Page 23 of There’s a Way (Mythic Beast #2)

Micca

I couldn’t believe how nervous I was. It’s a rare occasion when Matty’s the one trying to talk me down.

“Daddy already likes both Will and Davy. It isn’t like he’s going to grill them to make sure they’re okay for you. It’s just dinner, Micca. It’s going to be fine.”

He was right about the first part, but I wasn’t so certain Razor wouldn’t take the opportunity to threaten them with something awful if they hurt me.

Matty had made a huge roast, and I watched him make the gravy and then separate everything, so the carrots were in one bowl, the potatoes in another, the onions in another, and the meat all to itself, soaking in the juices.

My place was spotless, with clean sheets on the bed, and I’d bought the electrolyte stuff Will prefers. I had plenty of breakfast foods, along with some possible snacks for later in the evening. It was going to be fine .

And yet, both my bear and I were a nervous wreck.

“I enjoyed spending time with your bear today,” Matty said, thankfully changing the subject.

“She needed a day, after being around people so much.”

“I’m totally jealous of your spa day, and the fact you’re dating someone who’ll do that kind of thing with you. Can you imagine Daddy in a mud bath, or getting exfoliated?”

I chuckled at the mere thought. “Maybe you and I can find a place that isn’t quite so expensive and do something similar together. Davy probably wouldn’t want to do it if Will didn’t insist, but he seemed to enjoy most of the day. Other than being waxed, anyway.”

Matty’s phone dinged and he looked at it. “They’re coming through the gate.”

Razor walked in a few moments later and took a deep breath. “Smells wonderful. Anything I can do to help?”

“I don’t think so, Daddy. The table’s set, the wine is chilled and waiting to be uncorked. All the food is on the table under warming covers.” He took a breath. “Micca’s nervous. You have to promise to be nice.”

He looked down at Matty, holding his gaze, and told him, “I don’t have to promise any such thing.” Razor looked at me, his face still serious but no longer stern. “I don’t intend to be rude, nor do I intend to embarrass you, though I can’t make promises, of course.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, and I guess this is practice for bringing them home to meet my parents, who did not need to be taught what a poly group is, much less see me as part of one, but I had to tell them before we went to the zoo and it became public knowledge.”

“Your parents will be fine,” Matty told me. “They accepted me as gay long before my own parents could come to terms with it.”

I laughed. “My parents knew you were gay before we did, but knowing your daughter’s best friend is gay is completely different than knowing your daughter fucks two men at the same time.”

Razor gave me one of his all-encompassing bear hugs. “They don’t know that for certain, and your sex life is none of their business. They should be happy knowing you have two men who care for you.” He let go of me. “C’mon, let’s go greet our guests.”

* * * *

Davy

I’ve been to Razor and Matty’s house more times than I can count, but it felt weird arriving with Master. Maybe because I’m used to driving here by myself? I wasn’t sure.

Master’s security people had followed us to the gate and then left once we were past it, so it was just the two of us, and that was odd, too.

Razor opened the door while we were coming up the steps, and he hugged me and shook Master’s hand.

“Come in! Matty’s made the house smell wonderful with his cooking, so I’m going to propose we go straight to the dining room without all the pre-dinner social bullshit.”

“An excellent plan,” Master said.

Micca gave Master a quick kiss and then spent a little longer kissing me — and not-so-surreptitiously rubbed my dick over the top of my dress pants until it was hard and throbbing.

I was wearing a plug I had to squeeze hard to hold in, and I figured I’d be hard all through dinner.

It was possible I was falling a little in love with our Micca.

Dinner was fantastic, and conversation was all over the place. We walked in the woods behind Razor’s house after we finished eating, and then Matty had a nice dessert for us on their patio when we returned from our walk.

And Razor only went all protective of Micca once, when he told Master if he wasn’t serious about the promises he was making then he needed to share that information with Micca sooner rather than later.

“There are no promises yet, Razor!” Micca told him. “It’s too new for that.”

“Putting the three of you out there like that was a statement he thinks this is long term. Maybe there haven’t been any verbal promises, but I see a ton of them without him having to actually state them.”

“He isn’t wrong,” Master told Micca. “So far, we’ve only agreed we’re seeing where things go, but I’m hoping this lasts for years and years, maybe decades. I wouldn’t have let you be with me and Davy when I showed him to the world if I thought you might not be around long.”

Micca blew out a breath, glanced at Razor, and looked back at Will. “There are things I can’t tell you yet, and we aren’t going to make any long-term promises until I can get permission to tell you my secrets.”

“He isn’t going to turn his back on you because…” Matty cut himself off before he said anything else, and he shrugged. “He just isn’t.”

“He might,” Micca said. “I have to prepare for that possibility until I can get clearance to tell him.”

“Something was done to you, right?” I asked. “No way am I going to victim blame, and I can’t imagine Master doing so, either.”

“Good boy,” Razor told me with a smile, and he looked at Will. “You’ve done right by Davy, and I appreciate that, so I’m trusting you’ll do right by Micca. For the time being, she needs to live here and visit you, but that doesn’t mean it has to be forever.”

“He’s right,” Micca said with a sigh. “I need…” She looked at Razor and back to Master.

“I need the woods here, and I need Matty’s grounding influence.

I can stay with you days at a time, maybe even occasionally a whole week, but having a night in my own bed last night, and a day in the woods…

” She shrugged. “I’m going to need that for a while.

Maybe not forever, I hope not forever, but for now, it’s important I have my own place to retreat to. ”

“Then you’ll have it,” Will said. “I need to know what happened to you, but I can be patient a little longer.”

“She may not ever get permission to tell you,” Razor said, and the whole room went uncomfortably silent.

“I’m pretty sure I can get it, eventually,” Micca said, “but he’s right that I might not be able to.”

Micca was sitting between me and Matty, and we both reached for her hands at the same time while Master said, “Then we’ll deal with that if it turns out to be the case, but I have to hope you’ll gain permission sooner rather than later.

I feel so helpless, knowing you have this really big emotional thing in your life, and hoping I don’t trip over it because I don’t know the details. ”

* * * *

Will

Honestly, I wasn’t sure I could go years without knowing what happened to her, but I was assuming it was Aaron or Nathan making the decision, and I felt certain I could talk them into changing their minds.

It might take an NDA where I agreed to pay a few million dollars in damages if I talked to anyone besides Micca about it, but there would surely be a way around whatever the problem was. I’d just have to find it.

We had an enjoyable evening with Razor and Matty, and then finally went to Micca’s apartment.

The story goes that Micca and Matty lived together for years, best friends since elementary school, so when Razor built a house for he and Matty, he built Micca an apartment on the back of his five-bay garage.

I’d seen past the door into her place when I picked her up for our first date, but I hadn’t actually been inside yet, and I was looking forward to seeing her space.

The living room was all clean lines and neutral colors, and it fit her.

There was a huge floor cushion in a corner that caught my eye, and when I walked to it, she said, “It’s a little reading nook, with old-fashioned light bulbs instead of LED, and also next to the window so I can read by natural light and not artificial during the day. ”

There was a huge remote on the wall. Built into it, with buttons bigger than my hand, and she chuckled. “Matty’s idea of art, but it’s nice to have it when I lose the regular remote.”

“I like your space. I take it your bedroom is the upstairs loft?”

She nodded and motioned me to follow her up the steps, where everything was once again clean lines, including the bed and headboard. There was a shag throw rug, however, and it softened everything without looking out of place.

“You have to see her closet, Master,” Davy said, and he walked across the room, through a spa-style bathroom, and opened a door.

Micca’s closet was huge, and possibly better organized than mine, which is saying something.

There were purses hanging to the left, racks and racks of shoes and boots, and it appeared her work clothes were all together on the right, her casual clothes on the left, and her partying clothes on the end, facing us but farthest away.

Her casual clothes and party clothes were organized by color, but nearly everything in the work section was black.

There were belts all hanging together, and drawers off to the right I wanted to look through but figured would be too nosy.

I also wanted to take a picture so I could show it to my builder, but committed as much as I could to memory so I could sketch it for him.

I still hadn’t figured out where to put a closet for her, but I’d like to make it as close to this one as possible, since I assumed she’d been in on the design process, and this was her preference.