Chapter 39
Mark
I was the one to break the silence.
“Brooke—that was in-fucking-credible.”
“Yeah,” Jake agreed, “I’ve never had a more intense orgasm. You’re some kind of sex whisperer.”
Brooke giggled.
“I can barely believe it myself. It still all feels unreal—like some kind of porno you see online. Not something you actually do and feel yourself. You guys are sex gods yourselves.”
I grinned, kissing her on the cheek.
“I never thought I’d say this” Jake said, “but this arrangement really is perfect. I get to hang with my best friend and the love of my life at the same time.”
“I’m not the love of your life, Jake,” I quipped.
Brooke giggled, and he snorted.
“Way to ruin the moment, buddy.”
I made my face assume a serious expression as I turned to Brooke and Jake.
“Seriously though, you took the words right out of my mouth. I feel more at ease with you two, more myself—than well, with anyone.”
Brooke was just about gleaming with happiness. Slinging her arms around both of us, she squealed, “You two make me so insanely happy.”
“I love you,” I murmured unthinkingly, snuggling myself into her generous chest.
I froze.
“Did you just say,” Jake said.
My whole body tensed, and I sighed.
“Yeah, I guess I did.”
“And?” Brooke asked eagerly.
I sat up, finding it hard to look her in the eye all of a sudden.
“I guess it’s true. I mean—when I look at you, I—” my voice broke.
Brooke kissed me on the cheek.
“It’s okay, Mark. You don’t have to push yourself.”
I shook my head angrily.
“I do though. I’ve been hiding out from my emotions for too long now. Just because my mom and dad were fuckups who left me, doesn’t mean that it’s reasonable for me to never trust anyone again. My grandma would’ve wanted me to take a risk, to open my heart. And that’s what you did, Brooke. Without me even meaning to, I’ve fallen for you.”
Her eyes were full of tears, her lips parted with the enormity of what I said. My own heart felt so big and swollen that it was going to burst.
“Mark, I-I don’t know what to say. Except that I love you too. I love your jokes and your irreverence. I love the way you fuck me, I love your pretty light eyes. I love everything about you.”
I pressed myself to her with a tenderness that was indescribable. As I nuzzled up onto her shoulder, I reflected that there really no words for this. To describe the heart-pounding, head-ringing, insanity-inducing feeling I experienced when I was with her. ‘Love’ seemed too paltry a word. And yet, here I was, snuggling up to her, every beat of my heart convincing me that L-O-V-E was precisely what it was I was feeling for Brooke. Love.
“Hey Mark,” Jake said.
“Yeah?”
“Would now be a bad time to declare my own love for Brooke?” he asked.
I sat upright in bed, assuming a petulant expression.
“You monster—don’t you dare!”
We all burst out into side-splitting laughter. Once we were finished, Jake took Brooke’s hand in his.
“Brooke. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for what you taught me. About caring and love and relationships. You opened my heart again—in a way I never thought it could be opened again, and beyond. And, more than that, you showed me that true love and healthy relationships aren’t what we’ve been taught. There’s no need for this limiting ownership view of them. All you need are people who care about each other a huge lot, and I’ve certainly got those.”
He wrapped his arms around Brooke, as his lips met hers. I watched them warily, their smile eventually becoming my own. Yeah, as crazy as this situation still was, I thought this throuple thing could really work. I loved them, Brooke and Jake. Definitely in different ways, but still. Seeing them happy made me, well, happy.
“Are you guys sure about the business though?” Brooke said after a minute, “I don’t want you feeling like you have to keep me on just because you love me.”
“Now don’t think that,” I consoled her, “We’re keeping you around because we want to jump your bones on our lunch break.”
“Jake!” Brooke cried in exasperation, whacking me with a pillow.
“Calm down,” I said, still grinning, and pulling away the pillow.
“We’re keeping you around because you’re the best nurse we’ve ever had—and probably ever will,” Jake said.
“Not just the one who gives the best blow jobs?” Brooke joked.
Jake grinned.
“Well, that you definitely do. But you know what we mean. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—you’re quick-thinking, skillful and thoughtful. You’ve got a big caring heart, and it comes out every time you speak to a patient.”
“We’d be honored to have you stay on our team,” I added.
When Jake caught my eye, I nodded. At the same time, we kissed both her cheeks.
“You guys,” Brooke said with a groan, “Is this how it’s going to be? You two teaming up on me to get what you want?”
“I don’t know,” I said, my hand sliding down to her left tit, as Jake did the same to her right one, “Is it working?”
Smiling in spite of herself, Brooke’s eyes fluttered closed as she enjoyed the light massaging sensations of our fingertips on her breast.
“And what about those ground rule things?” Jake asked.
Brooke’s eyes opened and she hastily swatted our hands away.
“Good point. How about we have some waffles and then we talk it over?”
I studied her suspiciously.
“How’d you know I had waffles?”
She smiled with a shrug.
“I asked Jake what your favorite food was. It is your birthday in a week, after all.”
I grinned.
“Huh, almost forgot. Getting in a relationship with your best friend and a sex demon must have a way of doing that to you.”
As I got up, Jake stopped me.
“Nah, you two wait here. I don’t trust your waffle-making skills.”
“You kidding me?” I sputtered, “You pop the things in a toaster, how hard can it be?”
Jake eyed me steadily.
“Do I really have to relay to you just how many times I’ve had burned waffles at your expense?”
I sighed.
“Whatever. It isn’t easy making food when you’re hungover, you know. But be my guest.”
Once Jake left, I turned to Brooke.
“So, what do you say to making some sort of side deal to this ground rule thing—so I get the benefit. I mean, Jake did leave—beggars can’t be choosers.”
Brooke eyed me with her long-lashed eyes in an adorably shocked expression.
“Mark, you aren’t serious??”
I chuckled.
“Of course, I’m not.” I lowered my face to hers and my voice to a whisper, “Unless you are.”
At that, we giggled together. When Jake returned with the massive platter of crispy waffles covered in maple syrup, we dug in and got to discussing.
“I say no outside parties,” Jake said, taking a big bite of his waffle, “I want this relationship to be between us three.”
“Agreed,” Brooke said.
Both of them looked pointedly to me.
“What?’ I said, “Little innocent old me?”
They held their gazes and I sighed.
“Fine, fine. I’ve had enough hookups anyway. I was running out of new things to experience—but here you go.”
Once again, they were scolding me, so I held up both hands.
“Kidding. Although my stipulation is no gay stuff. There’s a reason Jake’s been my best friend all this time—and not my fuck buddy.”
“Agreed,” Jake said immediately, and Brooke nodded.
“What about who goes first?” I asked.
“I think we’ve been doing okay with that so far,” Brooke said, “Don’t you?”
I tried to think back to the hazy fuck fest that we’d just undergone, but all I could remember was the explosion of my orgasm and how long I’d been hard for.
“Uhhh, yeah I think so,” I said, and Jake agreed.
“And dates?” he said.
“Why not one with each of you per week, then one group date—how does that sound?” Brooke asked.
“Yep,” Jake and I chorused.
We high fived, then got back to eating our waffles.
“And what about our families and Christmas and, I don’t know, the future?” Brooke said in a neurotic voice.
“Seriously?” I asked.
Grinning cheekily, she winked.
“How about, we’ll take it as it comes?”
“I like the sounds of that,” I said.
“Although you two will have to meet my mother,” Jake said with a sigh.
“I’ve already met your mother, broface,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, but meet her and have her actually like you,” he shot back.
I sighed.
“At this rate, we’re in for it.”
Brooke giggled.
“I don’t know. This is probably going to sound crazy, but whatever. As long as I’m with you two, it really feels like I can do anything.”
“Weird,” I commented, “It’s like you love us or something.”
I collected her and Jake’s empty waffle plates as we all giggled.
Still laughing maniacally, we twined ourselves together, one mass of warm happy limbs and face-wide smiles.
And then, all of a sudden, I knew exactly what I had to do today.
“Guys—what would you say to a little field trip?”
As Brooke and Jake gave disapproving noises, I continued “I want Brooke to meet my grandmother.”
Silence.
Brooke turned to me with shining eyes.
“Of course, Mark.”
“It was just Jake who got me thinking about it,” I explained, “When he mentioned he was going to introduce you to his mom in a week or so.”
“Oh really?” Brooke said, her eyes going to Jake with interest.
“I was going to mention it,” he said, “Anyway, Mark’s right. You should meet her. She’s the closest family he has, even if she’s dead.”
Brooke nodded.
“Of course, we can even go now if you’d like.”
I smiled a little.
“Yeah, yeah I’d like that.”
The sun was just rising as we walked past the rows of tombstones. It cast a mystical glow upon their curved stone structures. That was how it felt right now, walking through here with Brooke and Jake—mystical. Something like Deja-vu and a dream come true. Finally, I was introducing my grandmother to a girl I really saw myself growing old with.
Soft dew drops coated the grass under our feet, while the tall olden trees swayed slightly with the breeze. It didn’t take us long to reach the willow tree.
“There she is,” I said.
I gestured to the grey granite tombstone that read, Marilyn Sawyer.
“I know this is pretty weird,” I told Brooke, “I just, I came here, when I was thinking about you one time, when I’d been fighting with how much you meant to me. It had helped calm me down a bit. Anyway, you don’t have to do anything. I just wanted you here, around someone who was the most important woman to me in the world once.”
Brooke nodded silently. She was gazing at my grandmother’s tomb with a somber expression.
“She must have been some woman,” she said softly.
“She was,” I said, “Raising me all alone, after my parents ran off. Then supporting me through my crazy surgeon dream.”
“Oh no,” Brooke said, “I meant the whole raising you at all thing.”
“Hey,” I said, throwing my arms around Brooke and squeezing me, “Mind yourself around my grandma—be respectful.”
She giggled, and I gave her a great smacking kiss on the cheek, while Jake held her hand.
“Seriously though,” Brooke said, a grave look coming over her face, “She would’ve been proud of you—the man you’ve turned out to be.”
“Brooke’s right,” Jake said, patting me on the back.
I smiled back at them gratefully, before turning my gaze back to the tombstone. There you have it Grandma, the girl of my dreams and my best friend. Pretty crazy, but you always said that the most important thing was my happiness, right?
A wind ruffled in the willows making them sway so much they brushed against my cheek. I closed my eyes, smiling. I understood. She was here, and she approved, that forward-thinking old lady.
I took Brooke’s hand, and pointed to a far-off hulking giant of a hill.
“C’mon guys—what do you say we go to the top of that hill? If you walk up far enough you can see most of LA.”
“Looks pretty far,” Jake said.
“It won’t take long,” I assured him.
“Fine, whatever,” he said with an easy smile.
“Okay,” Brooke agreed, “although if I get tired, you two have to carry me.”
“Of course,” I said.
It was an empty promise—I didn’t really expect it to take us that long to reach the hill. After all, I’d walked from the cemetery to here once or twice before. However, thirty leg-aching minutes later, Brooke finally turned to me.
“A promise is a promise.”
So, I crouched down, she got on my back—and we piggy-backed the rest of the way.”
At the top, the view was even more spectacular. You could see the whole LA skyline, not to mention a good amount of forest and water. It was a fairytale view, for a fairytale moment. I felt stupid even thinking the word, but there just wasn’t any others that fit right now. No, not with the way we were flopped on this hill—Brooke’s head resting on my shoulder, her hand in Jake’s. The three love musketeers—that was what we were.
“I’m so happy,” Brooke said, her beaming face showing the truth of her words, “I feel like things can’t get any better than this.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised,” Jake’s smile said.
“Yeah, just you wait and see,” I added, “You haven’t seen nothing yet.”
And although I’d said it just to shoot the shit, as I looked at my favorite two people in the world, there was no doubt in my mind that it was true.
I leaned my head back, breathing it all in. The fresh air. The ease. The happiness. The freedom. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was exactly where I should be. The wind was ruffling my hair, the girl I loved was smiling at me, and my best friend was too. I smiled back at them, and together, we raised our jubilant voices to the wind.
We collapsed back onto the cushy grass, all of us laughing. Out of breath with happiness, I turned to look at them, and for the life of me, I couldn’t decide whether to hug them or laugh in glee some more.
Something told me that the three of us were going to be ridiculously happy together.