A Throuple Of Things

"I've got a few choices. Vienna, Dominican Republic or Malaysia. Whichever she would prefer. What do you think?"

"Vienna was always one of the places she talked about going. I was going take her sometime but if it's on the list, go for it."

It was the first time since he'd become involved with Helen that I'd had a wobble. I wasn't jealous of their relationship, I wasn't threatened by Ed, I didn't fear losing Helen but this silly little break was causing me pain for some reason. I just had to learn let some things go. In the grand scheme of it all, it wasn't worth worrying about.

After speaking to Ed Helen spoke to me about it "Ed says he wants to take me away for a weekend." Her voice was energised and full of giddy anticipation. "Would that be ok, honey?"

"Of course it would, baby. If you're a good girl between now and then maybe he'll treat you for longer. Do you know where he's taking you?"

"No he hasn't said but he thinks I'll like it."

Oh she was sure to like it. Vienna, the place I always wanted to take her and the place she always wanted to me to take her. I should have told him to take her to the Dominican Republic but I was thinking of her.

"I'm sure you'll love it wherever it is. You'll need to make sure your passport is up to date and start packing."

"I'm so going to make this up to you, honey. How about an early night tonight?"

"Haha yes an early night would be a great start to you making it up to me."

Two weeks and she'd be away in the clouds and without me. Urgh time alone.

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The day of the flight arrived and I drove them both to the the airport. I'd made sure they hadn't forgotten anything before loading the car. Passports and tickets in top pockets, carry on over their shoulders and luggage on the trolley. As soon as we entered the terminal Helen needed the bathroom so we waited near check in.

"I need to ask you something a little delicate." Ed stated. "Actually it's a couple of things that I think go hand in hand."

"Ok. Fire away. You know you can talk to me"

He stood shaking his hands as if to wake them, rolling up on to his toes and back to his heels before repeating in a build up.

"Are you preparing for a race or something?"

"No just nervous." He stopped fidgeting and turned to me. "Look, I've been seeing Helen for the past seven odd months. I'm in love with her! There I said it. I love her."

"Ok. That's not news to me. I've seen you both together for the last seven months and it's been obvious for a long time."

He wasn't expecting that. "So that doesn't bother you? I mean that I'm in love with your wife?"

"Not at all." I replied. " it would bother me more if you weren't."

"Right, ok. That's cool. But that brings me to the other thing. I wondered if you'd be ok with me asking if she would marry me......."he held his hands up to allow him to continue before I jumped in. "I know she can't legally marry me but when two people feel the same it's normally expected that they get married. Now I know you're both already married but what if i tell her on the trip that I love her, if she says it back I'd pop the question and put an engagement ring on her right hand. Then at some point in the future we'd have a symbolic wedding where you'd give her away. The usual but not official?"

While the proclamation of love was expected the request of marriage was not. "Wow. That's going to take some thinking about. Are you really serious? I mean have you fully considered what that means?"

"Being one fucked up family. I have and it's what I want. You as my brother and her as our wife."

"I'm gonna have to let you know." It wasn't a million miles away from having him live in with us but Helen had put the brakes on that idea preferring to have her own alone time with him. I wasn't sure marriage would change her mind. But who knew?

I waved them off. The consideration of giving up a piece of Helen wasn't the issue. She was already his as well as mine. Not that I own...you know what I'm going to say. Marriage, official or not, made things much more solid. In the end it wasn't my decision to make. It was Helen's. Even before I left the terminal I called Ed. "Hey Ed, do it. Ask her. It's her call. It's always been her call, and spoil her for the two weeks, but ask her towards the end in case she says no and breaks your heart. At least that way you'll have a great time first."

"You're the man Greg!"

Ten hours later I got a text from Helen "VIENNA!! FUCKING VIENNA!!"

I text back "I know. Enjoy."

"Oh and I left a few 'things' in your top drawer to keep you company. Xxx"

My top drawer was full of twenty odd pairs of her worn and heavenly scented panties. She knows me well. I honestly don't think she ever washed a single pair of her underwear. I think she wore them once and bought new ones. I've never seen any in the dryer or on the line. I bought a decorative box and began collecting them. She didn't seem to notice

The first week was boring as hell. Nothing I did made a difference. Work went slow, food tasted shit and everything else just sucked. As bad as the first week was, the second week was worse. I wasn't sleeping I had a constant headache from lack of sleep. My head was royally up my arse. The pair had called and text me the whole time telling me about the things they'd seen, places they'd visited and stuff they were going to do. I listened in on them having sex a few times but it wasn't enough. I needed her back so I could relax. Ed was going to pop the question on the last day so waiting was agony but eventually it came. He called me so I could listen in.

Ed - "angel, these past few months I've spent with you have been the best time of my life. I can't ever imagine not having a relationship with you. I need to always have you in my life. I've asked Greg if he's ok with me doing this and he's given his blessing so,"

I imagine he paused to get on his knee for her.

Ed - "I love you, will you marry me?"

I fully expected a quick response from her. Either a 'yes absolutely' or a 'no I can't I'm already married.' But instead there was silence. I wasn't sure what was happening but there was just silence for an uncomfortable amount of time. "Ed? Ed? Everything ok?" I said into the phone.

"Sorry Greg I forgot you were there. Yes everything's fine. She's crying. She can't speak but she did nod and the ring is on her finger."

"Congratulations dude. You're going to marry my wife." We both laughed hard before saying our goodbyes. I'd see them both when they arrived home the next day.

Waiting at the airport took an age. It was hot, clammy and disgustingly uncomfortable. I got a text to say they were almost out so I moved the car to the front to pick them up.

The first thing Helen did was come to give me the tightest hug and hardest kiss. "God I've missed you honey buns."

"Careful now baby. You'll make your fiancé jealous."

Ed laughed as he loaded the luggage. And got into the back seat.

"How was your romantic holiday?" I asked them.

"Oh honey, it was beautiful. The whole place was so peaceful and calm. The people were so friendly I could just imagine living there. I want to go again. Will you take me?"

"It must have been quite a place to have that effect on you. I'd love to go but it'll be a while before I take any leave. Probably heading into autumn."

"Oktoberfest!" Ed shouted.

We all agreed that was a great plan. Back to Vienna for their version of Oktoberfest.

Welcome home sex was great. It was the best sex I'd had since she'd come back into our bedroom after her first ever round with Ed and it lasted for hours. When I woke she was still asleep. I got up and went to make breakfast. I called Ed to see if he was available for a day of chilling and maybe all going for a drive up to the vineyard for some lunch and decompression. Not that they need to decompress after two weeks of orgasms and Viennese culture. He said he'd drive so Helen and I could enjoy a drink together. so that was the plan.

I woke her with coffee and bagels before telling her of our outing.

Warm days always were the most special gift. The scent of flowers drifting on the air as the breeze carried their pollen, the sound of bees working to collect nectar for their hives and the warmth of the sun affording us pleasant days to sit and drink with good company, and good company in this case were my wife, my best friend, Elle and Sean.

The promotion hadn't been good for everyone at the company as my restructure took shape. Many were given reduced hours until they could prove their value in the new system. Others were moved to different departments where I knew they'd be more use, even if they did hate the job. Sean was one of the sales staff who'd escaped being shuffled but he did have to be guided in a new direction. I'd always liked him, he wasn't a bad guy by any definition of the word but he was in a rut and he required a helpful nudge to become more useful.

As old and less suitable players were sent packing, some new blood was brought in to help energise the team. Elle was one of the new recruits. While her husband stayed in sales, she was put out in the wilds as a mobile liaison to our less stable account clients. She had a definite knack for building better foundations in the rocky relationships we already had and although her role was a step below sales I found her to be a key asset to the business.

Sitting at the table, the five of us spoke a lot about the job. All apart from Helen who was happy to enjoy the sun and wine, basking like a gazelle in a sun dress. I couldn't help but notice a disconnect between Elle and Sean. It was subtle but the body language spoke volumes. No touching, no direct interaction, legs crossed away from each other. Not the actions of a couple in the happy zone.

Helen took to the bar and hot on her heels was Elle, similar in build but shorter by a good three or four inches. A pretty girl in her own right, with a track record to prove it. I'd heard many a story about their nights out, drinking and covorting. In the early days Elle was the party animal and often left Helen for boys she met. Helen on the other hand didn't discover sex until she was 21. It wasn't for the lack of boys trying but her father was one of those old boys who held a tight leash. I decided to steer the conversation while the girls were out of ear shot.

"What's new in the world of Sean? I asked. Been away anywhere recently"

He shook his head as he took a drink of his Birra Moretti. "No. no travel plans at the moment. We have other things going on so travel isn't high on the agenda."

I could read into his demeanour and knew he wanted to talk but didn't know how to begin. "I know how that feels." I was feeling a little playful. "Helen went out to Vienna a couple of weeks ago but I had to stay and sort out all this work stuff I've had going on. You know how it is."

I could see Ed look at me with a nervous tension.

"Vienna? Hey Ed didn't you go to Vienna recently too?"

"We, yeah. Um, yeah I did."

I was laughing on the inside as I saw him squirm in his seat, not wanting to let the cat out of the bag. "It s a beautiful city. Actually really quite big. I wonder if we were there at the same time, Greg?"

Well played Ed. Well played. "So no fun time away Sean? Shame. You need to make time together. I know work is busy but if you need to book time off together just let me know. I'll sort it out."

"Thanks, mate," Sean replied. "but we have some things we need to sort out before we decide to do that."

Bingo! He opened the gate to a question about what was happening.

"That doesn't sound too good. Hope things aren't too bad."

He shook his head as he watched Elle and Helen chatting to the olive skinned barman. "How do you do it Greg? How do you manage to hold on to a woman like Helen with such ease. I mean look at them both at the bar there. Both chatting to the barman and yet Helen doesn't really show much interest. Elle on the other hand is like a dog in heat, flirting and acting girly."

"Listen chaps, I'm going join the ladies and get a drink. Either of you want anything?" Ed asked as he stood. We both shook our heads. It was Ed's perfect reading of the situation and his ability to remove himself when he knew he was likely to be an obstruction to that situation that added to his versatility as my 2IC.

When Ed was out of ear shot I answered Sean. "Nothing is ever ideal mate. You think that I have the perfect stereotypical happy relationship with Helen?"

"You both always seem so happy and close. I don't think I've ever seen you two argue." He commented.

True we didn't argue often but then we were hardly stereotypical. "Has something happened? You seem harassed by something."

He sat quiet for a few seconds chewing his top lip before taking a deep breath. "I think she's cheating on me. She's always on her phone and seems to hide things. If I walk into the room she closes her phone. She smiles when she gets messages late at night. She goes out all the time and is often confrontational when she gets home. Then there's times when she makes a huge effort and is almost sorrowful about something. I'm losing her."

Given Elle's history it wouldn't surprise me if she was wandering. "Have you tried speaking to her about it?"

"What would I say? I can't just accuse her. She'd just break up with me and then she's free to go and fuck who she wants."

"So what you're saying is you want her to be some kind of captive, a robot who obeys you and only you! That's unrealistic."

"But how can you say that?" He asked. "You have that with a woman twice as glamorous as Elle. You don't seem to have these problems. What if you had suspicions that Helen was cheating on you? What would you do?"

"I have had suspicions in the past. Actually the suspicion turned out to be correct. It was a year after we first got together and I found evidence that she was cheating with her ex."

The look on his face was one of disgust. "What evidence? How did you resolve it and make sure she never did it again?"

"When I tell you this, don't judge me." I said. He nodded. "I have a thing for panties."

"A thing for panties? Like wearing them?"

"No no no. I like her panties. Dirty ones!"

His eyebrows raised. "I've enjoyed that in the past too. But how does that...." The brain cells were mulling over the connection. "Ooohhhh shit. You were enjoying them and you noticed something different?"

"I knew as soon as she was cheating. The feel, the scent and the marks. I followed her one night and found her in a pub with him. I left and when she came home I confronted her. Except maybe not in the way you might think."

He frowned but didn't speak.

"When she came to bed I began making a move. She didn't want to have sex but I gently persisted and in a joking way asked if it was because she'd already had sex that night as I carried on kissing her shoulder and neck. She admitted it because she was feeling guilty. I looked at her laying next to me, that woman over there at the bar, and I knew I didn't want her to go anywhere. I had a choice."

I paused to take a drink before continuing.

"As an analogy think of this. You take your dog for a walk. The dog likes to explore and go around checking the smells, sights and sounds. But you want to walk on this strict, rigid path and you want to do the walk on your terms and your terms alone. The dog is going to pull away and constantly feel like it has no freedom. It hates its life because it's always constrained by your rules. Now, take that same dog out on an extendable leash. Let it smell and explore its surroundings. Give it plenty of slack and it won't pull away. Sure it will go off a distance but it will always come back and you continue a more relaxed and enjoyable walk together."

His gaze was fixed on Elle and a sadness appeared on his face. "She feels caged?"

"Possibly."

Then a realisation hit him. "You give Helen a long leash?"

"No. Not at all." I stated strongly. "Helen has no leash. She walks happily by my side, but if she wants to chase a rabbit she chases the rabbit!"

"Seriously? Helen?"

"When I found those crispy panties I knew she was going to chase rabbits. I could either say no and watch her run away across the field or I could let her run free and still take her home. Either way she'd chase her rabbits. It's not something everyone will accept but in my personal experience too much control is harmful. You might have a choice of your own to make."

I sat and watched Sean as he watched Helen laughing and touching Ed's arm while Elle chatted up the barman. "You're quite happy for Helen to flirt with Ed? What if she wanted more with him? What if she ended up in his bed one night?"

I took another drink, looked over at them and smiled.

"Greg? You ok?" He asked.

I knew the next sentence was dangerous. Sean was an employee of the company. He was subordinate to me and he could cause a big mess, but he was a friend too and I felt I could trust him "Ed and Helen have been seeing each other since February."

"Holy fucking shit." He slumped back in his seat looking over at them and realising the obviousness of their flirtations now he knew. "And you're ok with it?"

"I have a philosophy in my relationship with helen. It's a simple philosophy of two sentences, both consisting of four words each. which works for me, for us."

"What is it?"

"First, 'I don't own her'

Second, 'she's not my property'"

A realisation washed over him. "I'm going to speak to her. I'm going to give your philosophy a try. I feel like she's leaving me anyway so what will it hurt?"

"Like I said. It's not for everyone but I know it can work."

I remained sitting while Sean got up, walked over to Elle, said something to her and went for a slow walk through the vineyard. I looked up to the blue sky enjoying the subtle breeze and fresh scent of the grape vines.

"You're not falling asleep are you, honey?"

Before I opened my eyes I smiled at her soft tones playing music on my ear drums. "Nope. Just enjoying life."

"I think Elle might be gearing up to leave Sean." She told me

"Maybe not." I replied.

"She told me she's been seeing a guy she met a couple of months ago."

"Yeah, he has his suspicions. I've told him about you and Ed."

"Oh. How did that go?"

"Not as bad as it might have. I think they're going to need us over the coming weeks and months. Haven't you told Elle about our agreement?"

"No. But I have a feeling we're going to be having that conversation very soon."

The day wasn't meant to be a counselling session. It was supposed to be a relaxed chill day. Ed joined us again, sitting next to Helen. "Trouble in paradise for those two. It's a shame, they seemed really good together." He observed.

"It's been coming for a while. They're too different." Helen added

"We're different." I said to her. "We make it work."

"That's because we're flexible honey. You have your ways and I have mine. We always bend to meet in the middle. I think Elle misses her old life, and I think Sean wants her to forget all about it. Inflexible."

Time would tell.

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The thing about weddings is they're emotional times. Things are going to change. Helen and Ed set a date for September 27th. Short notice.

The original idea was to keep it small. Invite specific people who wouldn't question the whole performance. Ed wanted his old friend there and Helen wanted Elle and Sean. Helen and Elle had spoken about our unique situation. Initially Elle wasn't very accepting but as we all spoke about it she began to see the benefits. She and Sean seemed to be doing better and were at least showing more affection to each other again.

The closer we got to the day the more people they wanted to include. Ed's sister and her husband, Helen's sister and a few other friends. It was going to be a special day for them but for me it was going to be a nightmare. Do you know those nightmares where you're trying to move but your stuck, you can't move an inch. A crowd forms and then you realise you're completely naked? That, but in real life. No I wasn't going to be naked but between the three of us we decided we were going to lay things bare. If we were going to be a throuple we might as well BE a throuple.