Roommates & Soulmates

Ch32: Tessa's Luck

Loving and dating two men at once, who knew about each other and were okay with it, was the strangest thing she had ever done. Jem and Will seemed comfortable rotating days with her. In fact, the three of them were so rarely together that Tessa sometime worried they were both just trying not to think about the days the other spent with her rather than embracing the strange nature of their relationship. Every now and then, Tessa feared one of them would get jealous for real and her brilliant solution would crumble into pieces, costing her one or both of the men she loved. But despite the safety of rotating days, Tessa always preferred it when the three of them were able to spend time together. It felt like the two pieces of her heart were finally present when both Jem and Will were near. At this point, Tessa couldn't imagine losing either of them. The very idea twisted something inside her.

As she walked arm in arm with Jem down the street, Tessa thought about how lucky she was to love two people so completely. No matter if it all ended tomorrow or if it lasted forever, she was lucky to have right now. She rested her head on Jem's shoulder as they turned around a corner. Tessa sighed contentedly as she squeezed Jem's arm.

"I love you," Tessa whispered to him. He repeated the endearment back to her instantly and nothing more was said until they saw Will. William was wearing a thick, warm looking grey jacket with blue detail that brought out his eyes. Since Will had reentered their lives and told Tessa about his family, things had been as close to perfect as Tessa could imagine. Will no longer shut down, but was his joyful self always. She had not seen the distant look in his eyes since that day, and both she and Jem were so glad of it.

"Get off my woman," Will accused Jem but he did it in his usual sarcastic voice and in such a way that Tessa wasn't worried.

"Boys," Tessa cautioned, despite the smile on every face. There was a certain energy that existed when the three of them were together, and it always made Tessa smile.

"It is true," Jem replied. "I did have her this morning. It's only fair." Jem took a step back and motioned for Will to take Tessa's arm, which he did. She walked, now arm in arm, with Will as they went back the way Will had come. This was her life now, Will walking her halfway and Jem walking her the other half. It rather summed up their relationship nicely, she thought.

Tessa could hear the snow crunch under her feet. She could look out over the once green lawns of the houses they passed and see the sun set the snow to glittering as it reflected the light of the day. Winter was beautiful, even knowing that when this all melted it would be a mess. They were headed to Will's house. Tessa usually preferred the comfort of home rather than the atmosphere of restaurants or bars. Her one exception to this rule was the bookshop that held the small cafe she and Will visited together. Since neither Jem or Will had any great objections to this, more often than not they met up at one of their three homes. Jem, having the grandest home, was usually their first stop, but Tessa liked to have her boys at her place sometimes too. Today was the first time, however, that the three of them were going to spend the day at Will's. Tessa had stayed over at Will's before, but then it had just been her and Will, not all three of them.

They reached Will's small house and it looked the same as the other times she'd seen it. The phrase that sprang to mind was bachelor pad. You could tell the place lacked a woman's touch as there was nothing on the white walls and not a single decorative item in the room. The large tv in the corner sat facing the couch directly. Tessa knew which door down the hall on the left led to Will's room. On the right was the kitchen and dining room. She'd seen the basement only once, but knew there was a second bathroom down there as well as a large entertainment area with a pool table and mini fridge full of beer.

"Make yourselves at home," Will said as he flung his jacket toward the coat rack that stood in the entryway beside a mat for their boots. Tessa watched the coat land on the floor, just missing the puddle of melted snow.