Poly at the Poly Pt. 07

"I like this," she said, "I like you."

I turned and gave her a smile, knowing that it wouldn't be enough. "I like you, too," I said, and Cassie snickered.

"See, only a few days and already I know you so well," Cassie said, "Give me another week or so and you'll be wrapped around my finger."

There was an uncomfortable silence then. Not like the usual ones I was used to, that I'd lived in my whole life. This one, I felt the terror of it clawing at my chest. Was this what other people felt when no one was talking and they were trapped with their own thoughts?

"Sorry," Cassie said, "I didn't mean to set you off."

"It's OK," I said, "In truth, I'd be lucky. Honored."

Cassie sighed, contentedly, and buried her head deeper into my shoulder. Our elephants slowly sank back to the ground. The ride was over.

"You're a good man, Paul," Cassie said as we came to a stop.

I glanced over at the elephant across the way, where Emily sat with Jack. She caught my eye and gave me a little, smiling wave. I didn't feel like a good man.

Not even a little bit.

*

For dinner, we grabbed burgers at Cosmic Ray's. After we ate, serenaded by the lounge-lizard alien, we agreed that we would split up. That way, we could get more done before we ran out of time. Again, everyone was almost too polite as we agreed on where we would go; how we would divide. It ended up with Allison, Cassie, and I heading off to Space Mountain while Emily, Mike, and Jack went to get pictures with characters.

I gave Emily a longing look as she skipped away from the restaurant, almost glowing in the evening gloaming, bracketed by the two boys.

"She'll be fine," Cassie said. She reached down to take my hand as the three of us walked past the mechanical trees towards the big, white, meringue-ish building that housed the rollercoaster.

"You always say that," I said, perhaps a bit too whiny.

"She's always right," Allison said. She grabbed my free palm.

"Thank you, Allie," Cassie said, her glee at the athletic woman's acknowledgement sounded genuine.

"You're welcome, Cassandra," Allison said.

"Actually, my real name is Catherine," Cassie said, "Do you really not like being called Allie? I swear I've heard Mike use it."

Allison responded with a shrug, like she didn't care. But it was clear that she did.

"It's different," Allison said, "When Mike says it, that doesn't bother me. I'm sorry, it's not something I can explain."

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry, Allison," Cassie said, "I wish you'd said something sooner."

"It's OK," Allison said, "It's my fault for not telling you. I'm not usually the type to not stand up for myself."

"You've been spending too much time with Paul," Cassie said.

"No such thing," Allison said. She bent down slightly and kissed my cheek.

"So true," Cassie said, dreamy.

By the time we got to Space Mountain, it became a full-on lovefest between the two women. Not that they'd been at each other's throats the whole time, not even close. But there'd been this lingering tension, no doubt tightened by the fact that Allison's husband had been lusting after Cassie and exacerbated by how things had gone later on with me.

Now, for the first time all trip, the two women were acting like they actually enjoyed each other's company. I stood in the dark, air-conditioned hallway leading up to the ride and got a show of playful banter from the two attractive women.

"I don't know, it feels weird when there's no cheerleaders at a game," Cassie said, "It's like the soundtrack's been turned off."

"I always felt the other way," Allison said, "I'm trying to make the game winning shot and there's this teeny blonde in a short skirt screaming at me. It's like, calm down, Bubbles."

"I wanted to be out there sometimes," Cassie said, "Winning the game instead of cheering the person doing it. But I was taught sports were for boys and, well, other girls."

Allison cocked an eyebrow.

"My mom may have told me I'd turn into a lesbian if I played sports," Cassie confessed.

Allison burst into laughter, so hard she hunched over. Her face was bright red with mirth.

"I knew it was ridiculous," Cassie said, breaking up herself, "But what was I going to say?"

"Gee, all this dribbling makes me hungry for pussy," Allison said.

"Now that I've been grabbing rebounds, I think I need to grab some boobs," Cassie said.

"You'd think playing with all those balls would encourage you the other way around," I said.

Both women froze. They turned to stare at me, faces painted with shock. Then they started laughing even harder.

There was a pause as we all caught our breath.

"Of course, ironically, I ended up making out with one of the cheerleaders, instead," Cassie said, "Cheerleader camp my senior year. We had a little drunken indulgence."

Allison and I turned to look at Cassie -- I don't know why we found it so shocking, but we did.

"She was cute!" Cassie protested, "Cindy Stevenson. You can ask Mike about her next time you see him. Tall girl, with reddish blonde hair, super athletic and..." Cassie stopped herself as she realized who else she might be describing. "Anyway. What about you? I'm assuming you lezzed out in plenty of locker rooms?"

"Actually, no," Allison said, "Not even once. I mean, there were gay girls on the team, for sure. But I never, um, participated."

"Oh wow, you're missing out," Cassie said.

Allison gave Cassie an evaluating look. Was the beautiful blonde judging, or offering? I honestly couldn't be sure.

"Well, I guess that shows my mom had no idea what she was talking about," Cassie said with a shrug. "No surprise there."

After Space Mountain, Allison desperately tried to get us to go on Buzz Lightyear with her, but Cassie and I were smart enough to refuse. Instead, we walked across the park and made our way back to get on Jungle Cruise, which had a shorter line now that the park was near-dark.

Allison and Cassie kept me close, holding my hand on either side. Despite what Cassie had told me at the Halloween party, I still felt like the troll between two princesses. Though I can't say I didn't enjoy it. I got a lot of envious stares that evening, let me tell you.

"I don't see why you guys wouldn't do Buzz with me," Allison said while we waited on the wooden dock in front of the ride, leaning against the heavy rope dividers. She was clearly ruminating on our refusal.

"I've spent five days with you, honey," Cassie said, "I know better than to compete with you by now."

"I'm not that bad," Allison said.

"You're fricking terrifying," Cassie said.

Allison looked at me, I guess hoping I was going to rebut her. Instead, I looked away, bracing myself for the inevitable punch to my shoulder.

"It's hard to compete with you," Cassie said, "In anything."

Allison spun on her. "Me? You can have any man you want," Allison said, "You nod your head, and they trail after you like you've got the Pied Pussy."

"Really?" Cassie snapped back, "Cause last I checked, Mike is going home with you. And Paul's so enamored of me he can't wait to get his wife pregnant."

It was a surprisingly vulnerable reveal. The fact that it came out of nowhere, in the middle of a playful back and forth, made it cut all the deeper. We stood and sweated in the thick silence. The radio above us played generic, 1920s-style music.

"Sorry," Allison said, "I shouldn't have said those things. The truth is, I've been intimidated by you this whole time. You're incredible."

"And I was afraid of you," Cassie said, "You're so strong and powerful. But I'm sorry if I ever treated you badly, Allison. Or made you feel like you weren't amazing."

Allison said something under her breath that sounded a bit like, Cassie fucking Summers, but I couldn't be sure.

"I hope we can be friends," Cassie said, "Going forward. It would mean a lot to me."

"It's easy to be jealous of you, Cassie," Allison said, "But you're impossible to hate."

*

When we got off Jungle Cruise, it was pitch dark. The park glowed with eldritch, electric light. I could barely see the path in front of me.

Allison wanted to take another shot at Splash Mountain, but it was almost time for fireworks, and we didn't want to miss them. Besides, getting soaked didn't seem like such a good idea for the last ride of the night.

"It's fine," Allison said as we walked back towards Cinderella Castle. "I'll have plenty of time to ride it next time, that thing's not going anywhere."

We texted our other halves, who let us know they'd staked out a good viewing spot for the show. As we walked back, it suddenly occurred to me. I'd been separated from Emily for hours while she'd been surrounded by two other men. I didn't need to worry about Mike and Jack's intentions: I knew they weren't wholesome. But I hadn't thought about her once that whole time. Was that reassuring or problematic? Even I wasn't sure.

We found the three of them waiting for us on the grass in front of the castle. We all sat down, wrapped in each other's arms -- one big happy knot. I thought back to the first night we'd been at Disney. We were in the hot tub by the pool. Emily had drunkenly kissed Jack. Allison had just flashed us a boob. And then the fireworks had started and we watched them together.

The show had seemed so strange and distant. Close enough to see clearly, yet so far away that it felt unreal. Now we were here in the park. Our long journey was coming to an end.

The sky filled with booming color. Music swelled. I felt Allison hug me tight from behind. I held Cassie tight. Emily leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"A new adventure, there in your eyes. It's just beginning. Feel your heart beat faster. Reach out and find your happily ever after."

We all shared a knowing look. None of this was over.

Not yet.

Next Up: The couples go CRAZY