I Told You So Ch. 07

I bit my lip, my pulse quickening. "Oh?" I asked breathlessly.

"We couldn't decide who should get you first," Joe interjected.

I snorted. "Who should get me first?" I repeated, emphasizing each word.

"Who you should get first?" Joe cocked an eyebrow. "Better?"

I laughed. "Why didn't you just flip a coin?"

Ben chuckled, hugging me. "We arm wrestled for it."

"What?" I drew back and looked from one to the other, laughing. "Oh my, God. You boys," I added affectionately. "So...what - the winner decided to try this?"

"It was a stalemate," Joe told me, his eyes twinkling. "We both wanted to win so badly that it went on forever -"

"And I realized that we were wasting our energy that should be saved for you," Ben interrupted with a suggestive smile. "So I suggested we, you know...tag team it."

We all burst out laughing. I ran a finger across Ben's bottom lip.

"Well, I knew you were both smart. I had no idea you could be such creative problem solvers."

Ben grinned impishly and kissed me. He turned me to Joe, who gave me a hug and kiss.

Ben stood and held a hand to me.

"Let's get cleaned up," he told me.

We left Joe sprawled on the pillows and drew another bath in the tub, climbing in together.

"Was it a good surprise?" Ben asked, scrubbing me gently.

"Mm-hm," I replied, leaning forward so he could get my back.

"So...we could do it again?"

I threw him a look over my shoulder. "Now?" I asked innocently.

He laughed. "Very funny."

"We'd better do it again," I said, resting my chin on my knees as his hands massaged soap into my lower back.

"I want to see you next time," Ben said, his voice thick with desire, pulling me to rest on his chest, his hands coming around to wash my breasts. "I want to be inside you watching you while Joe is behind -"

"No," I said suddenly, my voice quiet. I covered his hands with mine and turned to face him. "No," I repeated. "That's just for you. I don't want Joe - back there," I added, smirking.

He looked at me, both pleased and regretful. He rested his forehead against mine.

"Okay," he said ruefully.

"Are you sure?" I asked in concern, hearing his sorrowful tone.

"I would never ask you to do anything you didn't want to," he said sincerely. He shrugged one shoulder. "I just - it would be amazing to be able to see your face, while you experienced that. It would be so...intense."

My heart did a somersault and I bit my lip. It would be a powerful moment for us to share. I tilted my head thoughtfully, trying to work out the mechanics of it. Ben narrowed his eyes and I could tell he knew what I was thinking. We grinned at each other.

"God, I love you," I said. "I love that you can read my mind. I love that there's nothing I can't say to you."

"I love you, too," he said, stroking my hips. "So? What do you want to say to me?" he asked pointedly.

I snickered. "Well," I began, running my hands down his chest until I circled my fingers around him, half-hard already. "You and I could be facing each other...if the two of you were...in the same place..."

I edged my hips forward until his tip bumped against my entrance. I inhaled loudly at the sensation and his eyes fluttered shut briefly before staring at me with a dark look. He gripped my shoulders and crushed me to him.

"Fuck," he said in a pained voice. "You are so fucking hot."

I laughed softly, my lips finding his neck. "God, how can I possibly be turned on again," I muttered in disbelief.

He drew back to look at me, a smile playing on his lips. "That's just one part of what makes you so wonderful." He gave me a quick kiss.

I hugged him, shivering only partly from the cooling bath water.

"Come on," I said, standing and tugging him to get out of the tub. "I really shouldn't be neglecting my other boyfriend."

We both stopped short at the words and stared at each other. I knew my expression was fearful.

"Shit," I whispered. "I'm so sorry, Ben. I shouldn't have said that."

"Chels," Ben said in a comforting tone, putting his arms around me. "Don't apologize, for God's sake."

"But -"

"Sweetheart," he murmured, kissing my temple. He drew back to look into my eyes. "You're accepting how you feel about him. It's good."

My mouth dropped open. I shook my head slowly as I acknowledged he was right. I loved Joe, that much had become clear to me. I still couldn't figure out if I was in love with both of them, but I knew that Joe was as much a part of me as Ben was, that we were somehow three parts that came together to make a whole.

"How - how are you okay with it?" I stammered, still not understanding.

"I love both of you," Ben said simply, falling back to his usual explanation of our unconventional situation.

I pressed my lips together as he started toweling me dry.

"Does this - change anything?" I asked timidly.

"Not for me," he told me. "Except maybe you'll be easier on yourself from now on," he added, looking up at me from where he was drying my legs.

I thought for a moment as I grabbed another towel and began drying him.

"I guess I just want to understand it. How I could feel this way. How you can both be totally okay with it. Maybe it's just frustrating that I can't explain it."

He turned to face me. "Can you explain how or why you love me? I mean, it's mostly just a feeling, deep in your gut, right? That you know it's right, that we're meant to be together? I know I would have a hard time putting it into words, other than just knowing you're my world."

My lips curved into a warm smile.

"Why shouldn't it be the same with Joe?" Ben asked plainly.

I watched him wrap the towel around his waist before tucking mine around me.

"You really are smart," I commented, taking his hand.

"Well, duh," he scoffed, squeezing my fingers.

We stopped by our room for Ben to slip on a pair of boxers and joined Joe in the living room. I slipped on my robe, not bothering to tie it, and we all snuggled into the piles of pillows and under the blankets, our arms around each other.