Dare To Love

Chapter 25

As I watch Decker, Seth, and Jenni catch up, I decide to walk over to them. Jenni notices me approach and turns to Decker. "Oh, Decker, who's this?" Jenni asks.

Decker turns to me and smiles. "Jenni, this is our girlfriend Beth." Jenni looks surprised. "Girlfriend? I didn't take you for a settle-down person," she says with a laugh, extending her hand.

"Hi, I'm Jenni." Beth shakes Jenni's hand. "Hi, nice to meet you," I say. "And yes, their girlfriend," I add, gesturing to Decker and Seth.

"Oh wow, that's interesting Seth. Wow, you have changed. I guess this isn't something I'd ever expect," Jenni says with a raised eyebrow. I start to feel a twinge of annoyance at Jenni's comment but triy to keep my cool. "Well, people change and relationships evolve," I say, trying to diffuse the tension. Decker jumps in, "Yeah, we're all happy together. It's been great."

Decker turns to me and says, "I'm going to get the car, be right back baby." Seth chimes in, "I'll come with you. We don't want you to do a lot of walking, babe. We'll be back shortly love."

Jenni turns towards me and asks, "So, Beth, how long have you known and started dating them?"

"I've known Seth since we were in elementary, and Decker I met a few months ago. And dating, it's been like five months. Very happy," Beth responds.

"Wow, I'm honestly surprised. Seth has totally evolved. Before, he wouldn't touch any woman, and now for him to be dating one, that's crazy. I mean, he was open, but not like that," Jenni laughs.

I turn to her and asks what she means. "Oh, when I used to date Decker, our relationship was open. I could tell him and Seth had a spark, so I let them explore and it was great. But he never wanted any parts that belonged to a woman," Jenni laughs.

I chuckle. "Well, Seth can't keep his hands off me, so I wouldn't know. And how long did you know Decker for?" I asks.

"Oh, years. Our moms are best friends, actually. But we only dated when we were adults for like a year," Jenni says.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, but the guys keep blowing up my phone," Beth says.

"Oh yeah, no problem. Maybe we'll hang out sometime?" Jenni suggests.

Beth turns towards her. "I doubt it, but you never know," she says with a small smile.

Jenni laughs. "Well, life is full of surprises. Tell the guys I say goodnight and nice seeing them," she says. I just walk to the car and don't say anything back.

We drive home and I'm silent, and so are the boys. Decker has his hand on my thigh the whole ride home, and I know he can feel that something is off. Once home, I go upstairs and take a shower. Once I'm done, I walk back downstairs and the boys are eating ice cream at the table. They left a cup out for me, so I join them. Then, Decker sighs and looks at me. "Beth, babe, go ahead, let's talk it out. Ask me anything, I have nothing to hide," he says.

"I'm not mad, but Jenni had a lot to tell me about your relationship. Oh, and Seth, she mentioned you were in the relationship too," I say.

Seth then chimes in, "I wasn't dating Jenni ever. I mean, I hung around them often. Decker is my best friend and when they decided to open their relationship, she told me I should get with Decker. She could see the connection, so we did. I mean, she watched us get physical I mean Decker was her man at the time, and I mean, I didn't mind. I was into Decker, and she didn't touch me. I mean, she invited me to watch them in bed once, and I knew I wasn't attracted immediately. I literally left 10 minutes in because even though Decker was hot, everything about Jenni made me flaccid, and it was boring."