"No. Nonononono, too weird, I'm out!" I squealed. Throwing my hands in the air, I began to exit the room as gracefully as a pregnant girl could waddle out of a room with two incredibly attractive and confusing guys watching behind her. Coyly, Josh slinked up beside me, catching up to me and pacing beside me as I walked out the door and up the stairs to my bedroom.
"Adira! Hear me out, please," said Josh, but his eyes were still too playful for me to take him seriously "Adira, it's normal in other countries." At this I froze, spinning around to face him on the top set of the stairs, my eyes searing into his.
"I don't care, Josh! It's weird and stupid and everyone at school will call me a slut--"
"Everyone at school doesn't have to know!" said Josh, his face sobering. Josh stared at me for a moment as I watched him with stunned silence, one hand on my belly and the other on the stair railing.
"You're friggin serious right now, aren't you? Josh..." feeling dizzy, I sat on the stairs, my head in my hands. This was just all too much sometimes.
"Look, Adira, I meant it when I said I loved you. But love isn't meant to be this thing I keep to myself and lock away. You're not some damn princess I can lock in a tower, away from the world, and I can't expect other men not to fall in love with you. And if Keon makes you happy, I'll be happy. Keon's the guy you probably would have been with had this not happened, don't you think?" asked Josh. I felt a lump grow in my throat, making me groan. I didn't want to cry. Not now. I was suppose to be storming off to my room at the slight accusation that maybe....
"I don't know. Maybe. I certainly wouldn't have ended up with someone as popular as you. But Josh, we're together now, so--"
"Exactly! I'm the guy you're with in this alternate... world, I guess. He's the one you'd be with if the plague never hit. Adira, there's a part of you that I love, a part of you that is as innocent as the world was before the plague. He brings that out in you. I don't want that part of you to die..." said Josh. He let out a loud puff of air, ran his hands through his hair, then looked at me "I'm sure that made no sense, did it?"Â I couldn't help but chuckle. For as smart as Josh was, he was always that same frank guy that I had known from school.
"No, it did. But don't you think this is weird?" I said, looking down at my feet. Josh shrugged, then leaned over and kissed my cheek.
"You're weird. I'm weird. Who cares? Really, sweetie, I don't care. If it means we can get back to working on our relationship, I really don't mind you, I don't know, 'date' Keon too. Really," said Josh. A quiet settled on us as I considered this weird proposal.
Josh. Keon. Both of them could be my... somethings. The idea of not having to worry anymore, to let go of my emotions, and to just love and feel safe for once sounded all too appealing.
But could it even work out? What if one of them got jealous of the other? And even more so, was this considered sinful? Lustful? Even if it was, I wasn't sure I cared anymore... At the end of the day, the stress of life was enough to worry about. The stress of love-- that was the kind that hurt harder, the kind of thing that I needed, not wanted. The world was so lonely. Especially with my mother gone, sometimes I felt like I was alone, completely. Josh and Keon were still strangers to me in many ways, and if I kept pushing them away in fear of my own attraction to them, I would never get to know them.
I didn't have a lot to lose. I couldn't keep going on like this, with my feelings torn, worried too much I would hurt the other if I picked one... If this crazy plan worked, we could all come out happy, for once. Happy in a world so empty after the plague. Sending a quick prayer up to my mother, I let out a long sigh and stood up.
"Fine," I said.
"What?" asked Josh. He stood up as well, his eyes trained on mine. Biting my lip, I nodded, making Josh break into a pearly grin that seemed to take up his entire face.
"Yeah I mean... We can't let everyone know but... Yeah. Yeah, why not, let's be weird," I said flippantly, although in my heart, I felt a huge weight lift. Wow, Josh convinced me to go along with this crazy plan. Still, the relief I felt at agreeing to this outweighed any doubts I'd had to begin with. This was weird, but this world was new-- shiney, new. Who was there to say that love couldn't flourish in new ways now? As hippy-dippy as it felt, I also felt a small bit of pride. Me, little shy nerdy Adira-- me! I was going to try taking on two very attractive, very sweet, very confusing boyfriends-- both of whom loved me very much! I was a kick ass muse-like, soon to be mother. For once I felt like I could do anything.
I turned to go downstairs to tell Keon the news when Josh grabbed me, pulling me close with confidence and planting a nice, long kiss on my lips. At first we kissed softly, gently, but soon it got stronger. Josh bit my lip softly, making my knees weak, and we fell to the floor, making out between giggles. All at once, I felt a tidal wave of relief come over me-- relief at finally being able to be affectionate again, to pick up where we once were and to forget the past. Josh and I stayed this way for quite some time, but finally Josh sighed and pulled away.
"We can continue this later honey, let's go tell your 'boyfriend' the news," Josh said with a wink. I felt my face blush red, and slapped his toned arm gently, making him laugh.
"Are you serious? Boyfriend? Gross," I said, following Josh down the stairs. Once I got to the bottom, Josh turned around and playfully kissed me, then grabbed my butt, making me squeak.
"That's what he is! Or do you prefer I call him my 'brother husband'?" asked Josh, putting air quotes around the term "brother husband." I scrunched up my face as I followed Josh through the foyer, almost to the kitchen, but he was laughing at his own sarcastic joke.
"You're gross. No nicknames yet, let's just move Keon in and give it a month, okay?" I said, although my stomach was already bubbling as I entered the kitchen. Holy moly, I was about to fully agree to this, to tell Keon that I was in on the crazy plan and to take the first steps toward something new, something I never would have expected to embark on.
Standing by the sink, Keon was wiping down the counter, as if he had already moved in. He looked adorable, standing in the sunlight from the window, his hair looking more golden and shoulders slightly slumped. Josh came up beside him and slapped his shoulder, doing that weird bro-slap thing that guys did when they greeted each other. Keon looked at him with wide eyes, but gave a small little shy-smile that made my heart skip a beat. Slowly, I approached him, but Josh, like the great husband he was, was already doing all the talking.
"So yeah, Adira says to give it a month, and I think we should make some, I don't know, family ground rules? Or something? We have a lot of empty rooms here too, so we can move you in tonight. Adira, anything to add?" babbled Josh, seeming more excited than any of us. I smiled big, shaking my head no, and couldn't help but laugh. His enthusiasm was cute-- weird, but cute.
"Sounds great! Oh, and Adira doesn't want us telling everyone about this, uh, arrangement. Not that you seem like the blabber mouth type, Keon," said Josh. Keon nodded shyly, bit his lip, and looked at me.
"Are you sure you're alright with this Adira? I don't wanna pressure you into something you don't want to do. I'll still be your friend if you pick Josh..." said Keon, although his eyes lost there light when mentioning Josh. I felt my heart squeeze and I knew that no matter how much I denied it, I still had feelings for Keon I needed to address.
"No Keon, Josh it right. New world, new rules. So yeah, let's do this thing," I said with a grin. Keon smiled back and Josh bounced on his toes slightly, seeming more excited than I had seen him in days.
"Hands in," commanded Josh, throwing his hand between me and Keon. Hesitantly, with looks shared over Josh's outstretched hand, we put our hands in "Brother Husbands on three!"
"No!" yelled Keon and I, making all three of us dissolve into childish giggles. When the laughing died down, I stuck my hand out again, an idea forming in my mind.
"How about this? Family on three," I said. Keon and Josh looked to each other, nodded, and put their hands in.
"One," I said.
"Two," said Keon.
"Three," said Josh.
"FAMILY!"
A/N-- Hey all! Okay, Q&A time. 1. If it's called Forced to have the Player's Kid why is she still with Keon? Answer: She's still forced to have Josh's children even if she's with him or not. And she is still technically with Josh. 2. What about Cally? Answer: She will be in the first chapter of the next book. 3. What is the new book going to be called? Answer: The Player's Twins.
Also, in regards to the hate I've been getting, Josh is right. Adira and Josh and Keon are not doing anything wrong-- they're just embarking on a form of relationship that is not commonly acceptable in the US today. But bare in mind this is a post-apocalyptic America. The world isn't falling apart but social norms are changing. I decided to take that look at the post apocalyptic world opposed to the Hunger Games/Selection/Matched/Divergent "utopian society" or even one of the "crumbling" worlds in Ashfall or books like that. I wanted to look at a new type of world, sorry if you don't like the lack of cliches.
Thanks everyone for the support, see you all soon!