Page 33 of Triple Protection

Or she's Brick's happily ever-after, but we all move on? That would suck. Or she's both of our happily-ever-afters. In an instant I recall the visions from the aquarium: waking up next to Angela, kissing her goodnight, PTA meetings, beach vacations...except Brick and Alex are there too, and fuck if that doesn't just feel right.

A warmth begins in my belly before moving through my chest. Could we really do that? Would she be open to that? She was open to sharing last night? Sexually? But what about more? What about an entire life together?

We all already knew each other well and had established friendships and companionships. Last night just added sex to the equation. But what about love? What was love, even?

I walk back inside, sliding the glass closed behind me, before I approach Angela in the kitchen. I take her hand in mine, causing her to snap her gaze to mine.

"I'm sorry," I start. "I'd love to join you upstairs, if you'll still have me." A playful smile spreads across her face and her entire body lights up. I'll never get over how expressive and open she is. She could never play poker.

"I'd love that." She whispers before pressing her body against mine and giving me a kiss on the cheek.

We plate the food before sitting down with Alex.

"Alright, I think we need to set some rules in place." He begins. I groan.

"Obviously, the elephant in the room is that you three are in a sexual relationship now, which is very much against company policy." He glares at Brick and I.

"I don't want to get anyone in trouble," Angel speaks up, nervously.

"If Miriam finds out, we're all being reassigned, if not fired." He continues. I hate the fear spreading across Angela's face right now and kick Alex's shin under the table. He continues, "And if or when this heads south, there are huge risks on our parts, not hers." He says to me. Angela goes from scared to offended. And fucking good.

"You really take me for the type of person to ruin your careers over a lovers' quarrel?" Alex stares back at her, unanswering.

"Alex, I get that you don't trust women, and you have every right to protect yourself and your men, but you have to know me better than that." Crickets.

"I know my promise doesn't mean much to you, but I promise, the very last thing I want is for you guys to get reassigned or fired. I feel...safe...in so many ways, more than I ever had in my life. And believe it or not, I kind of like you guys. You're my best friends. You're my only friends. The last thing in the world I want to do is hurt any of you." She reaches out for Brick's and my hand and squeezes them, giving us reassuring glances we don't need. Alex is the one struggling to trust her.

"But if we decide it's not worth the risk, then this stops right here. I have to respect that."

Brick looks absolutely thunderous, but we sit silently, waiting for Alex to make the right call. I know he will. I trust his leadership fully, but if Brick and I speak up now about what we want, he'll fight us on it. He has to come to his own conclusion. He's like a fucking cat. It has to be his idea.

But, in order to make the right decision, he has to trust her. They've gotten along great this last month or so of living with each other, but I'm not sure he's there yet. Living with her, seeing her give her all for her fans, how she treats Brick and I, how she's not afraid to push back at him when she needs to. She's been reliable, down-to-earth, open and honest with him, and she respects him.

I wait... praying that all those things are enough.

Finally, he nods. "You're all adults. You know what the risks are. I won't stand in your way."

She smiles, relieved. "What about your way, Alex? What's standing in your way?" My eyebrows shoot up. Oh shit! She totally just called him out, and I love her a little more for it.In two short sentences, she invited him to have sex with her and challenged him that he wasn't brave enough to join her. I love Alex like a brother, but we've never pushed him, never challenged him, and I kind of love the idea of her putting his balls in a vice.

He grumbles something non-committal and shoots daggers at his bacon.

We clear our plates in a hurry before chasing a giggling Angela upstairs to her bedroom.

Chapter twenty-five

Angela

Angela

After a quick breakfast, the boys practically chase me up the stairs. There's been a shift in my life; in who I am. There's the before the boys and after. My life before them was lonely, lived in black and white. I feel like I was just going through the motions. I hadn't decided to be an influencer. It just sort of happened. I hadn't decided to buy this house, it just sort of happened.

The boys came into my life and the breathed life into me. I feel things now. I feel happy, sad, nervous, grateful. All of my emotions and my days are in technicolor now, reveling in all of my senses. The blues are bluer; the greens are greener. I know it makes no sense, but it's truly how I feel.

I don't really care about posting to my socials anymore. I started as a way to fill the hole of loneliness in my life. Now that I have the boys, I rarely feel lonely. Even the moments I am truly alone, I know that they are in my life - that they have my back.

You can feel completely alone surrounded by a crowd. The feeling of loneliness is a stranger now because I know I have three people in my corner. Five if you count Courtney and Marshal.

I'll continue to post. Influencing is my job. But that deep need to post, to reply to comments is gone. I'm satisfied, fulfilled, happy, maybe for the first time in my entire life. I hate to think that it took a man (or three) for me to feel fulfilled, but it's the truth. Humans belong together. We're designed to crave and seek out connection with other humans, and I won't be ashamed that these three men fill that basic human need for me.