Three is a Crowd

Frank and Amanda continued to stare at Gerard. Amanda felt a thrill of fear shoot through her when she saw the dangerous look on Gerard’s face. If looks could kill her and Frank would both have died a thousand horrible painful deaths in that moment under Gerard’s murderous stare. She felt ashamed, even in her highly inebriated state as she realised that she had fucked up, badly. She couldn’t quite comprehend just how badly she messed up until she saw the look on Frank’s face and realised that she had not only screwed up her own life, she had also had also taken part in destroying someone else’s relationship.

‘Are you fucking kidding me Frank? Really Frank?’ Gerard asked again, his voice rising with every word spoken, his tone pure venom. ‘We’ve already spoken about this, you know how I feel about it! I told you not to go near her!’

‘No, you talked and as always you just expected me to comply with no discussion.’ Frank shot back, equally angry. ‘We’ve had an open relationship for the past three year and you never had a problem with it before! What changed Gerard? We had a good thing going that was mutually beneficial, and now suddenly you’re looking for monogamy and commitment?’

Amanda’s eyes widened at this information, suddenly feeling used. Did Frank plan all this just to make a point?

‘I don’t know, maybe because I’m sick of sharing you with others Frank? Did you ever think of that?’ Gerard responded, shouting with force.

‘Bullshit Gerard, it never bothered you before! You know I love you, hell I gave up everything for you so don’t you dare insult my intelligence. Ever since I came back from that trip you’ve-‘

Frank stopped suddenly, looking at Amanda as his eyes widened as though something clicked in his mind.

‘Oh my God’ he said with a laugh, his voice quiet in comparison to his yelling seconds earlier. ‘You’re pissed because you’re jealous. Not of her but me. You want her.’

Gerard’s expression turned to stone but his lack of expression seemed to give Frank the confirmation he needed.

‘All this time I’ve been thinking that you didn’t trust me, but it’s yourself you don’t trust! You like her too much. And it kills you that you can’t have her because of work so you don’t want me to have her either. You’re fucking priceless Gerard, truly a one in a million. You fucking hypocrite.’

Amanda felt as though she was having an outer body experience as she stayed where she was, unable to move or speak as the scene played out in front of her. It was like being at a theatre show, where the actors were in the flesh right in front of you but you can’t interfere, because while you’re there, you don’t exist. Gerard remained silent, not wanting to admit Frank was right but he was unable to deny that what he said struck too close to home. Frank just shook his head, exasperated and drunk.

‘I’m not gonna lie and say I don’t find her attractive but, it doesn’t go beyond that Frank. There’re no feelings above friendship.’ Gerard’s voice was calm and collected, but Amanda could tell that underneath he was nervous.

‘Liar’ Frank hissed, looking hurt. ‘All I’ve ever asked of you was complete honesty Gerard. What’s the point in any of this if you can’t be honest with me?’

Amanda’s heart broke a little when she saw the look on his face. He looked like a puppy that had been kicked by the master it adored. Gerard’s expression softened and he looked down to the floor with a look that showed the guilt he felt.

‘Fine, you want the truth Frank?’ He spoke suddenly, looking up again sharply. ‘I want her, more than I should. I have feelings for her but I love you. I’m not perfect Frank. Sometimes I want things I can’t have. The reason I haven’t touched her isn’t because of work, it’s because I’m afraid of the consequences. When we agreed to have an open relationship it was with the understanding that it was only sex, and that if we developed feelings for other people that was it, we were done. I don’t want to lose you Frank. You say you gave up everything for me, but don’t forget I gave up a lot too. We both sacrificed for this relationship, and I don’t want that to suddenly disappear and turn to nothing.’

Amanda felt like she couldn’t breathe. He admitted he wanted her; he even had feelings for her. She couldn’t help the little flutter that developed in her stomach at this knowledge, even if it meant nothing. She had already accepted that she could never have him. Frank stared at Gerard for a moment, biting his lip as he contemplated how to react to this. This was clearly a make or break for them, and Amanda wanted to leave. This was a private moment for them and she didn’t want to be there as they decided the fate of their relationship.

‘In a perfect scenario, what would you have Gerard? Forget about what you think I want. What do you want?’

The tension in the room intensified as the men stared at each other, as Frank raised his eyebrow in some sort of unspoken challenge.

‘In a perfect scenerio? I'd want you and her.’

The sentence was met with silence.

‘What do you mean, some sort of three way relationship?’ Frank responded with a giggle of disbelief.

‘You asked what I wanted in a perfect scenario. I gave you an honest answer. What do you expect me to say Frank? You made me admit I had feelings for her, did you suddenly expect me to take it back? I’ve never been one for conventional relationships, and we’ve had an open relationship for years Frank, at your suggestion may I add. I don’t want to screw other people anymore, but I want you and I want Amanda. You obviously want her too. Why not agree to a three way relationship, is it really going to be much different? Instead of fucking multiple random people,we have one other person who we both want.’

Amanda was stunned, as she slowly realised just what it was Gerard meant.

‘Are you fucking serious?’ She suddenly spoke, making Gerard and Frank jump as though they had forgotten she was there.

‘They probably had[’ Amanda thought dryly.

‘Why not?’ Gerard challenged.

‘Because…’ Amanda spluttered, ‘it’s wrong! That’s not how relationships work!’

‘Says who? Society? Fuck society. For years it tried to tell us that homosexuality was wrong, that women should stay at home and be treated like second class citizens who shouldn’t have a say about what they can do with their own bodies. Society has proven time and time again that it gets things wrong. Why can’t people live their lives the way they want as long as they don’t hurt others?’ Gerard retorted with feeling, and Amanda got the feeling this was something he had thought about.

Amanda fell silent, not knowing how to reply. She looked at Frank, who had a thoughtful expression on his face. Was he actually considering it? Frank looked at Amanda for a fleeting moment before he looked at Gerard again.

‘If I agreed, would it make you happy?’ He questioned.

‘Yes.’ Gerard’s answer was short and blunt.

‘Oh my god’ Amanda mumbled, shaking her head as she wondered how she had managed to get herself into this situation.

‘What’s the big deal Amanda? I know you want me, you’ve made your feelings very obvious. You obviously want Frank, or else you wouldn’t be here right now. What’s wrong with three consenting adults living their lives in a way that suits them and satisfies their needs?’

Gerard made his way towards her as he spoke, crossing the room quickly until he was right in front of Frank and Amanda. Amanda swallowed, feeling slightly intimidated as he gazed at her leisurely with a heated expression.

‘Shouldn’t people be able to live the way they want?’ He spoke softly, his hazel eyes remaining on her bright blue eyes.

Without warning, he suddenly pulled her towards him and captured her lips with his own.

‘What am I getting myself into?’ She thought, returning his kiss with equal passion before she stopped thinking and gave in with blissful abandon

Notes

Hi all,
I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, I'm not happy with how I've written it. But now that it's done the real fun can begin :)

As always, thank you to the readers, subscribers and commenters who give me the motivation to write. I hope this chapter wasn't too disappointing.

I hope you enjoyed, until next time :)