Intimacy

Chapter Four: Choice

She bit at her lower lip, fingers itching to break something. How was it that she could be in love with both of them at the same time? Was it even possible to love two men at once? Everything she had been led to believe about relationships was that you were only allowed to love one person, that you were only made for one person, but she was living proof that was bullshit. You loved who you loved and she loved both Larry and Laurent. Each one for different reasons, each one for their own personality. She blinked, staring at the blank white wall she had been commissioned to decorate for a local night club. She knew that the Twins would be here later tonight when she unveiled it. It was a big after party that all of them had been invited to. Tilting her head faintly, she thought about Larry first. That's when the idea sprung up.

It didn't take her as long as she had expected. Her Muse was in the right mind frame, not to mention she was listening to their song You Don't Know Me on her playlist. God, even their voices alone drove her crazy. As she was finishing up covering the piece for the unveiling, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, slipping off the small ladder she had been standing on. Strong arms caught her and the scent of an expensive, familiar cologne drifted up, making her mouth run dry.

"Mon Dieu, belle! I'm sorry I scared you." It was Laurent that had caught her, Larry standing behind him with an equally concerned expression. "I thought you heard us come in."

She ripped the small white ear buds from her ears, nearly slapping him in the chest with them. "You gave me a heart attack Laurent Nicholas Bourgeois!"

He loved it when she was feisty, and pissed off. He gave her a sheepish grin, the glint of the beast glimmering in his eyes. He seemed as if he was going to refuse letting her go from his embrace, that was until his brother cleared his throat. He let out a soft snort, before releasing her. She slid down until her toes touched the plastic covered floor.

"What are you two doing here? Oh God! You didn't see it did you? I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Non, bebe. We didn't see it. It was already covered when we walked in." Larry stated, moving up to stand possessively behind her. He slid a hand over her hip, uncaring that they black cargo pants she wore were covered in splotches of paint.

"What were you listening to, cherie?" Lau inquired, before lifting one of the ear buds to listen to her music choice. By the look he gave her, she knew he heard apart of the song where his voice echoed back to him. He chuckled softly, his expression softening. "Hmm, I see. Apparently one of us or both is on your mind."

"Lau." His Twin warned, eyes narrowing.

Amanda gave a soft sigh. She supposed now was good a time as any, right? She had hoped to wait until later, perhaps bring it up to Larry first and see what his thoughts were, but apparently the cat was out of the bag now. Sort of.

"There's something I've been thinking about a lot lately and since you're both here, I think now would be a good a time as any to discuss it." She ran a pain smeared hand over her face in anticipation of what she was about to confess, of what she was about to suggest. "A lot of things have happened between the three of us lately. You've both been my friends for years and recently, Larry has become more than that to me."

"Ah, oui, but what of me, belle?" Laurent asked, shifting closer to the two of them. He reached out took her hand in his, toying with her colorfully designed fingers.

Her eyes narrowed. "If you'd stop interrupting, I'd be able to finish."

Larry chuckled behind her and she felt the vibration of it echo down her spine like a tuning fork.

"As I was saying." She gave Lau one last warning glare before shifting her gaze back and forth between the brothers. "You both knew how I felt about Laurent since we all met but when I realized it wasn't going to happen, I shoved what I had felt for him aside, but it wasn't that easy. The more I hung out with Larry, the more I started to care about him and before I knew it, I was falling for him just as much as he was for me." She gave them both one last glance between them before giving a deep sigh and closing her eyes. "I'm in love with you both and I don't want to have to chose between the two of you."

"We know." It was Laurent's soft voice that floated to her through the darkness. He reached up to place his hand against her face, his thumb brushing over the curve of her lower lip.

"Wait, what?! You knew?!" Her eyes popped open and she stared at him in disbelief.

"We talked about it that night I came to apologize."

"And neither of you thought to include me in this conversation?"

"We were afraid that you'd run if we suggested it, bebe." This time it was Larry who spoke, leaning forward to nuzzle his face against the messy bun she had thrown her braids in. "It's not entirely a traditional relationship dynamic and most people will talk, badly."

For a moment, she was dumbfounded. They knew and they had already had this discussion.

"Was this why you left the last time Lau came over?" She asked, giving Larry a sly look out of the corner of her eye.

He gave a sheepish grin and nodded once. "Oui, partially."

Son of a bitch. Holy crap, she was now sandwiched between the both of them. Here she had been wracking her brain with what she would say and what their reactions might have been when all this time they had already spoken to one another about it. She had the right mind to cut them both off. It would serve them right.

"Do you really want to do that, belle?" Laurent asked, his voice a seductive purr as he closed the distance between him and her. It was as if he had read her mind.

The moment was interrupted when the alarm on her phone buzzed loudly, making all three of them jump.

"Shit! It's time to get ready for the party."

"We will have this talk later on, bebe. You can count on that." Lau ran his thumb over her chin. "The three of us." He growled. "But I want my time with you first."

Holy shit...Just what was she getting herself into?