I want you to count with me to three at the same time and then say the one word that happened right there and overtook you, okay?”
The gothic beauty nodded.
I’m sure I just stood there looking like an ant that was about to be stepped on.
“One, two, three…LOVE!” After saying the exact same thing, both women started jumping up and down while cheering. They even high-fived at one point.
By this point, I felt like I was being strung along in some kind of practical joke. I had been honest about everything the entire night, but I obviously needed this spelled out for me. “I…I don’t get it, you two!”
“How can you not?” Bridget asked me as she continued to beam. “It’s right in front of your face, Marcus!”
“It is?”
“Yeah!” Ashlee agreed and also radiated unequivocal joy. “You’re in love!”
I knew that much, but…
“You’re in love with both of us!” Bridget exclaimed.
As I’ve always stated in my stories, honesty is the best policy. I decided to just come right out with it as I admitted, “I am. I love both of you. I’m not exactly sure what that means moving forward, but…”
“And it’s clearly obvious that we both love you!” Ashlee energetically called out. “I’ve known it since we were teenagers, and it doesn’t matter how long Bridget’s known it…but she does! And there’s no stopping that emotion from taking over!”
I couldn’t agree more with the gothic beauty’s statement. Love was a fickle thing, but when it worked, it was the most amazing emotion in the entire world.
“Lucky you, huh?” Bridget asked. She motioned toward Ashlee as she pointed out to me, “You’ve fallen for two hot foxes…and they’re both head over heels for you as well!”
“What…what are you trying to say, Bridget?” I asked since I was still unsure of where this was going. “Are you both saying that you’re fine with me loving…both of you?”
“You can’t control who you love, silly!” The beautiful brunette proclaimed. “In your case, you just happen to love the both of us…and we love you, too!”
“I…” I wasn’t sure what to say. Most guys who would profess to love two women at the same time would promptly receive a pair of slaps in return, but if I was understanding this right…
“I have to work in the morning,” Bridget announced out of the blue. “I think I’ll go upstairs and shower real quick before lying down. Ashlee, you saw where my bedroom was upstairs when you showered earlier. If you need a place to crash for the night, you’re certainly welcome to stay.”
“That’s very kind of you,” the dark-haired stunner responded to the gracious hostess. “I think I’d like to take you up on that. I know the others will wonder where I am, but I’ll find them in the morning. I’m getting rather tired anyway.”
Bridget continued to smile and nodded before glancing at me. “Same goes for you, you big lug! But first things first, you should probably run out to your pickup and grab some fresh clothes! Then you can come in and shower!”
“Sounds good,” I said since I certainly needed to bathe after being in a strip club full of smoke and sweaty concertgoers for the last couple of hours. “I’ll be back and then take a shower. I’ll crash on the couch so you two can…”
Bridget grabbed my right arm and gave me a tight squeeze as Ashlee crossed her arms and glared at me. “Don’t be so dense, Marcus!” The bountiful brunette lectured me. “After everything, we just told you, you better damn sure realize that you’ll be sleeping between us tonight!”
I had either died earlier in the night without realizing it and found my way to the heavens, or else some god up above was truly smiling down on me. Either way, I planned to make the most of it.
END OF PART SIX OF NINE
