Panthera Spelaea

The three of us sat on the bed. I started by asking Svetlana and Anna to tell me about their conversation with her mom, then I told them what happened with her Dad, and finally my talk with Mom in the garden. “So the good part is that neither killed nor castrated me. However, both think that a relationship with the three of us together is doomed to fail long term.”

“They don’t know what will happen,” Anna objected.

“No, but their concerns are valid. You two may have talked about this for days, but I’ve known for less than eighteen hours. As fantastic as last night was, it was still a lot to drop on me at once.”

Svetlana looked distraught. “You don’t want her?”

“I didn’t say that,” I said. “From my perspective, I haven’t gotten to know Anna well. Until the drive here, I’d spent less time talking with Anna than having sex with her, and that means I’m playing catch-up here. Even during the time I was getting to know her, she was my girlfriend’s roommate. Untouchable.” I pulled her into my side. “I liked her, but I didn’t let any feelings grow. Only now am I going back and letting myself know her without worrying about cheating emotionally on Svetlana.”

“I don’t mind,” my girlfriend said.

“I know.” I kissed them both. “I need to go for a run, and you two need to talk first. Think about what your parents said and what that will mean for the three of us if we move forward. If Anna decides that she wants more than sharing me, or Lana thinks she can’t watch Anna and me together without getting jealous, it’s best to know now. We can write off last night as a one-time celebration and move on with our lives as friends.”

Anna started to talk, but I stopped her. “You two talk. I’ll be back in an hour or so.” I grabbed my running clothes and went into the bathroom to change, which probably disappointed them both. They were lying together on the bed when I came out to kiss them goodbye. “Communication is a good thing,” I told them. “I need time to get my head around this too.”

“We’ll be waiting for you,” Anna told me. I headed down to the lobby and out the door. I knew the basics of the town’s layout, and my phone had a map program. I put in one Bluetooth earpiece, picked some good running music, and headed north towards the Volga River. I turned left on the bike path when I reached it, but it didn’t go far before the trails ended at the Polyot sports complex. I stopped on the way back at a memorial park. Kids were climbing on the tank and anti-aircraft gun, but the focus was the tall statue erected to the aviation workers of the city. Rybinsk was a center of aviation engine construction in Russia, so the factories contributed to Russia’s victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War.

Heading back the other way, I set a fast running pace along the wide paved trail. I let my legs stretch out to eat up the kilometers while I took in the scenery. I wasn’t worried about people following me because they’d never keep up. I passed under the Volzhsky Bridge and kept going a few more kilometers downriver before turning around.

The whole run, I was thinking about what I wanted in my life. Svetlana was a given; I was in love with her, and when the time was right, I would propose. That time wouldn’t be now; I couldn’t commit to anything with the investigations hanging over my head. I wanted her to meet my family first.

Anna blew my mind. She was hot, she was fun, and a hellcat in bed. I liked Anna a lot, but probably not as much as she did me. Our time this morning on the drive only strengthened the attraction. If I’d met Anna first, I could see myself dating her. Given time, I could love her. Would the love be like what I had for Svetlana? I didn’t know. Svetlana was special to me, as your first love should be.

Nadezna was right about one thing; it would be impossible to balance the two equally, especially with Svetlana as my legal wife. For this three-way relationship to work, Anna must accept that Svetlana was my ‘first’ wife, and she was a ‘sister’ wife. I’d seen television shows about Mormon polygamy, and that’s how they handled these things. They had far more experience in creating multiple-wife households than we did, so we’d have to follow their example. Otherwise, jealousy would creep in and destroy it.

Another decision I made on the way back was that it was all of us together. I wasn’t going to put them in adjoining homes; we would all sleep together, live together, and raise our children in the same household. We’d say she was a roommate or a live-in nanny with a separate bedroom, but it would be for show. Those close to us would know the truth about our relationship. The rest? It was none of their business.

I sprinted the last kilometer, stopping at the observation area over the Volga by the road leading back to our hotel. I looked over the river as I walked, letting my body cool down.

My fame proceeded me. Now that I wasn’t flying by on the trails, someone noticed me. I heard my name along with a bunch of Russian shouting I couldn’t follow. I figured I’d get out of there, so I started walking south towards the hotel.

I’d gone about five blocks when a police car stopped in front of me as I waited for a light to change. The officer didn’t speak English but was gesturing for me to get into the car. Using the translation program on my phone, I figured out his Chief wanted to see me. The officer gestured for the back seat again, and I got in. I still had my phone, so I texted an update to Marina and Svetlana as he drove me to the station.

The police chief in Rybinsk was a big man who spoke passable English. He wasn’t happy to find out I was moving to his town, but he couldn’t stop me. He warned me his people would be watching, and he wouldn’t tolerate any criminal behavior on my part.

“I’m here because the Courts won’t return my passport yet, and my girlfriend got fired because of her relationship with me,” I told him. “I won’t be a problem for anyone.”

Warning received, he had his officer drop me back at the hotel. Svetlana and Anna were waiting in the lobby and rushed over to make sure I was safe. “I’m fine. Sweaty, but fine. Come on.”

We went upstairs so I could take a quick shower. When I came out with a towel around my waist, both girls were reclining on the bed in lacy lingerie. “We talked,” Svetlana told me as my eyes drank in her body. “Our feelings haven’t changed.”

“We both want you, and we’re willing to share if you are,” Anna said as I tried and failed to raise my glance above her spectacular cleavage. “You will marry Svetlana, but both of us will be your wives in all other ways.”

I let the towel drop. “We’ll work out the details later,” I said as I rushed to join them on the bed.

Nadezna was wrong about one thing.

There was plenty of time for screwing, too.