A good talk over a drink

You were not up for anything the rest of the day, being unable to settle down. A thousand scenarios ran through your head, each one worse than the last. In the end, you were convinced Carmen's idea would not only cost you whatever goodwill you had left with Alison but also your future marriage to Carmen. You were barely able to eat anything. Carmen noticed and took your hand.

"Honey, it'll be okay, I promise" she said.

"How do you know? You don't know how Alison will react if she sees me with you" you told her.

"You forget one critical thing" Carmen pointed out.

"What?" you asked.

"I organised all this in my name with your number, baby. She knows" Carmen replied.

"That's...really?" you said. You hadn't known Carmen had used her name in your messages.

"Yes, really. It's another surprise I have in mind" she explained.

"But then what..." you started before Carmen put a finger to your lips.

"Stop overthinking, please" she said. "Now I know what Dawn meant."

"Wait, what?" you asked.

Carmen grinned. "Dawn warned me that you tend to overthink things" she said, "so that I should do the thinking for the both of us."

"I'm gonna get that kid back for her gumption" you said.

"Oh, leave it alone" Carmen said with a laugh. You were about to reply when the doorbell chimed. Your fiancé got up and ran towards it. "You're early" she said to the person who'd come to visit, no doubt Alison. Together the two young women entered the living room.

"Hi John" Alison said. You got up, unsure what to do or what to say. "Oh, come here you big oaf" she said, hugging you. Normally you would have kissed her upon seeing her again, but things were different now. Instead, you hugged her back, holding her in your arms for a few seconds before letting go.

"Hey Alison" you replied, looking her over. "You look good."

"So do you" Alison said, grinning. "But that must be because you hooked up with Carmen."

"In no small part" you said, sitting down. You were acutely aware that, despite what you'd expected, you were still very much attracted to the leggy blonde. What followed was a long conversation about how things were going with each of you. Carmen had snuggled up to you, making you realise that it had usually been Alison doing that when you were in the company of others.

"And now you're going to get married" Alison said. Carmen nodded.

"Yeah, we are" the brunette replied as she looked at you and squeezed your hand.

"You know, for a long time I thought that would be me" Alison told the two of you.

"Does it bother you that it isn't?" Carmen asked.

"A little" Alison admitted. You were surprised to hear this, so the your question just sort of slipped out before you could rein yourself in.

"Then why didn't you ever call or text?" you asked.

"I was afraid that you would hate me" Alison said.

"For what? Moving? How could I?" you said, "you were my girlfriend and my best friend."

"Not anymore" Alison replied sadly.

"No, that's true" you said.

"You can be again" Carmen said. Surprised you looked at your fiancé. "I mean, not the one to marry John" Carmen explained. "That's obviously still going to be me, don't get me wrong. But you can still be friends, can't you? That's kind of why I invited you here, Alison."

"Then why were you so coy about the whole thing?" you asked of your girl.

"You know me. I love teasing" she replied.

"That's true" you were **** to concede.

"Excellent. So let's get something to drink to celebrate your reconnecting" Carmen said happily.

Something turned out to be more than something. It was a lot of thing. You drank a lot while you talked with two gorgeous young women, one from your past, and one from your present and future. As they talked to one another, you realised you still had feelings for Alison as well. It was simply a matter of time and you knew that, if she had messaged you before the auction, you just might have hooked up with her again. Now, however, your heart belonged to Carmen.

Something must have shown on your face because Carmen squeezed your hand.

"What's up, my brooding fiancée?" she asked.

"It's just...you and Alison, here, together. It's so weird" you replied.

"What makes it weird?" Alison asked.

"You...Carmen...here, together" you said, explaining your thoughts about past, present, and future.

"Wow, you really got philosophical in those years we've been apart" Alison told you with a grin.

"Yeah, he gets like that sometimes" Carmen added, shrugging. "You know what gets him out of that state, though?"

"What?" asked Alison. In reply, Carmen kissed you hard on the lips, moaning softly.

"This" she said as she pulled away