“What happened to getting a comedy?”
“It’s Valentine’s Day. I guess the number one thing to do is watch a comedy.”
Mika laughed as she took the movies. “I haven’t seen Infinity War. I was waiting for the next one to come out in March before watching it.”
“Jonas is like that. He hates waiting for something he wants.”
She wasn’t going to touch that comment with a ten-foot pole.
Putting the movie in, she turned around and froze, not knowing what to do.
Both men had taken off their shoes and were on opposite sides of the bed, shoving pillows behind their backs.
Jonas gave her a benign smile. “Come and sit down between us. There’s room for all three of us.”
She wiped her palms again. “I’m going to be upfront and honest with you. My family knows where I am, I don’t have any money, and there’s a camera outside my door, so you won’t get away with anything if I suddenly disappear.”
Hammer’s expression softened. “You’re safe, Mary.”
“I think so, too, or I wouldn’t have let you guys inside.”
Hammer patted the empty part of the bed by his side. “Relax. Let’s enjoy the movie.”
Having already taken off her shoes when she had come back to the motel room, she placed a knee on the bottom of the bed, then crawled to the center to sit between the two men. She stiffly pressed the button on the remote to start the movie, aware of the masculine presences by her sides. It was hard to concentrate. In fact, they were a fourth of the way through the movie before she could relax and sink back onto the pillow that Hammer had thoughtfully placed behind her.
“So, why are you visiting Treepoint?”
Hammer’s question had her giving him a brief glance, unable to control her reactions if she stared too long. “Business. How about you and Jonas?”
“We went to a friend’s wedding today. We’re staying the night here instead of driving back tonight.”
“Aw. Your friend got married on Valentine’s Day? That’s so romantic. Convenient, too. They’ll never forget their anniversary.”
“Are you married?”
Jonas’s question had her jerking her head sideways toward him. “No. You?”
“No, neither of us are. Hammer is divorced, but I’ve never found the right woman.”
Sliding her gaze back to the TV, she tried to focus on the Avengers and not the sexy eyes trying to drill holes into her soul.
“It sucks being alone on Valentine’s Day.” Hammer’s revelation echoed her own loneliness.
“It’s different for men. If you’re alone, it’s easy to ask someone out. A woman asks a man out on Valentine’s Day and they stop talking to you.”
“It’s not as easy for men as you think.”
Mika made a disbelieving face at the television. “If you’re trying to get my sympathy, it won’t work. I’m sure neither of you are hurting in the women department.”
“What makes you say that?” Hammer asked.
“Let’s drop the subject and watch the movie.”
“Why?” Jonas scooted slightly closer to her.
She gave a loud sigh. Then, pressing the pause button, she laid the remote down on her thigh. “You two don’t need me to tell you how attractive you are, so unless you’re gay, and even if you are, women will take a chance hitting on you.”
“If that’s true, then why didn’t you?” Hammer shifted on his hip to look at her.
“I’m different.”
“How? You don’t find us attractive?” He raised a questioning brow. “By the way, we’re not gay.”
“I didn’t say that I don’t find you guys attractive, only that I’m different, that I know it would be useless for me to think the attraction would go both ways.”
Jonas sat up off the pillow. “Why would it be useless?”
Mika nodded toward Hammer. “I bet you only dated cheerleaders or the homecoming queen in high school.”
From his Hammer’s chagrined expression, she knew she was right.
Tilting her head toward Jonas, she gave him a once-over. “I bet you dated the prom queen, possibly not the prettiest girl in your school but definitely the most popular.”
She could tell Jonas liked her assessment even less than Hammer had.
“Neither of you come across as lacking confidence, yet you were irritated when I didn’t try to approach you at the bar like I did Harvey.”
“I’m not going to deny that it didn’t put a dent in my ego,” Hammer acknowledged.
“I’m a very good judge of character.”
“Then your judgment sucks where we’re concerned. What you didn’t take into consideration is that neither Jonas nor I are in high school anymore. We’re grown men, and we don’t date women based on their physical appearance.”
“Okay. So, what do you base it on, then?”
Mika didn’t miss the silent communication between the men.
“Jonas and I are limited to the women that we date because we prefer to be in a polyamorous relationship.”
His explanation didn’t shock her, but it was surprising that they were discussing this with a stranger.
“How many people do you want to have in this relationship?”
“Three.”
“Do you both share a woman or do want to add another man to your relationship?”
“A woman.”
“That’s interesting. I’ve never met a couple who wants to be in a committed relationship between two men and one woman.”
Jonas and Hammer both stared at her in surprise.
“It doesn’t bother you?” Jonas asked.
Mika frowned at him. “Why should it? I’m sure you thought this over carefully. It isn’t something decided on without thinking of the drawbacks and the advantages of being in a triad. I try not to judge other people, and if that’s what you both think you want in your life to make you both happy, then you should.
“I can understand your difficulty in finding your third. It can’t be easy finding a woman who would be willing to…” Blushing, she tried to find the least embarrassing and most delicate way to continue what she was about to say. “… have sexual relations with two men separately… or at the same time?” She posed the last part as a question.
“The same time.”
“Okay. Are their websites where you can meet those type of women?”
“Yes.” Hammer scooted closer to her, placing an arm on the pillow behind her back. “The problem with that is Jonas and I haven’t met one who we feel the same about. Just because the women on those sites are interested in being a third, doesn’t mean we’d have anything else in common with her. We haven’t met anyone who has clicked with us… yet.”
Giving them both sympathetic glances, she patted each one on their thighs. “That must be discouraging.”
“It is,” they both agreed, looking down at her hands.
Pulling her hands away, she tried to resume watching the movie, but the image of the two men making love to a woman whom they wanted to share, kept intruding like an alert bulletin during your soap opera. Her curiosity wasn’t the only thing that was aroused by the discussion.
“Most of the women that we’ve met seem to prefer one of us over the other.”
Still imagining the two men having sex with a faceless woman, it took her a second to realize that Hammer was continuing the discussion.
“I can see that being a problem. You would want her to care for you equally, like you would care for her and Jonas.”
“You’re the first one who gets that.”
“Gets what?”
“For the triad to be successful, all of us have to be equal.”
Mika frowned. “That goes without saying.”
“Actually, not to them. Most want the relationship centered around her and what would make her happy.”
“Ah… I see. She would want to come first, instead of Jonas.” Mika turned her head toward Jonas. “Or, she wants to c
ome first, instead of Hammer.”
“Exactly,” Jonas agreed. “But you get that. The women we’ve met don’t.”
“You will. You just haven’t met her yet.”
“Hammer and I think we just did.”
Mika tore her eyes away from the TV to find them studying her with expressions that weren’t hard to decipher.
“Guys, I’m not your third. I’m not looking for a relationship with one man, much less two.”
“What were you looking for tonight when you went to the bar, then?”
Mika shook her head at Hammer. “Definitely not this.”