The door creaked open.

  “Pizza gods have arrived,” Bharath called out, his voice cheerful, casual.

  He pushed it closed with his foot, arms stacked high with hot boxes from Papa John’s. But as he turned into the living room, ready to crack a joke or make a dramatic bow, he froze.

  Something was… different.

  The air felt warmer, heavier. Like ughter had been thick in the room just seconds before, but now the girls were sitting a little too casually. Like they’d just been up to something.

  Marisol perched on the armrest, hair tied up in a messy bun that didn’t match her deliberate grin. Sarah lounged on the rug, already barefoot, and looking smug in the way she only did when she had secrets. But it was Mia who made him pause.

  She was sitting back with her legs folded beneath her. He could swear that she had been wearing sensible pajamas when he left but here she was, wearing one of his old gym t-shirts-oversized and slouched off one shoulder and shorts that barely peeked out beneath it. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips pink. He had to admit that it looked way better on her than it ever could on him. She looked radiant.

  No, not just radiant.

  She looked like his lovers did after they’d had sex. That slow-blooming, sun-drenched glow of contentment and heat. The glint in her eyes was different too-no longer the polished flirtation of a high school queen bee on a mission, but something more dangerous.

  Raw. Intentional.

  He blinked once, then twice, before setting the boxes down. “Hope you’re all starving.”

  Sarah stretched like a cat. “Starving is one word for it.”

  That earned a sharp gnce from Marisol and a snort of ughter from Mia.

  “You missed some bonding,” Marisol added, coming over to him. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and lowered her voice. “We’ll tell you ter. Just… keep your eyes open.”

  “I am now,” he muttered.

  They gathered around the coffee table. Marisol handled the ptes while Mia helped Sarah distribute napkins and soda. Bharath took his usual seat-though this time, Mia slid in beside him without hesitation, curling her legs beneath her and resting her elbow just barely against his. She was clearly wearing no underwear based on the delectable amount of her firm body she showed him under the too-rge t-shirt.

  He looked at Sarah and Marisol for help - but they didn’t seem to notice anything. He wanted one of them to speak up and ask Mia to wear something more suitable but there was no help coming from his girls. He didn’t want to voice out the fact that he could see Mia’s enormous yet impossibly firm breasts for fear of coming across like a creep.

  Every brush of her shoulder sent a whisper of heat up his neck. He cleared his throat and tried to focus on the food.

  “So,” Mia said, biting into a slice of pepperoni with unnecessary elegance. “We’re staying back after Thanksgiving. Operation Maria gets underway.”

  “Is that… the official name now?” he asked.

  Sarah grinned. “We voted. You were outvoted.”

  Bharath shook his head, chuckling. “What happened to subtlety?”

  “We’ll be subtle,” Mia said sweetly, leaning toward him just enough that her t-shirt slipped another inch. “After the wine.”

  “Aiyo,” he muttered, eyes darting away.

  Marisol smirked. “You okay over there?”

  “I’m fine,” he said, reaching for a slice with unnecessary focus. “Just trying not to inhale cheese.”

  Sarah leaned forward, elbow on her knee. “He’s doing well, though. I mean, if I were in his pce and Mia was cuddled up next to me like that, I’d have already dragged her into the bedroom.”

  Mia’s eyes sparkled as she turned to him. “Would you, Bharath?”

  His hand froze over the pizza box.

  “I…” He swallowed. “That’s not how I work.”

  Marisol beamed. “He’s a gentleman, Mia. Even when it hurts.”

  Sarah ughed softly. “We tried to break him of that but have failed spectacurly so far. It’s weirdly hot.”

  Mia let her thigh press against his. “I think I like it.”

  Mia didn’t just like it. She loved it. The way he squirmed, blushed, tried to stay noble even when surrounded by chaos-her chaos now, too. Somewhere between the teasing and the touch, between the pizza and the gnces, it had happened.

  She had fallen for him.

  Hard. Fast. Without warning.

  And not just because he was beautiful or kind or maddeningly principled. Because he made her feel like she belonged. Like this entire strange, sacred, impossible life had a pce carved just for her.

  He was hers. He didn’t know it yet. But he would.

  Bharath took a rge bite of pizza. “No comment.”

  Dinner was a riot of overpping voices, jokes, and inside references. Mia leaned into it with the ease of someone who’d finally found her rhythm with them. She was pyful, teasing, confident-but also unexpectedly thoughtful. When the girls discussed how to approach Maria, she was the one who proposed the yered strategy: wine, comfort food, and a conversation rooted in emotions, not bels.

  “She needs to feel like this retionship is the most stable, nurturing thing in the world,” Mia said. “Not like some experiment.”

  “She’ll ask questions,” Bharath said. “She always does.”

  “Then we answer them with truth,” Marisol said. “Just not all the truth. Not yet.”

  Sarah added, “And no weird phrasing. Mia’s right-‘open retionship’ or ‘polyamory’ will make her suspicious. We talk about our chosen family. Trust. Long-term commitment.”

  “I think we should do it after the holidays,” Bharath said. “Stay back. Keep it simple. Let her see us as normal first. Then bring it up when she’s mellow.”

  Mia nodded. “I can get her to rex. She lets her guard down more with me. I’ll pave the way.”

  Bharath looked at her, genuinely impressed. “You’ve really thought about this.”

  Mia gave a shy smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s important.”

  And then, with a flick of her wrist, she changed the tone.

  “So…” she said, spinning toward Bharath with her head propped on her hand, “now that you’re finally paying attention to me-what do you like? Aside from saving girls, dodging hormones, and apparently surviving three girlfriends.”

  His brow rose. “Three?”

  “Pnning ahead,” she said smoothly.

  He groaned. “There are no three girlfriends. Only Marisol and Sarah. They mean the world to me.”

  “We’ll see,” Mia replied, too softly. “But go on.”

  He doesn’t get it yet. But he will.

  Bharath gnced at Marisol and Sarah, half-expecting a scolding look or at least a raised eyebrow at what Mia said.

  Maybe I’m reading too much into this.

  “Alright. Let’s see… I love computer science. Debugging code is weirdly meditative for me. I love music. I’m obsessed with logic puzzles. Like those massive bck-and-white grid ones you get in booklets.”

  Mia grinned. “Nerd.”

  “And proud to be one. I used to py cricket back in school, still follow India matches religiously. Unfortunately I can’t py much in the fall here. I did py one game at the beginning of the semester. Hopefully, in Spring I’ll get to py more. And I game-mostly RTS and RPGs. And recently,” he added, flexing an arm just slightly, “Jorge dragged me into gym hell, and now I can’t stop.”

  Mia’s eyes dropped to his biceps for a beat too long. “It’s paying off. No wonder my sister and Sarah can’t keep their hands off you!”

  Sarah choked on her soda.

  Marisol burst out ughing.

  Bharath flushed to his ears and grabbed another slice. “Next question.”

  “Oh, I’ve got many,” Mia purred.

  “You’re enjoying this too much,” he muttered.

  “Of course I am.” She leaned in again, voice low. “You’re kind, hot, heroic, smart… and so easy to make blush. It’s a rush.”

  Sarah cpped slowly. “Queen behavior.”

  Marisol nodded. “She’s dangerous.”

  Bharath wiped his mouth. “I thought you two said you were going to help me.”

  “We are,” Marisol said sweetly. “This is us helping.”

  Sarah added, “She’s learning to tease you without breaking you. It’s a test. You’re passing. Barely.”

  Mia draped her arms behind her head and stretched just enough to expose her toned stomach as the t-shirt outlined her impossibly pert breasts. “I’d give him a B+.”

  Bharath made a strangled sound and turned toward the kitchen. “Anyone want more soda?”

  All three girls broke into ughter.