Page 79 of There's a Way
He seemed ill at ease when he walked in with clothes on, but I tamped down my urge to stand and hug him.
And then changed my mind. We were equals right this minute, but still lovers. So, I hugged him, kissed his forehead, and sat him in a chair before taking mine again.
“The thing is, I never wanted kids. I was relieved that being gay meant I’d never have anoopsiethat made me a dad. My gene pool sucks, right? My parents are losers, and for the longest, that’s how I saw myself. The prison therapist worked with me a little on that, and I guess it was a start, but it never really took.”He took a sip of his beer. “But now? I mean, I’m not a total loser anymore, and now that I’ve met my grandparents, suddenly, the idea of making a smaller version of me is…” He shook his head. “Not something I want to do now, or anytime soon, but eventually? I think if I’m sixty and I never had kids, I’ll have regrets. I didn’t think this was something to talk to ya’ll about yet, since I don’t want to do anything in the near future, but Dr. Woods said it’s important we talk about it, so…”
I looked at Micca, being clear I wanted her to answer him. It would be her body bearing and growing any children we might have, after all.
She gave me a tiny nod and looked to Davy. “Will and I have talked about kids. He’s clear he wants them eventually, and I’ve never really ruled it out. I always figured I’d have them at some point, but then I became a bear shifter and had to rethink that, but in the end, I still want them, but not now, or next year, or probably the next, either.”
Wait. I didn’t know she was a bear shifter when we had those conversations. Did that mean our kids would be bear shifters? That might need another conversation, but I needed to keep us on target for now, so I said, “Which leads us to the logistics of it all. Off the top of my head, I’d say that when we all decide we’re ready, she stops birth control and we both come inside her.” I shook my head. “Or, maybe not. I mean, my first thought was we’d find out who the dad is for the first baby, and then the other of us would be the only one to come inside her when we’re ready for the next? Or do we make it so I impregnate her first, and then you?”
“Either way is fine with me, Ma—” He stopped himself before he called meMasterand kept going without missing a beat. “Though I think it’s important you and I treat both children the same, and that they call both of us Dad.”
I looked to Micca. “How many kids do you want?”
“I have no idea. I agree that the two of you can’t treat them differently, though. In a perfect world, you wouldn’t know which of you fathered them, but I can’t figure out how that might work, how we’d make it happen. I get that you both want to see your genetics in a child, though.”
“We don’t have to figure out the details now,” Davy said. “So long as we all want kids eventually but not yet, and we know that Micca is fine with having at least two kids? I mean, we can figure the rest of it out later. Someone will have to stop working to stay home and take care of them, and that can be me, except if we homeschool them that should probably be one of you, so maybe I go back to work at some point and one of you does the homeschooling?”
“There are some good private schools here,” Will said. “I’ll be fully behind either one of you taking a few years off work, or longer.” He shrugged. “Or both of you can stay home with them. I’ll be around, too, but ya’ll know how my schedule works.”
“So, we’re expecting the three of us to be together, like, forever?” Micca asked.
“I’m hopeful,” I said, and decided now was as good of a time as any to talk about how long-term logistics might work.
“Do you want to marry one of us? To give you those legal protections? I’m assuming it’ll be me, but I guess that’s up to you? There are other ways to give you legal safeguards. I can put you on the deed to the house, and write my will so both of you are taken care of for the rest of your lives if something happens to me.”
“If anyone’s getting married,” Davy said, “it should be the two of you. I’d love to be your husband,” he told me, and then looked to Micca, “or yours,” he looked back to me, “but not if it leaves either of you out in the cold. I’m the slave, so I’m the one without an official legal status.”
“Just for the record,” Micca said. “I’m not saying yes or no to anything, and I won’t without an official proposal, but yeah, I kind of think I want a ring on my finger before I have kids with anyone.” She looked at Davy. “We should all three have a ring though, even if we can’t all three be legally married, and I’d want you in this supposed possible ceremony somehow, which I guess means finding someone who can perform marriage ceremonies who understands the whole poly thing.”
“And the whole slave thing, because my vows should be that of a slave, not a husband,” Davy said.
I nodded. “Okay, I can see how that could work,” I told Micca. “You and I would do the traditional vows, and then he’d vow to belong to the two of us. It’ll have to be a small, private ceremony. Band members, Matty and Razor, maybe the bikers Davy is closest to. I’m going to guess probably ten to fifteen guests, if that many.”
“But all of this is hypothetical,” Micca said.
“Because you want a proper proposal,” Davy said. “I follow orders, so I expect I’ll probably be told what I’m going to agree to.” He met my gaze with those pale blue eyes. “Which is fine. I’m telling you outside of power exchange that whatever you decide is best for the three of us, you should make happen. I trust you to see to my happiness and my security.”
Those eyes told me all I needed to know — so sincere and completely genuine.
“I love you too.” I heard myself say it before I knew I was going to, but I figured it was okay, based on what my boy had just said. Still, this was supposed to be about logistics, not feelings, so I added, “Good to know, but when the time comes, I’ll decide whether to take you out of power exchange to agree to something, or whether to just make the decision.”
He smiled. “Of course you will.”
I smiled back and looked at Micca. “You and I will talk about this as we go, figuring out the timing that works best to start a family. I agree it’s at least two or three years out, but I’m thinking not more than five to seven years?”
She nodded, and I looked to Davy. “Anything else we need to talk about while we’re in here?”
He shrugged. “I mean, we altered the contract so I can spend up to $200 when I go out to eat with Matty, or go shopping with him. He understands our relationship, so he’s good with me having to text you or Sir if I want to spend more.”
I nodded and waited for him to get to the point.
“When we all go to his race, he’s invited me into the pits with him. Angelica, Bash’s wife, is part of his pit crew, so I’ll know someone I can stand with while he’s racing. If you say it’s okay for me to go down there, I guess…” He shrugged. “I don’t know if there’ll be stuff to buy when I’m away from you.”
Was he saying he wanted to change the contract, so I can’t control what he spends? I’d put the rule in place because he’d been quite clear he wanted me to figure out how to make him a total slave without actually taking his money from him.
“Is there a reason we need to have this talk in the storage room?”
