EXCERPT I was a little more casual tonight, but I still wanted to look nice. Raven was important to Monique, so I knew she needed to be important to me as well. Mo had asked me to plan an outing for the two of them and I’d decided on bowling. It was simple, fun, and would still give us the opportunity to get to know each other. I got the lane, appetizers, and drinks and was waiting patiently with a bowling ball in hand when the girls walked up. I gave them my best grin as I held the bowling ball out with one hand. “Welcome, ladies, to the ass whoopin’ of the century! Ya boy kinda kills at bowling!” They exchanged amused glances, laughing as they moved in and Mo hugged me, placing a kiss on my cheek as she touched my chest. “You’re so cocky.” She mumbled, stepping back and grinning at her friend. “And here he is, in the flesh!” Raven tossed me a look that I could only describe as flirty as she grinned at me, her smile bold and bright. “I see! The man himself!” I extended my hand to her and she shook it, tossing her cute little bob from her face. “Tay, I’ve only heard good things about you.” “Oh, good,” I said, placing a hand over my heart, cutting my eyes at Monique. “So you ain’t tell her ‘bout my stint in the pen?” Monique and Raven both laughed as Mo shook her head. “Nope! I left your criminal history out of our conversations.” She teased, and Raven pointed at me. “Wait, so you mean you are a fuckboy? Because all this good boy shit was gettin’ a little boring!” “I mean, I can always send a couple unsolicited dick pics, slip and call you the wrong name… I’ll even throw in a ‘Grand Rising, Queen’ if it helps sully the image some.” They were cracking up and I chuckled, feeling good about the interaction. I pointed to their feet. “Alright, ladies. Go get your bowlin’ shoes. Can’t have no excuses when I embarrass y’all.” “It’s the humility for me!” Raven teased and I tossed her a smirk. “This ogre has layers.” Her eyes widened as she smacked her hands together. “Not the Shrek reference! He watches kid movies, too?” She waved me off, smiling at Monique. “Oh, his ass is just too perfect!” Monique simply smiled without responding. They went to get their shoes and I sipped my beer as I looked over at them, surprised to find Raven’s gaze on me as they held a conversation I couldn’t hear. I’m not gonna lie, it made me feel a little weird, but I reminded myself this was par for the course when meeting the best friend. They were gonna be having a lot of private conversations, sharing secret looks, and whispering when they thought I couldn’t hear. I went ahead and set up our scoreboard as ‘Rae, Mo, and Tay’ and then sat back, stretching my arms across the bench as I waited for them to come back. Raven whistled a cat call as they walked up and I turned my head to see Monique laughing as her friend stood over me, a hand under her chin. “How tall are you, Kentavius?” “6’2. Why?” “Monique said you wear a size 14 shoe.” I nodded with a smirk. “Big man with big feet.” “Mm-hmm.” She crooned, but it was so suggestive, it made my brow lift, my eyes immediately going to Monique. She laughed, shaking her head. “Raven has no filter.” She explained. She said it like a warning, but I couldn’t help thinking there was something refreshing about a woman who said exactly what she meant. “Nothin’ wrong with a woman that speaks her mind.” I muttered politely and Raven gave me a pleased smile before going to the rack. “Alright! It looks like I’m up first.” She grabbed her ball, looking at me before standing up straight. “Tay, what prize does the winner get?” “Oh, when I inevitably win, I’ll just take five straight minutes of total adulation from both of you. And I want all the pomp and circumstance. Curtsies, rose petals; call me king!” They were both laughing. Monique elbowed me as Raven shifted her weight, resting her elbow on her hip. “That’s if you win, but what do I get, sir?” Raven asked and I scoffed. “You get the benefit of me entertainin’ this ridiculous notion you have that you could actually beat me.” She smirked, tossed me a wink, and then went to the head of the lane. I couldn’t help watching her. She lined up her shot, hips swaying just enough to make my eyes drag over her without permission. I told myself it was because I wanted to see if she could actually bowl and then quickly averted my gaze. I dropped my arm around Monique, centering myself with a kiss to her temple. “You look beautiful, sweetheart.” I whispered and she smiled up at me. “Thank you, Tay.” The sound of Raven’s ball hit the floor drew my attention back to the lane just as her ball smoothly glided into the middle pin, sending all ten pins scattering to the floor. My mouth gaped as she spun around, spread her arms, and gave an overly dramatic bow. “Game on… your highness.” Holy shit! My mind raced. That was hot as hell. I hated myself for that thought, and quickly looked away from her, turning my smile on Monique instead. “Oh, she’s gonna be trouble.” I said and Monique smiled up at me. “Yeah… she is.” She agreed and then stood to take her turn. Raven sat down across from me, crossing her legs as she sat back, mirroring my pose with her arms spread over the top of the bench. “So, Mr. Kentavius Ward. Monique tells me you’re an Academic Advisor?” “I am.” “That’s so noble.” She said, and it sounded a little sarcastic, so I played into it. “Oh nah, I only do it for the money. Fuck them kids.” She laughed loudly, tossing her head back and I looked away, trying to ignore how much I enjoyed making her laugh. I watched Monique toss the ball and knock down a few pins. I smiled at her as she came back to the rack with a shrug. “Guess I’m not as lucky.” “Who cares,” I commented with a smirk. “I’m just enjoyin’ the view!” She laughed with a blush, fingering her ponytail as she tossed Raven a look before grabbing her ball and smiling at me over her shoulder before she bowled. She really was gorgeous, and her ass looked so perfect in the jeans she was wearing. She tossed her ball in the gutter and then turned around with a grimace. Grinning, I held my hands out to her. “That’s alright, baby. Come gimme a kiss for luck. I’ll beat her for both of us.” Monique giggled, skipping over to me. She rested her hands on my shoulders and placed a quick, chaste kiss on my lips. “Good luck.” She whispered, stroking my face. I met her eyes. “Mm, that’s all the luck I need.” I stood, grabbed my ball and walked to the head of the lane. I actually was good at bowling, and easily bowled a strike before turning to the girls with a salute. Monique clapped, impressed, as Raven stood, meeting me at the rack. She stood closer to me than I expected as she looked up at me. “Huh. And here I was thinkin’ you were all talk.” I snorted, moving past her. “I may tell a joke, Ms. Raven, but never a lie.” She nodded, licking her lips as she looked me up and down before looking at Monique, smiling, and grabbing her ball without another word. When I sat down next to Mo, she smiled, leaning on my arm as she looked up at me. “She likes you,” She whispered, as if those words would mean something to me. I nodded, trying not to appear as bothered as I was. ~~~~~*~~~~~ “You’re pretty athletic.” Raven commented as we ate and I offered her a polite smile, covering my mouth with my knuckle as I chewed. “Says the woman that just kicked my ass bowling.” I said, and she laughed, shaking her head. “Shut up. You know you threw the game.” She said with a roll of her eyes, and I just smirked, choosing not to say anything. I absolutely had thrown the game. I needed to back off because her competitiveness was reading way too flirty for me, so I let her have it, just to put some air between us. “Tell Rae about all your athletic abilities.” Monique grinned up at me, squeezing my arm. I gave Raven my gaze, not surprised to find I already had hers. “I played football up until my Sophmore year… then I started cheering.” Her eyes widened in shock as she looked at Monique, sitting up quickly. “Wait… your big ass was a cheerleader?” I laughed loudly. “You really ain’t got no damn filter, do you?” She shrugged with an embarrassed smirk. “Everybody says that, but y’all don’t know half the shit I be thinkin’ that I don’t say.” I wanted to ask her for an example but decided against it. “Yeah, so I cheered my last two years of high school and ended up gettin’ a scholarship for it. It only covered half my tuition, but it helped and I enjoyed it.” She grinned, propping her chin in her hand. “Let me see you do a cheer.” I laughed, shaking my head. “I wasn’t that kinda cheerleader.” She exchanged looks with Monique. “I ain’t know there was different kinds of cheerleaders.” “Yeah, I was competition only,” I lifted my hand as if I were tossing a ball. “I was a thrower.” “A thrower,” She looked impressed. “So they put that size to good use then, huh?” Raven questioned, her gaze roaming over me again before landing back on my eyes. I shrugged, looking down at my drink. “Yeah, they got they money’s worth.” I mumbled, finishing off my beer before looking at Monique only to find that she and Raven were having a private conversation with their eyes. She must have felt me watching her because she looked at me and smiled, taking my hand. “So babe, what do you think of our girl here?” It was such an odd question, because I was there to win her best friend’s approval, not the other way around. I gave a playful snort, cutting a quick glance at Raven before looking back at Mo. “I think it’s more important what she thinks of me, ain’t it?” Monique grinned at her so I lifted my gaze to her as well. She sat up a little straighter, then leaned forward, meeting my eyes. “I like you, Tay,” She said, her voice the softest I’d heard it all night. “You’re hilarious, a little bit cocky without overdoin’ it, playful… and sexy as hell.” My brows shot up but she wasn’t finished. “I like that you’re also quiet, and kinda soft, and you like children. You seem like the type of dude that can be everything, and that’s kinda rare. So I like you. Now what do you think of me?” I gulped, taken aback. I looked at Monique, sure that she would be pissed at her best friend for talkin’ to me like this, but she was looking back at me, lips pursed, waiting. I chuckled nervously. “I mean, yeah. You cool as hell. I can see why y’all are so close.” I said and they exchanged smiles. Monique gave my hand a squeeze. “You’re such a good man. But you can be honest. What do you really think of Rae?” I shook my head, my smile gone now. “I just told you. What are you askin’ me right now.” My tone wasn’t harsh, but it was firm and Monique reacted to it, slightly taken aback. I took a small breath, trying to calm myself when I felt Raven’s hand on my arm. I looked at it quickly and then looked at her. “Hold on. Let’s back up for a sec. Can we just… keep it real with you? No bullshit?” I stared at her without responding because I hadn’t for one second thought that Monique wasn’t bein’ real with me. Raven bit her lip, sitting up straight. She waved a finger between her and Monique. “We been friends for a long time. We see ourselves as sisters. And one of the things that we’ve always wanted, that we both knew we wanted… was to be sister wives. Do you know what that means?” My mouth felt dry and wet at the same time. The fuck is happenin’ right now? I looked at Monique to see if this was a joke but she was looking at me expectantly, even squeezed my hand, nodding. I looked back at Raven and exhaled. “Yeah, I know what that means. But that’s not my thing. I’m kind of a one-woman man.” “Sure, and I can see that about you. But what if I told you it was completely possible to love two women simultaneously and still be a faithful and committed partner.” She glanced at her friend for just a moment before locking eyes with me. “I’ve got two kids, Tay. And the hardest thing for me when I was pregnant with my second was thinkin’ that I was gonna be short-changing her because I already loved her sister so much. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to love another baby as much as I loved my first one. But you know I did. As soon as I saw that little girl, I fell in love! Just as quick, and just as strong. You meet my girls, and you’ll see, they’re night and day different! Different personalities, different styles, different interests. But you ask me to pick one over the other, and I’d laugh in your fuckin’ face. I love them both equally, even if it’s for different reasons.” Yeah, My mind agreed, because her analogy made sense. She leaned forward on the table, her eyes begging mine for understanding, which was funny, because Raven didn’t seem like the begging type. “Love isn’t supposed to be singular. It’s so big and vast that it’s meant to be shared. We are two very secure, grown women that know what we want and who we want. And we’re tellin’ you right now, both of us, that we want you.” Ho-ly shit! Monique tugged at my hand, gaining my attention. “How do you feel about that?” She asked, her voice so soft and sweet. I looked between them, feeling ambushed. I pulled my hand from Monique’s grasp. “This is a lot.” I said honestly and they exchanged glances before looking back at me. “Yeah,” Raven said. “It is. But how do you feel about it? About the fact that you’re attracted to both of us… and it’s totally OK. In fact, that’s kinda the point.” They shared a chuckle that made my shoulders relax but still made me feel weird. I took a deep breath, running a hand over my face. “This ain’t somethin’ I’ve ever considered before,” I said honestly, looking between them. “I’m not sayin’ no, but I don’t make brash decisions. You can’t expect an answer from me tonight.” They both smiled at me, not each other, but at me and it was odd the way that made me feel. We ended the night and as we stood outside of the bowling alley, Monique hugged me, placing a kiss on my cheek. “Night, baby.” She said, her voice running over me like balm, just as it always had, and I found myself melting as I caressed her cheek. “Good night, sweetheart.” Her smile lingered on me for just a moment before she stepped back, looking at Raven, so I did, too. With a playful smirk, Raven stepped to me, sliding her arms around my neck. I returned her embrace as her nails skimmed my back. The awkwardness melted away as I realized I liked the way she felt against me, the way she touched me and shit, even the way she smelled. “It was good to meet you, Raven. You really are cool as hell.” I said as I released her, and she met my eyes. “Mo’s gonna give you my number. Is that cool? So you can hit me up if you got any questions.” I nodded, for once not feeling the need to break eye contact with her to check in with Monique. “Yeah, that’s cool.” I muttered, and got-damn did I like the smile she gave me. She wasn’t soft, but she was still feminine and it did something to me. Not in any way that was necessarily better than what I experienced with Monique. It was just… different. I drove home in silence, turning my music off and rolling the windows down. The night air and silence was perfect. It cooled my skin; allowed me to think. And for the next three days, think was all I did. I didn’t reach out to either of them, except to ask for space to process, and for the next few days, that’s exactly what I did.