ONE MONTH LATER

"Blanket, basket, bread...what else?" Ricky asked himself, gathering his things from the kitchen island.

"Oh!" Ricky's dad, Mike, offered, sliding casually into the kitchen in search of a snack. "Baked potatoes!"

"Baked..." Ricky's eyes widened for a moment, then he relaxed with a playfully annoyed look at his dad. "I didn't make any baked potatoes."

"It was just another thing that started with a 'B'," Mike shrugged. "So, you got this stuff, you brought out the old dusty bread maker for some good old fashioned cinnamon bread...can I ask who the special guy or gal is...?"

"Uh..." Ricky started. When he came back from his trip, he told his dad everything...except the part where he got together with EJ and Gina. His dad was accepting of him being bi (considering he was also bi, he'd be a hypocrite not to), but the whole polyamory thing might not be something he'd be a fan of.

But he also knew his dad would try to understand, to the best of his ability. Whenever he said he wanted Ricky to be happy, Ricky knew he meant it. So, he supposed now would be as good an opportunity as any to tell him.

"There's a guy..." Ricky started. "And a gal. My friends that I went on the trip with, Gina and EJ? I'm dating both of them. It's pretty new, and I didn't want to say anything because I just didn't know..."

"You didn't know how I'd take it?" Mike asked, and when Ricky nodded, his dad smiled. "Well, thank you for telling me, Ricky. Honestly, it doesn't surprise me a bit--you're a handsome kid, and you got a big heart. As long as you're being safe--emotionally, and physically. Safe sex is very important--"

"Dad!" Ricky cringed, gathering his basket. "You ruined it. You were doing so well, and then you just...ugh. But, uh..." he thought back to Mr. Caswell, probably sitting in his office without a care for his son, and Gina's dad, who had passed on so long ago. If he thought too deeply into it, he'd probably get too emotional, but in the moment, he was beyond grateful to have such an amazing dad. "Thank you, dad. I love you..." he wrapped his dad up in a hug, resting his head on his shoulder for a moment, trying to will himself not to cry.

"I love you, too, kid," Mike patted his back, holding on for a moment before pulling away, and Ricky couldn't help but laugh at the sight of him dabbing at his own eyes. "You know what Hannah Alabama says, right? Best of both worlds?"

Ricky shook his head with a smile. "It's Hannah Montanna," he said. "And I gotta go. I'll be back for dinner. Maybe." Honestly, he couldn't be sure. With all of their conflicting schedules, it was hard to find a time for the three of them to meet--it usually was just two at a time. But when they did all three get together, they could hang out for hours past curfew, until some parent or another was calling, demanding for their kid to get home.

"Let me know what GJ and Elina think about my famous cinnamon bread recipe!" Mike called as Ricky left, and Ricky laughed, not bothering to correct him. Honestly, he thought he was so funny--years have gone by, and he still calls Big Red 'Big Maroon'.

Okay, maybe he was kinda funny.

---

"Bowen!" EJ called as he saw Ricky walking over, blanket and basket in hand. In one hand, EJ held one of those snack platter containers with a box of donuts balanced on top. In the other hand, he held onto a dog leash. "About time--I need to put this stuff down so I can tether Bella--she's in a menace mood today."

Bella was the Caswell's dog--Ashlyn's and her parents, that is. She was a cute brown and white beagle with a pink collar, and while she looked harmless, she had a wild side. Gina liked to joke she was some sort of ailen creature pretending to be a dog. While EJ mostly stayed in his dorm, every now and then he spent the night at his aunt and uncle's. Bella had strangely grown particularly attached to him over the past few weeks, so he liked to bring her around every now and then, as she liked attention from Ricky and Gina as well.

Ricky got to the chosen spot and laid the blanket down, laying out all the stuff, and EJ tied Bella's leash to a nearby tree. She was able to sit on the edge of their blanket, but not eat any of the food, which she pitifully pouted over. Ricky made an internal note to ask his dad if Bella could have any of the cinnamon bread.

"Hi," Ricky greeted shyly, leaning in slightly. It was a work in progress, the physical aspect of their relationship--and no, not the way his dad meant...at least, not for now. As far as PDA went, Ricky was fine with hand holding and kissing, but EJ was a little more limited. Ricky knew it was because he was a boy and EJ was in the process of coming out, so he didn't take it personal. But there were moments that EJ came around in a way that Ricky thought was really brave. Just then, EJ took a glance around the park, and he saw they were alone. He closed the gap, pressing his lips to Ricky's. It'd been a little less than a month since their first kiss, which happened behind EJ's car when he'd dropped him back off at home after the trip. Even after weeks and countless other oppotunities, every kiss from him felt like walking on air.

Ricky pulled away, trying not to make himself look like he'd melted into a completely sheepish mess, but EJ's grin suggested he knew otherwise. But that was fine--EJ could try to be smug all he wanted, but more often than not, he acted like a schoolgirl with a crush around him and Gina.

Speaking of, just as Ricky had opened up EJ's snack platter and started to help himself to the cubed cheeses and grapes, EJ started waving in the direction he'd just walked with the eagarness of a little kid. Ricky turned and smiled to see Gina--she was also carrying a basket, and she had on a cute pink sundress with white flowers.

"Hey, guys!" Gina beamed, sitting down with them and opening her basket. "So...I've got some pinwheel sandwiches I learned to make--"

"Let me guess, you learned from Youtube?" Ricky asked with a knowing smile.

"Nice try," Gina corrected. "Pinterest. The cupcakes, however," she pulled out a small box, which held about half a dozen cupcakes. They looked to be vanilla with strawberry frosting, the design like a vintage heart box with cute bows and everything--Ricky almost felt bad for wanting to eat something so pretty. "These were from YouTube."

"They look amazing," Ricky said, leaning in slightly, and she closed the gap and pressed a kiss to his lips. See--progress. They were working through making this relationship a well-oiled machine...as weird as that sounded.

Part of Ricky worried about balance--like, if he did something with or for one person, he had to do the same with the other. But for the most part, it went by comfort and availability. They all clicked and understood each other in a way that made it all work. Last Saturday, when Gina felt like Ricky and EJ were spending too much time without her, but only Ricky was available, they had an at-home spa and movie day. When Ricky was busy with his schoolwork, EJ and Gina would go out for ice cream. Their group chat--which changed names with each passing day--was always filled with new loving texts or emotionally scarring memes.

"Sooo, I made this cinnamon bread," Ricky offered, taking out the loaf--it wasn't the prettiest by looks, in fact it looked a little overcooked--but if Ricky remembered right, it was the best cinnamon bread out there. "It came from this old bread maker my dad has," he explained. "It kinda takes a while, but it's so worth it. It has this little window, and I used to watch it mix and bake forever as a kid."

"Aw, that's adorable," Gina said, reaching out and trying a piece, contemplating before nodding. "Oh, wow, that's really good!"

EJ bit into his own piece, and his eyes narrowed. "Hm. Did you watch the window for too long this time, babe? It's a little crunchy..."

"Oh," Ricky frowned. "I mean, you don't have to eat it--"

"I'm kidding," EJ said, taking another bite. "It's perfect, obviously. Just like you." He tilted his head and smiled, looking more like a cute dog in that moment than Bella.

"Whatever," Ricky rolled his eyes with a smile, lightly shoving EJ's shoulder. "Asshole. So, anyways...how's school been for you guys?"

"Ugh, don't remind me of that miserable existence," Gina groaned, picking apart one of her pinwheels and eating it in small amounts, something she tended to do when nervous. "ACT prep is actually the worst academic torture a person can go through." She sent a pointed look EJ's way, as if daring him to oppose with all of his college horror stories.

"No, actually, I'd agree with you there, that really sucked," EJ said. "And really, colleges are more focused on GPA anyway. Speaking of, I have to maintain a 3.9, which is a lot harder in college than it was in high school. The Gen Eds are pointless and my classmates are esstentially NPCs because they only talk about school..." he caught Ricky and Gina's eyes, and he flushed, looking down at the slice of cinnamon bread he was holding. "Anyways, at least my major is awesome--I'm taking this film studies class where we literally just watch movies and analyze them. Ashlyn is always annoyed by how much I analyze movies, but now I actually get graded for it! Anyways, Ricky...how's school for you?"

"Oh," Ricky thought about it, then shrugged. "I'm in an english class. And a computer science class, but it's basically just Microsoft Word 101. And I'm in an art class, but I skip that most of the time...other than that, I basically hang out at the library in a five-hour study period, but I usually just go home before noon and nobody really cares."

Gina looked at him, dumbfounded. "So that's why I can never seem to find you! You are the worst, Ricky Bowen."

"Oh, to be infected with senioritis again," EJ shook his head.

"You know you're gonna have to be in school again for the show, right?" Gina asked.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot," EJ said, "What's the show again?"

At first, when Miss Jenn had reached out and asked EJ to come back as an assistant director, Ricky and Gina really encouraged him to join, but EJ declined. For one thing, he told the pair he didn't think it'd be very appropriate to be working at the school and be dating the students--even if he was only six months older than Ricky and a year and half older than Gina. Not to mention, he had class and work--to cover expenses outside of school, he'd gotten a job at a donut shop, so he was always bringing leftover or 'ugly' donuts. All-in-all, he was booked, but he'd said he was still interested in details about the show.

"It's the Little Mermaid," Ricky replied. "And the cast list was just posted yesterday, but Gina told me she wanted to wait to tell you..." he gave her a look that read 'take it away'.

"You're looking at the new Ariel and Prince Eric!" Gina announced, doing little jazz hands.

"Oh my gosh, you guys, that's amazing!" EJ gathered them both in a group hug, during which Ricky dropped a piece of cinnamon bread an inch too close to Bella. The dog, happy to take the win from this accident, launched forward and snatched her reward.

"Bella, no!" EJ scolded, but Ricky and Gina couldn't help but laugh.

The three continued to hang out well into the day--they talked about new hobbies, the plans for the show, a new video game Ricky was thinking of saving up for. Gina tried to teach Bella how to catch a frisbee, but all the dog could do was run in a circle or sit close by in the hopes of getting more cinnamon bread. Once the sun began to set, and they all three realized they had other plans, an unfortunate reality that broke this paradise, and they had to pack up.

The blanket was folded and goodbye hugs and kisses were given--EJ had given Ricky his hoodie to 'borrow' (read: keep until EJ remembered and wanted it back), and Gina had given him one of her scrunchies. They all promised to keep each other posted in the group chat, and with that, they left the park.

Ricky looked up at the sky, brushes of orange and pink reflecting off the delicate clouds, the colors dancing above the sillouettes of his departing partners. He had no idea what would happen next--with the show, with school, or his relationship. But he knew without a doubt that he really liked Gina and EJ, and he could only hope that every day after was as beautiful as the day before.