Three Little Words

“How’s the hot tub?” he asked as we set the bags in the master bedroom.

“Still haven’t tried it. It should be ready, though.”

“Hold on a sec.” He drew me back into the room. “I’m supposed to ask about you and Christy. Sorry, man. Wren’s… really eager. What do you want me to tell her?”

“Not to rush us.”

“I know that,” he said in a pained tone, “and you know that, but this is Wren we’re talking about.”

I chuckled darkly. “Yeah, I know. And you’re caught in the middle.”

“I wouldn’t mind being in the middle, but it sounds like she isn’t ready yet.”

“Who isn’t?” Wren asked from the top of the stairs.

“Told you,” I said to Trip, “sound travels.”

He looked appropriately annoyed.

“Who isn’t ready?” Wren repeated as she and Christy joined us.

“She isn’t,” I said.

“Ready for what?” Christy asked.

“A hot tub orgy.”

“Oh my gosh!”

Wren glared at me.

“Oh, was I supposed to be subtle? I forget sometimes. If only someone would tell me.”

“I bet you think you’re funny,” she said dryly.

“Hilarious,” I agreed. I walked around the bed and put an arm around her.

“We all love you, and I don’t know what we’d do without you, but you need to chill out.” I plowed ahead before she could say something snarky. “Have you eaten yet?”

“No,” Trip said. “We were waiting till we got here.”

“Okay, so you’re hungry.”

“Starving,” he agreed.

“And you could probably use a drink.”

Wren looked at me suspiciously but nodded.

“Then we can check out the hot tub and talk about the orgy.”

Christy’s eyes turned the size of saucers.

“I’m kidding,” I told her. “But not really. We can talk about it,” I added to Wren, “but it isn’t going to happen.”

She took the hint and nodded.

“Do you wanna settle in first,” I asked, “or get something to eat?”

She looked at Trip. “Eat?”

“Please.”

“Awesome,” I said. “Christy made enough casserole for an army, so we have plenty of food. We can throw together a salad, open another bottle of wine, and you can tell us how your dad’s doing.”

Trip and Wren wanted some time to digest after they’d eaten, so we opened another bottle of wine and moved to the living room. Christy curled up next to me on the couch—the one her father hoped I was sleeping on—while Trip settled at the other end. Wren sat on the floor and warmed her feet by the stove. We chatted about Christmas and our families for a while, until I changed the subject to what we’d all been thinking.

“So, are we ready for the tub? The water should be nice and hot by now.”

“Oh, God, that sounds awesome,” Wren said. Then she actually looked to me for a cue. “We brought our suits. Do we—? Oh, please! Don’t look so surprised. I’m trying to be considerate.”

“I know. I just didn’t expect it.” I glanced down at Christy. “What do you think?”

Trip and Wren turned to look at her too, and she fell silent at the sudden attention.

“Maybe suits,” I said after a moment.

Christy blushed. “I… um… didn’t actually bring one.”

“Ha! Okay. Are you comfortable being a nudist tonight? We’re among friends.”

She took a deep breath, drained her glass, and nodded. “Just keep the wine flowing.”

Wren and I spoke at the same time: “Absolutely.” “Will do.”

“Hold on,” I said, “whose girlfriend is she?”

“Mine,” she said without missing a beat. “I just let you think she’s yours.”

“Oh, really?”

“Mmm hmm. Besides, she was mine first anyway.”

“Hey,” Christy protested, “don’t I have a say in this? I mean, I’m the girlfriend in question.”

“Okay. So, whose are you?” I prompted.

“Yours,” she said immediately. Then she half-winced. “And… um…

maybe hers too?”

“Fine by me. What do you think, Wren?”

“I’m willing to share.”

“You can have her every other weekend,” I said, “and two weeks in the summer.”

Christy squawked.

“Three weeks in the summer,” Wren said, “and visiting rights the rest of the time.”

“Supervised visits only. I mean, I wanna watch, at least. And maybe join in.”

“I can live with that,” Wren said.

Christy held her head. “Oh my gosh. I’m gonna need a lot more wine.”

“Allow me.” Trip extended the bottle and emptied it into her glass.

“Dealing with these two is thirsty work.”

“You can say that again.”

“I usually let them fight it out,” he told her. “It’s better that way. Less hassle. They haven’t killed each other yet, so…”

“Lucky for us,” Christy said.

“I guess,” he agreed.

Wren and I looked at each other in growing amusement.

“I wonder if they’d miss us if we were gone,” I said.

“Probably.”

“We could always run away with each other and see.”

“We could,” she said, “but I don’t think it’d work. I’m too bossy for you.”

“And I’m too stubborn for you. But still, it’d be fun while it lasted.”

“Yeah, it would.”

“Oh, behave,” Christy said. “Both of you. You know you’re not going to leave Trip or me.”

“Never, my love,” Wren said.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I said. “We know a good thing when we see it.

Speaking of which… I’d like to see more. Hot tub?”

“Hot tub,” Wren said.

“Come on,” I told Christy, “let’s get the towels.” To the others, “Grab the wine and we’ll meet you outside.”

“Sounds good,” Trip said.