Page 42 of Love Unlimited

He hugged Landon close to him, enjoying the weight of his body on his lap, the lean firmness of his chest, the way he leaned back and snuggled into him. He wanted to devote himself to Landon first.

In conclusion, Zhong said to Ash, I should stop pimping you out –he fingerspelled the word– because we’re not being poly. Is that it?

Ash giggled. Right. No pimping. No poly.

Landon raised a hand, like a kid in class.

Ash giggled again, then called on him. Yes, Landon?

I propose that Zhong and Dustin should still get to spend time together. Like, without us around. As a couple, or whatever they want to call it.

Dustin felt like he was getting whiplash. Hadn’t they just agreed on not being poly?

But Ash was nodding heartily and Zhong was looking at him with hopeful eyes.

Would that be fair? Dustin had to ask.

Ash gently shook their head. It’s not about being equal. It’s about everyone being happy and getting what they need. Our two couple relationships –they opened a pair of fingers on one hand and twisted them together, then repeated with the other to show their separate locations– both have pretty strong D/s roles. What Dustin and Zhong have, they drew one finger from each hand together to meet in the middle, is completely different.

And you have years of history together, Landon added. That’s kind of the opposite of New Relationship Energy. It’s more like building a strong foundation.

Dustin liked that. He really liked that. He and Zhong could be the strong foundation. God, it was… maybe exactly what he’d been wanting ever since Landon and Ash came into the picture, but didn’t know how to express.

Landon touched his cheek. You look very happy, Daddy.

Are you sure you won’t be jealous? He had to check.

One hundred percent. You’re calmer when Zhong is around. He makes you happy. And what you said the first day is still true: we’re not competing for the same type of attention. You can care about both of us.

Dustin’s heart felt like it was about to burst. It was a completely different feeling from his passion for Landon. Instead, it was some sort of crazy combined love for Landon and Zhong together, that they could both love him enough to want him to have a full life with both of them.

Zhong looked just as besotted as Dustin felt. With Ash. With him. Maybe with the world.

Just to clarify, Zhong signed, still looking dazzled, we are being poly?

Ash and Landon shared a look and then they nodded together, then Ash explained. Poly like this. They drew four points in a line through the air in front of their chest. Landon-Dustin, Dustin-Zhong, Zhong-me. Three relationships. Is that OK with everyone?

Dustin nodded slowly, still not sure he believed it. He’d been thinking so much about Ash and sex that he’d completely overlooked Zhong, the constant in his life. Maybe he’d pushed the possibility away because he thought it couldn’t happen. Every year since he and Zhong met, they’d been slowly drifting away from each other because they had both assumed they couldn’t give each other what they needed.

Landon and Ash had just given him a gift that he didn’t even know he was looking for.

I would like that a lot, Zhong admitted. But I also want all of us to spend time together. Like, the four of us. He shrugged, finally looking a bit shy. I like it when it’s all four of us.

Dustin nodded instantly. That. Definitely that. More lazy evenings on the back porch, more mornings finding the special people in his life laughing in the kitchen.

In that case, I have one more suggestion, Ash added. I want to hang out more with Dustin.

Dustin pointed to himself. Me? Obviously him, and it made logical sense, but he kind of considered himself to be Landon’s boyfriend and Zhong’s… whatever they were. He kind of figured that Ash was only spending time with him because of his relationship to the other two.

Which, he realized, was probably Ash’s point.

Yep, Ash confirmed. We’re the two that know each other the least. The three pairs all have their own relationships. Zhong and Landon spend a lot of time in the garden. And texting about gardening… And planning gardens… And going to the garden store… they teased, inspiring Landon to throw a napkin at them. The two of them truly had been filling up the group chat with a lot of incomprehensible plant-related topics recently.

Ash turned serious when they faced Dustin again. I want something for us to do together that’s just ours. What are your hobbies?

Oh, um, I don’t have any. I’m really boring.

Landon and Zhong both objected instantly in a flurry of fingers. No, he’s not. He’s lying. He says that, but don’t listen.