“Hey,” Emmet says but if anything it makes the sudden tension in the booth that much more obvious.
Nathan frowns as he looks at me before looking at Chase and then Emmet. “What did I miss?” he asks hesitantly.
“I don’t know,” Chase says, his brows raising slightly.
“Nothing.” I decide to stick to my same answer instead of admitting that I’m just being an unnecessary bitch.
Emmet lets out a soft sigh and his hand reaches over to squeeze my thigh softly under the table. “It’s just a misunderstanding. Chase is a natural charmer and you know Linsey has been in love with him since she started working here. Their interaction may have seemed a bit… flirty.” Emmet says, and I’m unsurprised that he manages to say it in a way that plays down the fact that I’m being irrational.
“Oh.” Chase’s tongue darts out to lick his lip as he looks over at me. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
His eyes are truly apologetic and it makes me feel even worse about my dramatics and I let out a sigh, shaking my head. “No, it’s alright, I’m just being irrational and insecure, I can’t expect for you to not be friendly, it’s just your nature.” I wring my hands nervously, feeling the gazes of all three men on me, but I refuse to look up at them. “Plus, I mean I’m dating all three of you at once and none of you seem to have problems with that, you encourage it, yet I won’t even put a label to all of this. So, if you want to… I don’t know- I mean, I don’t expect to be the only one, we never talked about exclusivity or anything like that...” I don’t realize I’m rambling until Chase reaches across the table and places a hand on top of mine, pausing my movement.
I lift my eyes to his as my heart skips a beat.
“Ivy,” he says lowly and it feels intimate despite us being in a crowded restaurant. “It’s okay. I don’t want anyone but you and neither do these guys,” he gestures to the other men who watch on silently. “I mean, even Emmet has given up his French piece of ass that he usually calls when he’s really high for a booty call. Poor guy, I had to threaten to arrest him if he didn’t go away the other day.” His eyes drift to Emmet.
Processing his words, my eyes wrinkle slightly as I take in Emmet. “He?” I ask, turning the word over. “Are you bisexual?”
“I’d like to think I’m more pansexual,” he says casually but when his eyes meet mine, I don’t miss the slight worry in them. “That’s not a problem, is it?”
I let out a slight laugh at that and shake my head. “No, I’ve had my fair share of girlfriends between boyfriends.” I shudder at the thought. While most of my same-sex relationships ended a lot calmer than my ones with males, there were a couple that did end ugly.
Emmet relaxes at that.
I turn my gaze back to Chase as he starts to speak again. “Anyway, we know we didn’t originally talk about exclusivity, but if it makes you feel better none of us are seeing anyone else, nor do we plan to.” He says as his thumb strokes my hand.
I bite my lip slightly, my eyes roaming over to Nathan who has been a little silent. His posture is relaxed and when his eyes meet mine, he gives me a slight smile.
“I don’t want anyone else either,” I say, looking at each of them in turn before stopping on Chase. I smile. “I mean, three is enough, right?”