All Three of You–1
Steam curls around us, the sound of water cascading from the showerhead filling the shower as I step in behind Zaid.
The water is warm against my skin and I close my eyes as I let it fall over my head and my face. Zaid’s hands run up and down my body, lathering me in soapy bubbles, and I lean my back onto his chest, sighing.
He wraps his arms around me, running his lips down the side of my neck. The touch is exciting, but my heart races for an entirely different reason.
I’m still reeling from the emotions of our confessions last night, from how perfect it was with him. But there’s still so much we have to talk about.
Something I have to ask him.
I swallow hard and pull out of his arm, turning around to face him. My mouth dries, my body tensing as I watch the water slide down the hard planes of his chest. My nerves tighten my stomach, and I take a shaky breath, trying to find the right words.
“Zaid.”
He glances down at me, his dark eyes soft. “Hmm?”
I chew on my bottom lip, suddenly feeling stupid for even bringing it up, but I have to
know. “Are you still okay with me being with Aiden and Jake?”
He stills, the water drumming against his skin as his gaze darkens. A frown tugs at his
brows. “Do you still want that?”
I do, but I’m afraid of answering without knowing what he feels.
“The only thing that matters is you, Alina.”
I blink, taken aback by how simple he makes everything seem. “It doesn’t bother you?”
He shakes his head without hesitation. “I’ve never had a problem with it.”
My heart lurches in my chest. He’s saying this like it is the most obvious thing in the
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All Three of You–1
world and I am the one that hasn’t been seeing it.
“Someone else making you happy isn’t a bad thing, Alina. It doesn’t make me jealous.”
My body coils tight and I realize it’s the relief flushing through me.
He steps closer, his hands gliding over my arms. “I just want you to be happy.”
1 sag against him. I hadn’t realized how much I’d been holding onto the fear that this would change everything, that it would force me to choose.
I exhale, pressing my palms against his chest. “I love Aiden and Jake,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. “But with you… it’s different. I love you more.”
His breath hitches.
“If it ever got to the point where I had to choose, I would choose you.”
His expression shifts, something warm passing through his dark eyes before his lips part into a slow smile. His hands slide up, cupping my face as the water falls over us.
“You will never have to choose between me and your happiness,” he murmurs, brushing over my cheek. “I won’t ever do that to you.”
his thumb
A half an hour later, we are heading downstairs, my hand in his as we prepare ourselves for another conversation to define what this relationship means to the four of us.
The smell of coffee and sizzling bacon fills the kitchen as we step downstairs. Jake is by the stove, focused on flipping pancakes, his brows furrowed in concentration. I can see the tension in the lines of his shoulders, the way he moves, a little too calculating.
“Morning,” Zaid says first, his voice rough with sleep.
Jake glances over his shoulder and nods.
Aiden walks in a moment later, his hair still damp from his own shower, and immediately
moves beside Jake, grabbing plates and setting them on the counter.
He doesn’t say much, just mutters a quiet morning before focusing on helping with
breakfast.
