Becoming Us (COMPLETE)

*Forty One*

Curled up in bed, alone, the way Carey left and how he'd reacted when he thought Mama knew about us, kept replaying in my mind. Not to mention the realization that I'd broken our promise about no firsts without all of us there, twice.

It'd been hours and I still couldn't fall asleep. Twisting and turning in the sheets made the bed a mess and the whole thing had given me a headache. Getting up with a huff, I padded to the bathroom in search of Tylenol.

After taking two, I went back through the dark bedroom and straightened the sheets. As I stood beside the bed wondering if I should give up on sleep and try to clear my head with some mindless tv, the front door squeaked open.

My chest fluttered as I waited to see who'd come home. I wanted to work things out with Carey, but I wasn't even sure where to start. If it was Tre, I had to confess about the first he wasn't there for, but I hoped he wouldn't be angry.

The bedroom door opened and Tre snuck in, holding a bottle of water. He shut the door behind himself and paused a couple of steps into the room.

"Gemma?" he whispered, peering at me in the dim moonlight coming through the blinds. "What are you doing up?"

"I couldn't sleep." I moved around the foot of the bed, and he opened his arms for a hug.

"Is everything okay?"

I took a deep breath of Tre's scent—a mix of paint, the rubbing alcohol he used to clean paint off the sinks, and soap. Just being near him let my muscles relax. "Not really, but it can wait until you shower." I squeezed him tighter. "I need cuddles and I know you don't want to get in bed."

"Okay, baby. I'll be quick." He kissed the top of my head and waited until I loosened my hold before letting me go. "Lay down. I'll be right there."

When Tre crawled into bed behind me fifteen minutes later smelling like the shave gel I loved, he pulled me back against his chest and I snuggled into his straight from the shower warmth. It took some effort not to be distracted by his naked body pressed against me, and I was glad he already knew I wanted to talk, otherwise I might have skipped it.

"What's going on?"

I inhaled slowly and told myself to just spit it out. "Carey was here earlier. We had dinner and then we were... making out." I cringed at the oddness of saying that out loud to my boyfriend.

"I hope that's not what's bothering you." Tre's thumb traced circles on the back of my hand. "You know I'm fine with that."

My eyes burned, and I sighed. Of course, he'd be sweet and comforting when I was the one who'd done something wrong. "Yeah, but when I mentioned we didn't use a condom last time, Carey got kind of upset."

Tre tensed behind me, but I didn't let him speak. I needed to say everything before I chickened out. "He was right to be annoyed. We promised no firsts without all of us there. But that made me realize Carey and I had a first without you too, and I'm so sorry, I just didn't think about it."

"Baby, you don't have to be sorry." He pecked my hair. "When we made that promise, I got the feeling it was because you didn't want to miss it if Carey and I were together."

I could hear the smile in his voice as his hand moved to my hip. "Honestly, for me, it's just a turn on knowing you want to be there, and we could've left it at that, but it seemed to make you and Carey feel better, so I went along with it."

"Really?" I turned to look up at him. "You're not mad?"

His chuckle rumbled against my back. "No. I am curious, though." His fingers trailed over the outside of my thigh. "What did I miss?"