Val's Reverse Harem Pregnancy

“Well, that’s the last of it,” I say, plopping down on the couch between Jarel and Angelo.

Standing behind me, Matt begins to rub my shoulders. “It definitely looks like our house.”

“It does look good,” Jarel says, taking my right hand. “You’re happy with it, Val?”

“I love it. It’s just like my dream.”

Angelo begins tracing circles into my left palm, but I interlock my fingers with his. His touch makes energy rise inside me, and I can’t be distracted by sexual tension right now. He squeezes my hand in understanding.

“So?” Jarel asks. “What’s next?”

I release their hands and take my tea off the coffee table. “Let’s have a baby.”

Matt’s fingers pause mid-massage, and Jarel and Angelo look at me.

“You’re serious?” Angelo asks.

“We bought a big house so that we could expand our family,” I tell him. “So, let’s expand it.”

Matt slowly restarts the massage. “We just moved in.”

“It’ll still be a while before a baby comes,” I say. “Starting sooner is better than later.”

Bea, my best friend who also lives in the apartment above the garage, comes in from the kitchen. She’s sipping her third cup of coffee. “What’s going on?”

“Val just announced she wants to have a baby,” Jarel tells her.

“Well, yeah, of course she does.” She looks at the guys. “You can’t be surprised by this. She’s been hinting at it for months.”

“Thank you,” I say. “See? Bea gets it.”

“Although,” she says as she sits on the chair that used to be in Matt’s apartment, “baby-proofing this place is going to be a bitch.”

“Exactly,” Matt says. “There’s a lot to do to get this place ready for a child.” The sensitive elementary school teacher is certainly the most pragmatic of my three lovers.

“Guys,” I say, “this isn’t a tough decision. We’re twenty-seven years old and want a big family. There’s a clock to consider.”

Bea wags her index finger at us. “Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick,” she teases.

“Bea,” Matt says, “you’re not in any position to mock.”

“Hey, I’m not even in a rush to nail down a serious boyfriend. You four bought a house together and told your families that you’re living with Val. You’re committed now.”

“I haven’t told my folks,” Jarel says.

“Yeah, but that’s because your family is extra crazy,” Bea says with a slight smile.

Jarel chuckles at her.

Those two have a quippy, sibling-like bond that makes my heart sing. Maybe it’s that she met him before she met the other two guys, or maybe it’s because the night she met him was one of the worst in our lives. Either way, they’re almost as close as Angelo is with his sisters.

“Well, I’m in,” Jarel says in his sexy, baritone voice. “Things are good with us, and I have the time. Plus, the raise they promised me just came through. We’ll have to readjust how much of the mortgage I pay.”

Angelo raises his eyebrows. “That much of a raise?”

“They were desperate when I joined the practice,” Jarel says. “They told me if I stuck around for eighteen months, they’d add an extra twenty-five percent.”

“Twenty-five percent?!” Matt exclaims. “Are you serious?”

“Matt,” Angelo says, “try to remember that you love what you do.”

Matt laughs. “That’s mean.”

“If it were up to me,” I say, “teachers would make as much as radiologists.”

“I second that,” Jarel says.

“Thanks, guys,” says Matt.

“So, Jarel’s down with the baby thing,” I say. “Angelo?”

“Yeah, I’m cool with it.”

“Matt?” I say, leaning my head back.

He pats my shoulder and sighs. “I don’t know, Val.” He walks around the couch, and Jarel moves over so Matt can sit next to me. “When we were at the aquarium, I told you that I wasn’t sure if I wanted biological kids.”

Bea giggles, almost choking on her coffee. “Can you imagine the four of you trying to apply for a single adoption?! Good luck explaining that to an agency!”

“Not that there’s anything wrong with adoption,” Angelo says gently, “but why don’t you want to try for a biological child, Matt?”

“You all know my family,” he says. “You really think I should pass on those genes? It’s a family of addicts and grudge-holders.”

“You have those genes too,” Angelo says. “And look how you turned out.”

“The kid who threatened to blow up the school when my sister was in a car accident?” Matt asks.

“The man who saved me from being shot in the face,” Jarel counters.

“Can you not say it like that?” Bea asks. “It freaks out both me and Val.”

“Does it?” Jarel asks me.

“Yeah. It’s graphic. Makes me want to burst into tears.”

“But that is what happened,” Angelo says. “If it weren’t for Matt, Jarel would have had a closed-casket funeral.”

“Can you all not?” Bea asks sternly. “I’m serious.”

“Sorry,” Angelo says. “But we’re not wrong, Matt. That’s who you are: a savior.”

“Plus an awesome uncle to Julie,” I point out.

“And Tracey’s recovering now,” Jarel says. “She’s not like she was when you and Val first started dating.”

“If genetics are the only thing standing in your way,” Angelo says, “I don’t think that should really be a factor.”

“Yeah,” Bea says. “If we’re going by genetics, Val shouldn’t be having kids at all. A mother who died in her mid-thirties and a Bob Ewell-ian father? Who wants those genes?”

All three guys look horrified.

“Bob Ewell-ian?” Jarel asks softly. “Val?”

“Sometimes Bea exaggerates for effect,” I say. “No one looks at me like a victim. You know I hate that shit.”

“My point,” Bea says, “is that genetics alone do not dictate who we are.”

Except that her point is lost in her grotesque, overly revealing imagery. And now I’m terrified of how awful it would be for my son to inherit his grandfather’s temper.

“If we did do this,” Matt says, “how would it work? What are the logistics?”

“Isn’t that romantic?” Bea asks sarcastically.

“It’s a reasonable question,” Angelo says.

Now that Angelo and Matt don’t hate each other, they agree more than they disagree. It’s a nice change from the beginning of the relationship.

“One at a time?” Jarel asks. “Assuming we want the family we’ve talked about, each of us would have a kid with Val? How do we choose who goes first?”

“This is awkward,” Bea says.

“You could leave,” I say.

“No, I wanna be here when you tell them your plan.”

Maybe I shouldn’t have let her move in with us after all.

“You have a plan?” Angelo asks.

I clear my throat. “More like a… suggestion. Since we don’t know anything about each other’s fertility or how long it’ll take for me to get pregnant, instead of trying with one person at a time… I was thinking we could kind of…”

“Dolphin style!” Bea says.

I roll my eyes. “Ignore her. Look, if I have sex with all of you, we’ll have a greater chance of success and can start our family earlier.”

The guys look at each other, and a terrible tension engulfs the room.

“We knew this would happen when we moved in,” Jarel says. “To think otherwise is naive.”

“We knew this would happen?” Matt asks with emphasis.

“Multiple sexual partners,” Jarel says. He looks at Matt and Angelo. “Did no one else think about this?”

“I kinda blocked it out,” Angelo says.

“Me too,” Matt adds.

“Going into a relationship with both eyes closed always works out,” Bea quips.

“I think it’s the fair way,” I say. “And I’ll be ovulating soon, so I’ll likely have sex with all of you during that window.”

“All of us… at the same time?” Matt asks.

“No,” I say. “One at a time, same as always.”

Bea covers her eyes. “Oh, I’m so embarrassed for you.”

“But no matter who the biological father is,” I say, “we’re still a family. I expect everyone to help with the pregnancy. And we already said we’d help each other raise the kids. That starts with the first one.”

“And we can always try for more,” Angelo says.

“We definitely will.”

Matt clears his throat. “And when does this, uh, ‘window’ start?”

“Saturday.”

“I can have until Saturday to make a decision?” Matt says.

“Yes. In the meantime, let’s have some romance!” I look at the guys. “This might be your last chance to take me on a date pre-pregnancy and pre-baby. Maybe make it something I won’t be able to do for the next nine months.”

“Soft cheese and deli meat party!” Bea says, putting her hands in the air.

Matt shakes his head and smiles at her. “Maybe you should plan that.”

“Maybe I will. It’ll give me practice for all the baby showers.”

“Seriously, guys,” I say. “Any dates you wouldn’t want to take me on while I’m pregnant? Let’s do them this week!”

In all the time we’ve dated, I’ve never had a dinner-and-a-movie date. The originality is one of the reasons I couldn’t choose between these men.

“And think about the conception,” Bea says. “Imagine filling in the blank ‘The night you were conceived, we…”

“Bea, come on,” I say. “That’s enough.”

“Hey, you want originality on dates. I’d want originality in the bedroom. Nights to remember.”

Another reason I couldn’t choose: incredible sexual chemistry.

“Ignore her. Anyway, that’s the plan. Great dates. Great sex. Great pregnancy.”

“Sounds a little simple for us,” Matt says with a small smile.

“I agree,” Bea says. She points at Matt and Angelo. “You two are still being evasive with your families about this relationship, you’re all still facing the possibility of testifying at Vic’s court case, and everybody’s in therapy for nearly dying a couple of months ago.”

Plus, she doesn’t know about the awkward tension between me and Angelo’s brother-in-law or that Jarel destroyed evidence to help me cover up a crime.

Maybe we’re not meant to have a simple life.

But we’re definitely meant to be a family.

And I’m ready for one of these guys to make a baby with me.

Matt clears his throat. “There’s one more thing.”

Bea looks around the room. “Did this just turn into a family meeting? Are we those people now?”

“What’s the thing, Matt?” Jarel asks.

“A lawyer contacted me yesterday. My great aunt died, and she left me a lot of money. Like… a lot.”

“How much we talkin’?” Bea asks.

“Enough to never worry about money again,” Matt says, “but there’s a caveat.”

“Of course there is,” Bea says.

Matt rubs the back of his neck and locks eyes with me. “Val, I have a proposition.”

“What’s the proposition?” I ask Matt.

“To get the money, I have to get married.”

Bea raises her eyebrows at me, but Angelo speaks first. “And you want Val to marry you?”

“It would only be for six months,” Matt says.

Angelo looks at Jarel. “I think they need some privacy.”

Jarel nods. “We need to start making dinner anyway.”

“Oh, you were going to teach me how to cook pasta!” Bea says as the three of them walk toward the kitchen.

“You just boil water,” Jarel says.

“Then why does mine always come out crunchy?” Bea asks as they disappear into the other room.

“Matt,” I say, taking his hand. “I can’t marry you.”

“It’s a lot of money, Val. We’d be set for life.”

I take a deep breath. I can’t say that I’m not tempted. Financial independence sounds nice.

But there’s no way I can marry one of the guys when I can’t marry the other two.

“I love you, Matt, but I don’t love you more than I love Jarel or Angelo, and marrying you, even for a few months, wouldn’t be fair to them.”

Matt’s so understanding about most things that I expect him to take this news easily. “You’d do it for Jarel!” he spits.

Startled, I stand, and he joins me. “What the hell? I would not.”

“It’s different with Jarel, and you know it!”

He’s not entirely wrong about that, but it’s not what he thinks. Jarel keeps secrets that Matt and Angelo do not know–and likely will never know. Still, that doesn’t mean I’m more in love with Jarel.

“When the hell did you become jealous of Jarel?”

“I’m not jealous!” Matt yells.

Matt’s always been more emotional and tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, but I’ve never seen him this angry, and I have no desire to be in a relationship with a screamer. “You don’t speak to me that way,” I tell him with an edge. “You need to calm down.”

“I don’t ask you for much. We love each other. If it were just us together, we’d get married anyway. Why can’t you just do this for me?!”

I hear the kitchen door open, but I don’t turn around. “I’ve got this I tell whomever is watching. Go back to cooking.”

When the door closes, I say, “But it’s not just the two of us, Matt, and we have to consider other people’s feelings. I thought you were on board with this.”

“I was,” he says, “until I got this phone call. I’m not asking you to leave the guys or change anything. I’m just asking you to wear a ring for a while.”

“Oh? Is that all?” I ask, rolling my eyes. “Give me a break, Matt. Marriage is more than a paper and ring, and getting divorced would be painful for both of us. You can’t put me in that position.”

“I can’t walk away from this money, Val!”

“You’ve made that clear.”

He scoffs. “So you’re saying that I’d have to marry someone else?!”

I shrug. “That’s your decision. All I know is that you can’t marry me.”

“I can’t believe you won’t support me!”

I raise my hands. “I’m not continuing this conversation, Matt. Take some time to cool off and come back when you can speak at a normal volume.”

He shakes his head and storms up the stairs before slamming his bedroom door.

I take two deep breaths before joining the group in the kitchen. As soon as I open the door, Angelo hugs me and kisses the top of my head.

“It’s okay,” I tell him.

Bea’s grating cheese. “Dr. Ezra told you all that you might have strange emotional reactions while you’re working through all the trauma from almost dying,” she says. “Matt may be having a harder time than he’s telling you.”

“Maybe,” I say as I release Angelo.

Jarel is staring at me, and he gestures for me to follow him into the garage.

When I close the door, I say, “I don’t love you more than I love Matt or Angelo.”

“I know that.” He takes my shaking hand and begins massaging it with deep pressure. “Our dynamic is different, but this isn’t a hierarchical relationship. Matt knows that too.”

I watch him rub each of my fingers from the base to the tip. “Tell me I didn’t make a mistake with Matt.”

“You didn’t. You’ll both be fine.”

I sigh and sit on the garage floor, and he sits with me to continue to massage my hand. “I don’t want to be yelled at, Jarel. I don’t want to bring a child into a world where we treat one another like that.”

“None of us are your exes, Val. Sometimes, we have bad days and say hurtful things. That’s all. You’ll see. Matt will cool off, apologize, and everything will work out.”

“Have you never been a jealous person, Jarel?”

He shrugs. “Maybe during my more selfish years, but certainly not now, not with you.”

“And why is that?”

He kisses my palm. “Because the kind of love you and I have isn’t something that can be thwarted. There’s nothing that can break us.”

I take a deep breath, and my exhale turns into a small moan. “Thank you, baby.”

We stand, and he hugs me. “Ready for dinner?”

I stand on my tiptoes, and he smiles before kissing me. He holds my sides, which sends a chill down my spine.

“Thank you, Jarel.”

“Anytime, lady.”

We finish making dinner, but just as we sit down, Matt comes down the stairs with a duffel bag over one shoulder and a messenger bag on the other.

I back away from the table and follow him outside. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to stay at a hotel for a few days,” he says, tossing the bags in the backseat of a cab. “I need to clear my head.”

“You’re leaving?!”

“Just for a few days.”

“Do you not understand why I can’t marry you?”

“I do.” He sighs. “I just thought… I don’t know. I guess I thought our relationship was different. I need some space to think about everything.”

I swallow. “Is this the first step of you breaking up with me?”

“I love you, Val.” He pats my shoulder and kisses my cheek. “I’ll call you.”

I watch him until he turns off the main road, and I trudge back inside.

“He really left?” Angelo asks when I sit back down.

“He really did.”

I twirl my pasta around my fork, but I’ve lost my appetite. “I need a minute,” I say, pushing my chair away from the table.

I have a quick flashback of Jarel telling me that he needed a minute before pulling over on the side of the road and telling me about his difficult time in pediatric oncology.

I softly close my bedroom door, and flop onto my bed. I roll onto my stomach, close my eyes, and hold my pillow.

An hour ago, we were talking about starting a family. How did things become this exhausting so quickly?

I hear my bedroom door open and close, and I sense someone in my room, but I don’t open my eyes.

The person kneels next to me on the bed and lifts my shirt slightly.

Definitely not Bea.

Then he places the heels of his hands on the small of my back and begins to massage me.

I sigh. “Hi.”

“I thought you could use the release,” Angelo whispers.

I reach around to pull my blouse up to my shoulders and unhook my bra.

And for the next twenty minutes, he massages my back without saying another word, and my entire body relaxes.

I roll onto my back, still without opening my eyes, and I feel him shift, then straddle me. He strokes my stomach and sides, then runs his fingertips from my shoulders to my cleavage and back to my shoulders. He does this repeatedly until I brush a tear from my eye.

“It’s just my touch,” he whispers. “It’s just energy being released.”

“You knew you would do this to me,” I whisper back.

“I knew you needed it.”

“Come here.”

He holds my curly hair in his hands and leans forward to kiss me with so much passion that I almost whimper. Instead, I begin to unbutton his pants, but he gently brushes my hand away.

“I want to wait,” he says, quickly lying next to me. “It’ll give us the greatest chance of getting pregnant.”

I sigh.

“But,” he continues, draping the sheet over me, “if connection will help you feel better, you don’t have to wait.” He kisses me again, but this time, his fingers unbutton and unzip my jeans before slipping under the waistband of my panties. He teases and plays, and my breath catches when his fingers slide inside of me. I moan into his short but passionate kisses before he begins making quick circles around my clit. My hips buck, and he smiles against my lips.

“Angelo,” I whisper between kisses.

He wraps his other arm around my shoulders and pulls me close to him. His scent, warmth, and perfect touch push me over the edge, and when I moan again, he kisses me hard to lower my volume.

When my moans stop, so does he, but every time his fingertips caress my skin, I twitch.

“That was unexpected,” I whisper, curling against him.

“Feel better?”

I nod.

“That’s all I care about.” He holds me tight against him. “I love you, Valentina.”

And as I drift into sleep, I know I made the right decision in rejecting Matt’s proposal.

Even if it means that I might lose him.