Reed stepped into the kitchen.
“Room for two more?” DC asked with a smile.
“Always.” Jude nodded. “Wine?”
Reed took the bottle. “Yes, thanks.” He poured some for himself and DC. Jude gave Phoebe a look.
“What?” Reed asked.
“I think you have the answer to that.” Phoebe took a piece of garlic bread.
DC took a sip of wine and couldn’t hide his smile. “They heard us.”
Reed turned red. “I should’ve figured it out sooner. My family would’ve freaked if I had brought DC home in college, but that’s not an excuse for not exploring how I felt.”
“About time.” Jude lifted his glass.
“No kidding!” Andy clinked his glass against Reed’s. “I need beer. Wine’s nice but too fancy for me.”
Phoebe looked at Reed and DC. “So how are things? I can already feel more openness and love.”
“You were right. There was a block. It was me not telling the truth.” DC’s glance at Reed nearly sparked.
“It wasn’t all your fault. I should’ve let my guard down.” Reed leaned over and kissed DC. Jude clapped and everyone joined in with approving comments. Reed and DC both went red this time. “It’s all sorted out now.” Reed nodded.
“Think the spell will work better?” DC asked.
Phoebe shook her head. “Don’t worry about that now. I’m sure the energy will flow much better. This helps, but it’s important to your life more than to a spell. It’ll help everything.”
“She’s right. Don’t think you did this for the spell or to kill demons. You did it for you, for all of us to have a happier family.” Jude shrugged.
Reed glanced at DC and twirled his fork in his pasta. “I’m not sure if I’m ready to share yet. I mean, go beyond DC sexually. It’d feel like cheating.”
“It’s okay.” Jude nodded to Andy. “We were wild in college, but after that we didn’t share with other guys. At least, not until Phoebe came into our lives and we were all together. DC needed it.”
“That’s what friends and lovers are for.” Andy added sauce to his pasta.
“I thought bisexuality was crap. For me, I mean.” Reed stared at his food.
“For some people it works. Not everyone feels that way. I only like men. So maybe I’m not as good as you guys.” Phoebe cleared her throat. “Now that you’re two couples, maybe you want me to move back to my apartment. We can still do the spell when you need it, but I don’t want to stifle your relationships.”
Jude frowned at her. She couldn’t be serious! “What? You’re not thinking of bailing on us?”
“You can’t leave us.” Reed dropped his fork.
“Yeah. You’re staying,” Andy said flatly.
“You don’t love us anymore?” DC asked with a pout.
Phoebe smiled. “I love all of you, but I sort of pushed myself in and stayed here. Maybe you just needed me to help you with these demons and this problem. I don’t want to force myself into your life.”
“You’re not forcing yourself on us. We can tie you up if you want. Prove it.” Jude kissed her slowly.
She shivered and relaxed under his touch. “Most people fall in love with one person and that works. They’re happy. I think to find the beauty in both sexes, or being open to loving more than one person, requires not only an open-minded attitude but a bit of advanced evolution. It won’t be easy. I want to stay but it’s not fair to assume.” Phoebe shrugged.
“So we’re more evolved?” Andy asked.
“Would most people share like this?” Jude asked. “I agree with Phoebe. We’ve got something special, and we don’t want to screw it up.”
“No, we don’t.” Reed stood up and leaned over the table to kiss Phoebe, and then sat down and kissed DC again.
“You’re not leaving.” Andy dumped his extra wine into Phoebe’s glass and drank his beer.
“Fine, you win. But we’re not demon hunting tonight. We need to figure out a way to get us all in one room, in one bed comfortably, and sleep well.”
“Come on. The demons are