Page 106 of Lessons in Chemistry

“What about kissing Auggie? There must be something between the two of you if you kissed. Friends don’t kiss.”

“I kissed him,” I say.

“I let you. I wanted you to,” Casey says.

Beside me, Emory holds his breath.

“I liked it. You’re a good kisser. You’re both good kissers. Not that I have anything to compare to, but you both give me butterflies, so I think that means I’m attracted to both of you.” Casey eats another huge mouthful of stir-fry.

I’m pretty sure he’s eating to quell his nerves. I can relate.

“What about you?” Emory asks me.

“Hey, it’s no secret that I fancy Casey. It’s the Speedos.” I wink.

Casey laughs.

Emory releases his breath with a sigh. “Those Speedos.”

The tiniest trace of pink surfaces on Casey’s cheeks.

“It’s more than that,” I say. “You’re a great guy. I fancy all of you, not just your body.”

“Yeah, I got that. I’m open to a triad relationship, but I do have some reservations.” Casey puts his empty bowl on the tray, pulls his knees to his chest, and wraps his arms around them.

“You are? You do?” Emory asks.

Casey rests his chin on his knees. “I’m worried all of this is moving too fast and that I might get left behind when you both realise you need more than romance with a partner. I don’t want to be the third wheel in your relationship.”

Emory puts his bowl on the carpet, slides off the sofa, and rests his hands on Casey’s knees. “You won’t be. Sex isn’t everything.”

Casey sighs. “I know.”

I put my bowl down and join them. “It’s one part of a relationship. And yes, that’s something Emory and I will share that’s unique to the two of us. But you and Emory have something I’ll never be part of too.”

Casey lifts his head. “We do?”

“A shared history. I can’t compete with the years the two of you have known each other. I’ll never be able to join in when you talk about school and your shared experiences. But that’s okay because you and I have something Emory isn’t part of.”

“We do?”

“Yeah. Bonding over feeling intellectually inferior to him.”

“Hey,” Emory objects.

“I was complimenting you.”

“Uh-huh. It didn’t sound like it.” He crosses his arms and fake pouts.

“You’re adorable right now,” I tell him.

“You really are,” Casey agrees.

I adopt a more serious tone. “We’re all going to feel insecure at some point or another as we find our feet in this relationship. It’s not something any of us has done before. We don’t have poly role models around us to take notes from. But if we communicate, we can figure it out together.”

Emory nods. “Maybe we are moving a bit fast, but does it matter if we’re all on the same page? If a triad is something we all want, why don’t we go for it? We can always switch back to a vee if it doesn’t work out.”

Casey knocks his thumb against his chin. “Would we?”