When one door closes...

Your heart sinks.

“Oh! Jay didn’t mention that!” Cassie reacts to Celeste’s news that she has a boyfriend. She hides it well, but a part of you feels like she’s saying it with eyes wide and through gritted teeth.

Of course she has a boyfriend. Why wouldn’t she? Why would you even assume that she wouldn’t? Cassie even asked you about it the night you bought the Normalized **** trait! Why didn’t you check!?

“How long have you guys been together?” Tanya asks.

“We’ve been dating for over two years now.” Celeste answers.

“Oh~, so you guys got together after the last time we were at Nana’s?” Stella asks.

“We’ve been dating already at that point, but you know, him being my boss, we kinda had to keep it low key. So I wasn’t really announcing it to the world.” Celeste clarifies.

She’s been with this guy since you last saw her, and you didn’t even know. You should’ve known that. You idiot! You could’ve at least asked if she was seeing someone.

“When I say I schmoozed my way into this assignment, it was more like ‘smooched’.” Celeste says jokingly, and you can hear the three other girls awkwardly laugh at her joke.

“But yeah, we’ve been together for over two years now and it’s been great. He and Jesse get along, and his daughter Claire’s really nice.” Celeste adds, giving more details to how serious their relationship is.

They’ve introduced each other to their kids! Well, duh! It’s been over two years already.

Your body language is obviously disappointed in this turn of events. Your left hand isn’t even on the table anymore and just resting on your leg, while you eat dejectedly with just your spoon in your right hand. You built it up in your head that this was finally going to happen, and you didn’t have the common sense to check first if she had a boyfriend.

Then again, this was always a possibility, even if she didn’t have a boyfriend. You decided to put most of your cards on the table and not hide the fact that you have three girlfriends who are naturally open to you meeting more women. If she wasn’t into the polyamory of it all, she could’ve easily said no and you’d be facing this same disappointment anyway. It’s your own dumb fault for expecting this was all going to work out like it had the past week with Cassie, Tanya, and Stella.

Cassie, who was sitting to your left, holds your left hand underneath the table, and caresses the back of your hand with her thumb. She knows you're disappointed, and getting comforted by one of your girlfriends in losing an opportunity to get another one makes your heart sink even more.

You’re such a greedy asshole.

“I think that deserves a toast.” You suddenly say, in an effort to erase this stupid feeling of disappointment when you have three wonderful women who love you already. “To finding love.” You declare with a bittersweet smile, as you raise your glass of wine in honor of not just your cousin moving on from her ex-husband, but also to you moving on from your ex-wife. You remind yourself that you have three loving and understanding girlfriends that were generous enough to even allow you to pursue this pipe dream.

Stop being greedy, and enjoy what you have.

“Oh, yeah. Okay. To finding love.” Celeste says after swallowing her food. She raises a glass, as well as your girlfriends, before you all take a sip from your glasses of wine. “I mean, we’ve been together for two years already, so maybe I should’ve made that toast for you guys.” Celeste jokes, getting a chuckle out of the girls.

After dinner, the four of you let Celeste settle in Stella’s bedroom, while Stella washed the dishes as part of her paying off her debt. Meanwhile, you, Cassie, and Tanya continue to sip some wine in the living room and discuss the fallout of what happened at dinner.

“That was always a possibility right?” Cassie asks you, rubbing your thigh as she cuddles next to you on the couch.

“Yeah, of course. I can’t believe I didn’t check it to be honest. It’s my fault for getting my hopes up in the first place.” You answer her.

“Oh papi, at least something good came out of it right?” Tanya asks you, before glancing at Stella washing dishes.

“Can’t we afford a dishwasher? Oh my god!” Stella shouts out.

“I thought you liked washing dishes?” You ask her.

“I volunteered once! And that was because you were being lazy. I didn’t know it would mean I’d have to do it for an entire week.” Stella answers back.

“You could always just pay me back.” You retort and she just grumbles and goes back to washing the dishes.

“Glad to see nothing’s changed there.” Tanya comments, while she cuddles next to you before sipping some more wine.

“I’m still her Dad. Being her boyfriend doesn’t change that.” You tell Tanya.

“Just don’t forget she’s your girlfriend now too, Jay.” Cassie reminds you.

“Yeah, you’ve been too fatherly all day with the punishments.” Tanya agrees with Cassie.

They’re right, of course. You made her set-up her room for Celeste, she had to come with you to buy groceries for dinner while Cassie and Tanya rested their hangover, you made her clean-up the apartment and set the table while you picked up Celeste from the airport; now, she’s washing dishes. All of that as a punishment for going over the spending limit you set for them last night. You have to admit, you have been a little too parental on her today, and less of a boyfriend. Maybe you should ask her out on a date? Make the whole romantic relationship more… romantic?

You stand up from the couch and go to your daughter washing dishes in the kitchen sink. You hug her from behind, wrapping her waist in your arms while resting your chin on her shoulder. “Need help with that, baby?” you ask her, before planting a kiss on her neck. Stella can’t help but moan, while the two girls on the couch just let out audible ‘Oohs’.

“They guilt you into helping me?” Stella asks you.

“More like, they pointed out I need to use less stick and more carrot.” You reply.

“Is that your carrot or stick, I’m feeling right now?” Stella asks before rubbing her butt on your crotch. Now the girls on the couch are openly cheering for both of you, shouting ‘woos’ and whistling. Stella laughs in your arms, enjoying the attention.

~ DING DONG ~

“I’ll get it!” you shout after breaking away from Stella, fearing you’ll get an erection if you continue what you were doing with her; and with Celeste in the apartment, best not to indulge. Cassie and Tanya openly ‘Boo’ and show you thumbs downs jokingly as you pass by them on the couch, but you can hear Stella still laughing behind you as she continues washing dishes.

You open the door to greet the person at the door.

“Hey—”

“~SWEET HOME ALABAMA~”