by Rowan Shaw
"Dashing."
He beamed at me. "Can you believe this is even happening?"
I laughed. "Over three years ago, I wouldn't have believed it, no. But I guess everything is possible after all."
"How are things going with you and Charlotte?" he asked as he slipped the holes of his sleeves in his cufflinks.
"Things are going great."
"You two have been steady for a while now," he commented.
"Seven months since that night with you guys," I acknowledged.
"Did you say the words yet?" he asked.
"The words?"
"That you love her."
"Kind of."
Adrien burst out laughing. "Kind of? Considering how you eye-fuck her any time you lay eyes on her, it's about time you told her how you feel."
"Lust isn't love."
"No, but you and I both know this is way more than lust."
I gave a sideways smile. "She's just perfect, isn't she?" I asked.
He responded with a grin. "She is. Perfect for you, that's for sure."
He tilted his head toward the exit, and we almost bumped into Raphaël's dad on our way out. Dressed entirely in white, the color flashing beautifully against his dark brown skin, Mr. Diop smiled at us with the same dimples digging into his cheeks as those inherited by Raphaël.
"You ready, Son?" he asked Adrien.
"Yep. Is Céleste here yet?" Adrien inquired about his sister, the only blood relative attending his wedding.
Mr. Diop nodded. "She arrived before we did."
"How did you manage to get her here without your parents knowing?" I asked Adrien.
"She's an adult now. She can travel without their consent." He gave a wink. "As far as they're concerned, she's visiting some friends outside the city."
I found it painful how Adrien constantly had to try and avoid his parents, especially after his mom almost begged to see him once he became popular as an artist. I knew he would never forgive them for what they had done to him, and I wasn't going to judge him for it. I had watched him try to rise to the surface for too long after reaching rock bottom to care about those people's feelings. To see my best friend as radiant as he was today. To know he was off his medication. And to witness the happiness beaming from his entire being wasn't something I would ever let his family take away from him again.
I followed him and Mr. Diop to the spot where he was supposed to wait for the ceremony to start, and I kissed him on the cheek. "See you there."
He flashed the most mischievous smile, and I made my way through the orchard. White seats surrounded the small podium under an arch of white roses. Almost everyone had arrived already.
Though the wedding was small, all of Adrien's friends were here, and Raphaël's entire family on his father's side had come from Senegal to attend the ceremony.
A tall guy with jet black hair and intense pea green eyes was talking to the pianist before he gave him a kiss on the lips and went to sit by Adrien's sister. Next to me sat Florian's boyfriend, who was signing at the little girl in his arms. Raphaël had told me everything about him and the kid he adopted with Florian. When he sensed my gaze upon him, he gave a tiny, shy smile. A long scar dug in his cheek as I responded with a greeting nod, then took my seat.
Charlotte arrived later while Florian went to stand on the podium.
"What took you so long?" I asked her.
"Raphaël was freaking out," she whispered.
"What? Why?"
"Just a bit emotional about the wedding, I guess," she explained and gave me a kiss on the lips to shush me when the music started.
Raphaël walked in first, dressed in a similar suit to Adrien's but with a silver tie replacing the black bowtie. His mom led him down the aisle, tears running down her white cheeks. Her long lavender dress was trailing behind her as she took her son to the altar, cupped his jaw, and kissed his cheeks, then went to take her place. Raphaël wrung his hands nervously, staring at the arch as Adrien approached with Mr. Diop at his arm. His eyes were trained on Adrien, who walked up to him and whispered something in his ear when Raphaël's eyes rimmed with tears.
Mr. Diop patted them both on the back and rejoined his wife. A smile spread on Adrien's face before he said something else that made Raphaël chuckle, his shoulders finally loosening. As the ceremony unfolded, I couldn't stop staring. It was possibly the most romantic thing I'd ever participated in, especially when they kissed and Raphaël started crying in his husband's arms. They walked down the aisle together, Adrien whispering in his ear the entire time while Raphaël nodded and wiped his eyes, before they left for the town hall, where Charlotte and I joined them so the mayor could officialize their marriage.
When we returned to the orchard, the pre-reception had already started, but everyone was waiting for the grooms to invite them to sit. Raphaël and Adrien had opted for a buffet. It was pure luck that the late summer weather was perfect, neither too warm or too cold. When the time came for me to give a toast, I was a lot more emotional than I'd planned, but no one faulted me for that. Most of the meal unfolded in a chaos of voices and music playing in the background until I caught Charlotte staring at the buffet area.
I followed her gaze toward someone standing there, looking right back at us. I recognized the person instantly. Yohan was staring at me with a warm smile. I remembered them from the vernissage of Adrien's art gallery. We had talked a bit back then, but though Yohan had flirted with me heavily, Hugo wouldn't let me hook up with gender-fluid people. They were by far the most gorgeous person I'd ever met besides Charlotte, even better looking than Adrien—if that was humanly possible.
When Charlotte wouldn't stop staring, Yohan gave a flirtatious wink. They still had the same eccentric pink and yellow hair styled into waves falling over their white forehead and the same long nose above tempting full lips. Their eyes looked dark brown from this distance, but I knew they were hazel from up close. Their jacket was black over a light green button-down shirt completed by a long black skirt reaching down to their feet. But the most striking thing about them was their eyebrows colored in blue.
"You think he's queer?" Charlotte asked with another small wave at Yohan.
"Oh they're queer all right," I replied without taking my eyes off Yohan. "Those are pansexual colors they're harboring."
Charlotte looked at me, startled. "Oh no, did I use the wrong pronoun? I suck at being queer. I don't even know the flags' colors."
I tilted my head her way. "Yohan uses all pronouns, actually. And it's okay. Knowing the colors isn't a requirement for being queer, you know? It's not like you need to pass a test."
She grabbed my elbow, her eyes widening. "You know their name. You've met them before?"
"Yes, at Adrien's vernissage."
"How could I miss such a gorgeous human? I was there."
I couldn't figure that out either. Yohan truly was impossible to ignore.
"You think Yohan would agree to join us for some fun?" The hope in her voice amused me. During the months we'd been dating, we hadn't invited anyone else to bed—together or separately—except for Nour on a few occasions.
"Only one way to find out," I replied and took her hand to lead her to Yohan.
The ruckus of voices and music around us seemed to fade the closer we got, but that was just my imagination. The universe felt like it was condensing and revolving around the three of us as we approached Yohan.
"Bonjour, Noah." I couldn't believe they remembered my name. "Long time no see. How have you been?" They gave me one kiss on the cheek and turned to Charlotte, looking her up and down flirtatiously. "And who do we have here?"
"This is my girlfriend, Charlotte."
"Girlfriend?" Yohan asked, their ardent gaze still burning as it roamed all of Charlotte's body before sizing me up. "It seems I've missed my chance again. Every time I see you, you're dating someone."
They were so straightforward, my mouth gaped open. "Charlotte isn't like Hugo," I simply said.
Y
ohan cocked an eyebrow, their lips quirking into a mischievous smile. "Are you implying she's not selfish enough to keep you all to herself?" Yohan turned to Charlotte for confirmation, looking at her pointedly, their eyebrow still raised.
"Not only do I share, but I also participate," she replied. "If Noah wants me to, that is."
The smile on Yohan's face turned plain indecent. "Doing anything tonight?"
"Why wait until tonight?" I asked.
Yohan tilted their head to the side and licked their bottom lip. Each one of their looks grew hungrier the more seconds that slipped by. I'd never had sex with a wedding guest before, but then again, I'd never been invited to a wedding before either. Surely we could sneak out for a little while and return without anyone even noticing. Raphaël and Adrien were so into each other, dancing and kissing, I doubted they'd even notice.
"Your room or mine?" Yohan asked.
"Isn't it a bit fast?" Charlotte whispered in my ear.
I'd been wanting Yohan ever since I met them at the vernissage. That was three years ago. This couldn't be happening fast enough as far as I was concerned.
With barely another word, I drove them both to the hotel, at which point I was so horny, I would have fucked in the car if they'd offered. We barely made it past the door to our room before we were all over each other, kissing in a three-way while nearly tearing each other's clothes off. It was messy and raw, a tumble of flesh against flesh as I watched Yohan make love to Charlotte first before my turn came.
It was probably three hours later when my phone beeped. Yohan and Charlotte were lying on the bed next to me, still naked and cuddling as I grabbed the device with a sigh.
Adrien: Where are you?
I bit my lips. "Ooops."
Yohan looked at me quizzically, but I didn't say anything.
Me: Uh...
Adrien: Don't tell me. Let me guess. You and Charlotte brought Yohan to your room to fuck.
Me: How did you know?
Adrien: I saw you leaving.
Me: Sorry.
I was still flying high from my coital peak. I wasn't really all that sorry, but I wasn't about to acknowledge that on his big day.
Adrien: When will you be back? We'll be cutting the cake in an hour.
Me: We'll be back by then, I promise.
Adrien: You'd better. I know from experience that Yohan is insatiable. Even I couldn't keep up with them.
Me: Wait, you and Yohan had sex?
Adrien: They're an ex-coworker of mine. I've been to parties with them before.
Me: Is "parties" a euphemism for orgies?
Adrien: You know me so well.
I was ready to bet he was smirking. I couldn't believe he'd fucked Yohan. Worse, I couldn't believe he'd fucked Yohan and I wasn't invited to join.
Me: I won't pretend I'm not jealous. I've never been to an orgy.
Adrien: I believe doing three guys at once kind of counts.
Pfff, hardly. I wondered how many people Adrien had actually done in just one night. He'd never said, and I’d never asked.
Adrien: Orgies are nothing special. They're fun once or twice, but then it gets boring.
Me: I hate you.
Adrien: No, you don't. You love me, and you know it.
Me: Does Yohan still work for the company?
Adrien: No. They left about a year before I did. Their dad passed away, and they inherited his car dealership right outside Paris. Look, I need to go. I want you to have fun today, but try and make sure you're back in an hour.
Me: Will do.
I replaced the phone on the nightstand table and looked at Yohan, who was sucking on Charlotte's tit. I was so exhausted, I could barely stand without feeling dizzy, but there was Yohan already hard and ready for another round. Sadly, there was no time.
I extended my hand to Charlotte. "We have to get back there in an hour."
"I'll let you two shower first," Yohan said.
"You don't want to join?" Charlotte asked.
"If I do, I'm gonna want inside you, and we don't have time for that."
Charlotte gave a flattered smile and followed me to the bathroom to freshen up. Under the hot stream, I washed her entire body in between kisses, then I watched the water rinse the soap down her curves. Her makeup was running down her face, needing to be removed. She was so beautiful. I was falling in love with her. I could recognize the signs all too well. But instead of terrifying me, the thought of it lifted me up. I had finally moved on and healed from Hugo's actions.
Charlotte looked at me with a tender smile and exhaled against my mouth when I wrapped my arms around her waist.
I gazed into her gorgeous dark eyes staring at me from over her straight pointy nose and fleshy lips.
"You're everything I've ever wanted," I acknowledged, stroking a loose strand of her short hair. "You're sweet and kind. You're smart as hell. I am so proud of you for completing your doctorate. And you're so insatiable, so wild, so experimental. I never thought I'd ever meet someone who would let me be free. Someone who could rival my needs for more. But here you are. You don't get jealous. You don't judge me. It's like you thrive on sharing me."
"I do thrive on sharing you." Her eyes twinkled wickedly. "Because I know how good you are, in every sense of the term. I'd be selfish to keep you all to myself. I never thought I'd meet someone like you either. You're the most beautiful person I know, inside and out. I can't believe this is even happening."
I drew her into a kiss and felt her smile expand against my lips before she pulled back.
"D'you think Yohan would agree to come back tonight?" she asked.
"I sure hope so. Watching them slide inside you was the hottest thing I could possibly imagine."
"Yeah?" Her cheeks flushed.
"You two are beautiful together."
"D'you think Yohan would agree to become a regular?"
Things were still fairly new between Charlotte and me, I wasn't sure it was wise to invite a complete stranger to join our relationship so steadily. We didn't know Yohan at all. Sex was fun, but they might not match our personalities outside the sack. Yet, when I thought of Yohan joining our bed again, my dick twitched.
"It all depends on them," I said. "We'll have to see how things go."
"If Yohan joins us tonight, I want them to watch us make love. Then I want the two of you to take me together."
I peppered kisses along her throat, making her shiver against me as I smiled against her jaw. "I can hardly wait."
Acknowledgments
Thank you so much to all my readers, the bloggers, and everyone who has picked up his book and supported me.
Special thanks to Molly Phipps for the beautiful cover and Krista Venero for the wonderful editing.
To all my author friends, thank you so much for all your support! You know who you are. :-)
To my spouse, thank you for loving me, never erasing me, and never asking me to be different than who I am.
To the LGBTQ community, thank you for being so warm and loving. I wish all of you the happiness and acceptance you so deserve. When in distress, please remember your queer family is here, only a tweet, a phone call, or a message away. Never give up. You matter!
Reach Out!
When in despair, please reach out to your LGBTQ family. You are not alone, and others are always here to help. Never let the darkness of those who hate dim your beautiful light.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender National Hotline: 1-888-843-4564 - http://www.glbthotline.org/
LBGT Helpline: 1890-929-539 - http://www.lgbt.ie/
The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386
- https://www.thetrevorproject.org
The New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (AVP): (212)-714-1141 - www.avp.org
It Gets Better Project - https://itgetsbetter.org/get-help/
International:
The Trevor Space: https://www.trevorspace.org/
Be Frienders Worlwide: https://www.befrienders.org/
/> About The Author
Rowan Shaw is a bisexual author coming from France. Her books are own voices when it comes to French culture, bisexuality, and queerness.
You can chat with her on diverse social media:
Twitter: @rowanshawauthor
Instagram: @rowanshawwrites
Facebook: @rowanshawwriter
Pinterest: @rowanshawwriter
To learn more about Rowan and become part of the REWIND family, visit her website where you can join her Facebook reading group, follow her social media, or subscribe to her Newsletter for special giveaways.
Reading Group:
shorturl.at/asKP7
Newsletter:
https://www.rowanshawwrites.com/newsletter
Other books in the series include:
REWIND (FLORIAN AND ENZO)
RETURN (ADRIEN AND RAPHAËL)
REVIVE (PATRICK AND BRANDON)
RELEASE (ANTHOLOGY)
