“I do. Both of them. Carter’s like… he’s golden hour. Every word, every touch, it’s like he was born just to make me feel safe. And Tate …” I trail off for a moment. “He’s the storm I thought I needed to run from. But he sees me and he never once asked me to shrink.”
Cassie hums. “And you’re not scared?”
“I was, but not anymore. I know it’s messy. I know it’s going to be complicated forever. But I also know what it feels like to be worshiped by two people who’ve never once made me feel like I had to pick. They love me in such different ways and I’m finally learning how to let myself have both unconditionally Cass. It’s so… freeing”
She leans back, processing for a moment and then shrugs. “Well, shit. Sounds like a better setup than 90% of monogamous relationships I know.”
I blink at her. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. As long as everyone’s happy, consenting, and getting their brains fucked out—”
“Cass!”
“—then who the hell am I to judge?”
I laugh. Of courseshe’sthe one who’s never made me feel weird or wrong or like I have to explain every part of myself just to be understood. “Okay,” I say, sitting up straighter, heart beating a little lighter now. “Then I guess it’s time to tell the rest of the internet world.”
Her eyes go wide. “Wait, what? You’re announcing it?”
I smile, reaching for my phone. “Yeah. I think it’s time.”
I stare at the post for a full minute before I hit send, my finger hovers over the screen.
Cassie watches me from across the couch, cradling a cup of lukewarm coffee. “You don’t have to post it today,” she says gently. “Don’t feel pressured Haven.”
“I know,” I whisper.
But I want to, it’s time. I mean fuck, people already talk. So why not take the narrative back?
I inhale deep, count to three in my head, and press my thumb to the screen.
The post is a picture Carter took a few days ago.
It’s my back, sitting at my desk,with both Carter and Tate behind me. One on each side. Carter’s nose is buried in my shoulder, smiling like I’m the best part of his day. Tate ’s got his signature mask on, hand fisted in my hair.
The likes start rolling in, and so do the comments. My notifications go so hard my phone vibrates itself off the table. Cassie scrambles to catch it mid-air. “Oh mygod, Haven.”
She scrolls through the comments, her eyes going wide before she hands me my phone. “You’re trending on Twitter. Again.”
The comments are exactly what I expected—split down the middle like a badly baked cake.
@br4tpack69:so like… she’s seriously with both? SAME TIME???
@ghostedx:the way Tate is gripping her hair while Carter’s cuddling her??? ICONIC ENERGY.
@softkillshot:idk. seems messy. y’all acting like she’s not just some streamer who got lucky with two guys giving her attention.
@choke-me-ch3rry:no one: me: jealous and horny
@h4vencl1pzz:LET HER LIVE! you act like she hasn’t been carrying the tourney, breaking the internet, AND breaking both their brains.
“You okay?” Cassie asks gently.
I don’t look up from my screen. “Yeah.”
“Like, really okay?”
I meet her eyes.“They’ve never made me feel like I was too much, I don’t want to keep pretending I’m not theirs.”