“Ha.” She chuckled, “I’m most definitely not a relationship kind of girl. It took me a long time to figure out what I was in life, but I knew pretty early what I wasn’t. And monogamous or straight, wasn’t it.”
“So you’re poly?” I questioned with surprise.
“Opposite actually.” She shrugged, “I can’t stand the idea of being committed to anyone ever, let a lone multiple people.” She leaned forward on the table. “How do you do it with two?”
Now it was my turn to laugh, “I’d like to say it’s hard, given that Brody and Knox are both over the top sometimes, but it’s really not. We all kind of have our role, and it works.”
“What’s your role in the throuple?” She asked and then held her finger up, “Wait, are they together? Or just with you?”
“We’re all together.” Taking a bite of food, I went on, “I guess, in technical terms, I’m the submissive one. I more naturally follow their lead without hesitation.” I hesitated for a second, “Brody’s the alpha if I had to put a label on him. He’s always in charge. Like always.” Feeling the effects of the margarita, I giggled and relaxed the day away. “And Knox kind of falls in between those two roles somewhere. Some days he’s in charge with Brody and taking the lead, and other days he falls in line with me and is easier going. He balances Brody and I out in a way.” I shrugged. “God, I never really looked at our relationship from the outside like I am right now, but it’s kind of cool.”
Lex widened her eyes, “You mean you’re enlightened by what you see?”
“Yeah, in a way I am. I always go to Knox as mediator when Brody’s pissing me off and I think Brody does too, and it makes more sense now, because Knox is the levelheaded one.”
“He’s the switch.” She mused, with a smirk on her face. “In my experience, relationships always work best when there’s a switch involved.”
I contemplated that. “Why do you think that?”
She shrugged, chewing a bite and then washing it down. “I guess it makes it easier for everyone to get what they need from the partner when that partner can fill multiple roles.” She waved her hand toward me, “In your case, when you need someone soft and reasonable, Knox is that person for you. Or when Brody needs someone to challenge him and put him in place—”
“He’s that person for him.” I finished for her, completely enlightened. “Interesting. Did you think you’d be dissecting a poly relationship over tacos tonight?”
She snorted and covered her mouth, “Can’t say it was on my bingo card at all.”
I tipped my head back and laughed, loving the easiness of her humor.
“Well, that’s a laugh I haven’t heard in a minute.”
I whipped my head around to find Knox himself walking toward our table with a beer bottle in his hand and a mischievous grin on his face. God, he looked so freaking good. Tall and built like a man who used his body every day for work, with tight blue jeans on and a dark green t-shirt that hugged his enormous arms, showing off his tattoos.
Tattoos I had a much bigger appreciation for after watching Lex spend hours crafting ideas into permanent art.
“Hi!” I gushed, flinging myself off my stool and into his arms. “Hi. Hi. Hi.” I repeated as he caught me and held me tight to his chest. He smelled so good after going so long without him. “What are you doing here?”
“I just got back into town, found the house empty, so I came to get some food until you got off work.” He glanced at Lex over my shoulder and then raised a brow at me. “Or until I found you in a bar, drinking and eating tacos with someone I don’t know.”
“Lex,” I turned back to the table and found Lex watching us with a mask of indifference on her face that wasn’t there a minute ago. “This is Knox. He’s been out of town for the last two weeks. I had no idea he’d show up here. Knox, this is Alexi Donovan, the tattoo artist I’m interviewing for the paper. She works with Dallin.”
“Nice to meet you.” Lex held her hand out to him with a blank smile on her face and Knox took her hand, shaking it.
“Pleasure’s all mine. I’ve heard a lot about you.” He said thickly, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up at his tone. I looked up at him, confused, but they both just gave each other a lingering stare.
“I thought you weren’t coming back until Saturday.” I drew his attention back to me, catching the way his nostrils flared slightly before he smiled and put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me tight to him.
“I missed you. I didn’t want to spend another night apart.” He leaned down and kissed me, sliding his hand over my cheek and around the back of my neck, anchoring me to him so I couldn’t pull back. Not that I would have, because I missed him so much, I ached for him. But I also was super aware of where we were and who was sitting a few feet away, watching us. I just didn’t understand the feelings burning inside of me.
“I missed you too,” I pulled back, creating just enough space between our lips to speak. “Pull up a chair, I’ll go order your favorite.”
“I was thinking more like we could get the hell out of here and go home.” He slid his hand down my back to my ass and squeezed. “I missed you, Han.”
“I know.” I sighed, blushing from his unusual display of affection, and feeling torn about what I was going to do.
“You can have my chair; I was just about to leave.” Lex interjected, forcing Knox to acknowledge her again. Something ignited inside of me as she pushed her mostly uneaten meal to the edge of the table and tossed back the rest of her drink.
“No.” I panicked, hating how anxious the thought of her leaving because of Knox’s arrival made me. “Stay. You haven’t even finished. And you were starving when we got here.” I smiled, hoping she’d change her mind.
“It’s all good.” She gave me a nod and stood up, turning to Knox again. “I’ve taken up enough of her time the last few days.” She glanced my way. “Have a good night.”
“Well, wait.” I chuckled, running my hand over my hair as I fought to come up with something else to say. “What time do you want me at the shop tomorrow?” I paused, waiting for her reply, but she hesitated too long, and I knew what she was going to say.
“I think you’ve got enough to write the article. You interviewed me nonstop today.”
“I don’t.” Cutting her off, “Not near enough. I need more pictures of your art and more about the impact being here in Nashville has made on you, and how you’re dealing with the growing concerns amongst public officials that someday the appeal of vacationing here will fizzle out and it will be a ghost town—”
“Hannah.” She spoke firmly, with a stern look on her face. That same damn look Brody gave me when he was about to give me a command. “It’s okay.” She walked around us and then turned back before she left. “If you need anything else from the shop, give Dallin a call. Have a good night.”
Chapter 7 – Knox
Iwatched the sexy brunette walk away, unable to stop myself from appreciating the way her long legs gracefully moved with each step. I knew that was exactly why she wore leather pants and heels, but I didn’t dwell on it too long.
My attention immediately returned to my sexy girlfriend, who was also staring at the tattoo artist as she walked away. And if my eyesight was right, she was staring at her ass too.
“Hannah.” I spoke, and she jumped, blinking rapidly and looking back up at me with a weak smile on her face. “What the fuck just happened?”
Her face fell and her shoulders sagged as she glanced back toward the door one last time, like she was hoping for another glimpse of Lex.
“I don’t know.” She finally said and looked back up at me. “I think I just want to go home.”
