Life is Too Short

Life is Too Short

Chapter 11 – More Changes

My last day at work was a strange one. For the first time since I’d started the job, I really didn’t have anything to do, except to give Ralph some last minute instructions. I suspected that the questions would continue coming for a while, but he could always e-mail me for answers. By noon, I thought that I had covered every topic and every possible scenario that could ever happen in the job. I was done.

My co-workers took me out to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, which took most of the afternoon once the margaritas started arriving. I laughed when I noticed that Ralph sat as far from me as he could and I wondered why he had even bothered joining us. He probably felt obligated, since he was replacing me. Several of my co-workers would be at Glen’s party that night and I said goodbye to the ones that wouldn’t be able to make it, knowing that I might never see some of them again.

I felt a little melancholy when I left, anxious about the move, most likely, and I went home hoping that Thranduil would cheer me up before the party. I was pleased to see that he had gone shopping again. He liked to buy me things and, not being a shopper myself, I was beginning to enjoy it. This time, it was a red dress with spaghetti straps. Naturally, he had to help me dress and of course that included undressing first. As could be expected, we got sidetracked. It was probably a good thing because it cheered me up tremendously. I think that it also relaxed Thranduil and that was just how I wanted him when Haldir showed up.

We walked upstairs, laughing about whether or not Ralph would pass out when he saw me in the daring red dress. Daring for me, anyway, because none of my co-workers had ever seen me in anything like it. I was afraid that Ralph’s brain wouldn’t be able to handle seeing me in something other than my usual business attire and he might just short circuit.

The laughter died on my lips when I saw Haldir standing on the balcony, looking out at the lake. I wondered how long he had been there, because I hadn’t heard him come in. I could feel the flush pass over my face when I thought about the events of the last hour. I know that Thranduil and I had both been very vocal when he took me on the dresser and we weren’t much quieter in the bed. I hoped that I hadn’t told him I loved him. Haldir didn’t need to hear that. It was a private thing, even if the sex wasn’t.

I turned and kissed Thranduil, letting my eyes say what my mouth could not. He stroked my cheek with the backs of his fingers before letting me go to Haldir and I saw conflict in his face. Pulling away, I approached the Marchwarden and wrapped my arms around his waist.

Haldir turned and smiled at me but he wasn’t happy, which probably meant that he had been here for a while and had heard us downstairs. I would have to make a point of paying extra attention to him tonight. In fact, if I could get him alone for a while, I thought some ‘welcome back’ sex might be in order. I asked Thranduil if he would go to go to the store and get us some wine to take to the party.

“And how long would you like for me to be gone?” he asked wryly. He was no fool.

“Half an hour?” I suggested.

He nodded, his lip curled up in a slight smile, as he went out the door.

“I missed you, Haldir,” I told him, once the door closed.

“Yes, it appeared that way,” he said, still staring at the dark blue lake, which looked surreal against the beige of the desert. “I noticed that you were anxiously awaiting my arrival.”

“We just got distracted while we were dressing for the party. I’ve been looking forward to your return.”

“I had assumed that he would be gone by the time I got here,” Haldir said. That explained it. “He is staying for the party?”

“Yes, he didn’t tell you? Glen invited him.”

“No, I think that he likes to surprise me,” Haldir told me. I had to agree.

He turned and looked me over. “It is a new dress?”

“Yes.”

“Did he buy it for you?” He knew the answer to that. I’d rather have my teeth pulled than go shopping, myself.

“Yes, does it matter?”

He turned and walked over to a package that I hadn’t noticed and he handed it to me.

I opened the box to find a dress nestled in a bed of paper. It was not as bold and flashy as the one I was now wearing, rather subtle and elegant instead. I loved it.

“Oh, Haldir it’s beautiful,” I told him, holding it up against my body. “If you’d rather I wear it…”

“No,” he said, eying me again and apparently deciding that he liked the way I looked in the red dress. “Save it for when we get to Oregon. I will take you to dinner at the same restaurant where we first met.”

“I would love that,” I told him, standing on my tiptoes to wrap my arms around his neck and touch my lips to his.

“You look beautiful in this,” he admitted, finally pulling me against him. “I missed you very much, Sinda.”

We ended up on the couch. I suggested the bedroom, but he wasn’t at all concerned about Thranduil coming home at the wrong moment. I think he almost hoped for it, in fact, wanting the other elf to see us in the throes of passion. They both played games. We had barely gotten dressed when Thranduil walked in, making me wonder if the Elfking had waited outside until he knew that it was safe.

We all went in Haldir’s car, since Thranduil’s only seated two and I didn’t want to drive mine, knowing that I’d be drinking. I sat in the back because I didn’t want Thranduil feeling like a third wheel. My excuse was that my legs were shorter.

When we arrived at the party, there were a lot of surprised looks. Some of my friends had met Haldir; others had met Thranduil, but only Glen had met them both. I know that they had to be puzzled. I introduced them both as friends, just to keep the confusion to a minimum. Hopefully, they would both act like friends.

Glen’s kids were allowed to stay up for the first hour, so Haldir and I spent some time with them while Thranduil wandered around the room making friends. It seemed like every time I looked over, he was surrounded by several women. I smiled. The king seemed to be in his element.

When the kids were finally told that it was bedtime, Haldir and I both hugged them goodnight.

“Dad said maybe we can come and visit you in Oregon someday,” Dex told us.

“I would enjoy that,” Haldir replied. “We’ll take you to the aquarium. I think you’d like it.”

The kids left and we drifted over to join the other adults. I went to get drinks for the two of us, since I saw that Thranduil already had one. I wondered if it was safe to leave Haldir alone with all those women, but I certainly couldn’t control what he did. Sure enough, he had a little crowd of his own when I got back and I had a hard time getting through to hand him his drink. I looked over at Thranduil and he still had his harem as well. It kind of brought back the reality again that I was just a rather ordinary woman and they were both truly spectacular males. I wondered again why they were drawn to me. It didn’t make sense and I still suspected that there was much more to it than any of us knew.

The doorbell rang and I saw that it was my friend, Anna. Heading in her direction, I was glad she had made it because I wanted to introduce her to Glen before I left. They seemed to hit it off immediately and I slipped away, leaving them alone to get better acquainted with each other. Since both elves were occupied, I wandered around the room, talking to different friends and answering questions about my move to Oregon. Everybody wanted to know about my mysterious male friends and which one I was involved with but I managed to remain vague on this issue for most of the evening. I really had intended to keep it that way, but after the second glass of wine, I happened to come across the wrong group of people. Ralph seemed to have found his own little clique of admirers, which didn’t completely surprise me. He wasn’t bad looking, just way too uptight. I greeted him and the three women that were with him. They were not friends, but had apparently felt obligated to come to my farewell party anyway, or maybe they were celebrating the fact that I was leaving. The one that I disliked the most, Elaine, turned to me now with a smug look on her face.

“So, Sinda, is it true that your friends are gay?” she asked, glancing at the others with a smirk before looking at me for my reaction. Naturally, the two handsome males couldn’t possibly see anything in me, so they must be gay. Boy did that one catch me off guard. I honestly had intended to behave and I tried to talk myself out of doing what I was contemplating. Maybe if I hadn’t had the two glasses of wine, I would have been able to control the impulse, but I doubt it. I sent out a quick message to Haldir, telling him that my “friends” wanted to know if he and Thranduil were gay.

I watched as Haldir started to choke on his drink and quickly excused himself to join me. I sent another message to him and when he arrived at my side, he gave me a nice long kiss before wrapping his arms around me.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Elaine. I didn’t answer your question, but, no.”

“I see,” Elaine said, obviously disappointed. “Well, it’s good to see that you’ve finally found yourself a man.” Her little group laughed along with her, at my expense. Now I remembered why I disliked her. It was the backbiting, the constant little insults that she usually tried to hide beneath kinder words. In fact, the other two women that were standing with us now weren’t much better. If they weren’t tearing somebody apart, they weren’t happy. That was my excuse for what I did next. What the hell, I decided. I had to see the looks on their faces, I just had to.

“Well, I found *two* of them,” I told Elaine. “Don’t forget Randy.”

“Sure,” she said, disbelief obvious as she looked to her friends for encouragement. She eyed Haldir and purred, “You’re dating both of these gorgeous men.”

“Well, we date sometimes, but mostly it’s just sex,” I told her as Haldir began to nuzzle the back of my neck. “They’re both insatiable and it just doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for dating.”

I glanced over to see that Thranduil was watching Haldir and me with great interest. I had told them both that I wanted them to behave tonight and act like we were just friends. Haldir was obviously not doing so and the king raised an eyebrow now. I smiled and he excused himself from his group.

“Oh, please,” Elaine laughed at the absurdity of the whole situation. “What, they share you Sinda? Let me guess; it’s because you’re just so hot?”

Thranduil arrived at that moment and he had not cared for the comment. “You have no idea how hot Sinda is,” he said, moving to my side.”

“Elaine wants to know if you share me,” I told him.

“Only because I have to,” he said, giving me a great kiss, one of those knee-bending kisses. Even Elaine was silent while it happened. In fact, I’ve got to say, it’s the only time I have ever seen Elaine at a loss for words. She opened her mouth at least twice, but nothing came out. Ralph was looking at me a little differently, too. I think he had thought that I was delusional, before. I could see the wheels turning, now. I knew that he had questions, but there was no way he was going to ask them.

Once Elaine got her voice back, she took a totally unexpected route. She was very good looking for a complete bitch, and she knew what affect she had on men. There was no way that she was going to let me walk away with both of these hunks of masculinity without a fight.

“Since the two of you like to share, maybe Sinda would share one of you with me tonight,” she said, smiling an invitation first at Haldir, then at Thranduil. “Which one of you is going home alone? You can go with me instead.”

She really didn’t get the picture, I thought. She seemed to understand the sharing part, but she didn’t realize that sometimes, like tonight, I would be with both of them at the same time. I held my breath, waiting for a response, not really knowing what to expect. I didn’t think that Haldir would take her up on her offer; I prayed that he wouldn’t, but I wasn’t sure about Thranduil. He surprised me, setting her straight.

“You don’t understand. Time is not an issue because Sinda likes to have both of us at once,” Thranduil smiled.

I was so glad that I didn’t have a mouthful of wine at the time, because I’m sure I would have spewed it everywhere. Ralph almost did. Quickly getting a grip, I smiled at Elaine as she finally understood what was going on here. This would only be the second time we had done this, but Elaine didn’t need to know that it wasn’t a regular event.

Ralph finished his drink in one big gulp and went to get another one.

“Besides, I’m afraid you’re just not my type,” Thranduil told her with an even bigger smile.

“Nor mine,” Haldir added. “I prefer nice women. Maybe Ralph will take you home.”

Haldir asked if I wanted another drink and I told him I’d like that. Thranduil led me away from Elaine and her friends, one arm wrapped protectively around my waist. We walked over to a darker corner of the room and he kissed me again.

“I guess that we don’t have to behave anymore?” he asked, one hand sliding down my back a little further than I thought was necessary.

“Well, we can’t have sex here, in front of everybody, if that’s what you’re thinking,” I told him.

“Oh, Sinda, and I thought you were so open minded,” he teased me. His tongue began a slow journey around the edge of my ear. “Can we leave soon? I want you.”

“Not too soon,” I told him. “I’m the guest of honor and it would be rude.”

“The bathroom has a large counter,” he told me. I imagine that both of our minds flashed back to our first real date. The only difference tonight would be that my dress was red and it was my friend’s house, not a motel. That made it impossible.

“No,” I said, trying not to think about him plunging into me, my heels wrapped around his back.

“Please?” he asked, nuzzling my neck.

“No,” I said again, wondering how wrong it would be; wondering how long before I folded under pressure and gave in to his request, since it was also what I wanted.

“Please?” he tried again, sucking on an earlobe. “It’ll be so good, Sinda.”

“Thranduil!” I whispered, growing aggravated because I wanted it as badly as he did.

I knew that many eyes were upon us, and it would be difficult to slip away. Let them think what they want, a small voice suggested. Their worst suspicions were probably true anyway. He kissed me again, this time parting my teeth and delving deeper into my mouth. He wasn’t playing fair and I was almost ready to let him take me right there, on the floor. I lost track of time until I heard Haldir clear his throat.

“Sorry,” I said, smiling at the Marchwarden. I took the glass of wine and thanked him as Thranduil stepped away to get himself another drink and probably sulk a bit.

Haldir leaned forward and kissed me and it was every bit as good as Thranduil’s kiss had been. When he pulled back, I reached up and touched his face, looking into those impossibly blue eyes. A surge of love for him rushed through my heart, and I didn’t even try to hide it. He smiled and kissed me again before taking my hand and leading me back to a group of my friends, steering me clear of Elaine.

It wasn’t long before a couple of friends dragged me off to ask me in private about my relationship with the two handsome males, not settling for a vague answer this time. This was a bit more difficult than telling Elaine and her cohorts. These were friends; people whose opinions mattered to me.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” I said, suddenly feeling like a whore. “I met Hal first and he introduced me to Randy. Things just went from there. Neither of them is willing to commit at this point in time and so this works out well for all of us. Does that make sense?”

“But Sinda, you really have sex with them both at the same time?” Anna asked me. Anna was very conservative and this had to bother her. I wanted to slap Elaine for passing that little tidbit of information on, but I knew that it was my own fault.

“Well, only once so far,” I admitted, not mentioning that I planned on doing it again as soon as I left the party. I made an effort not to check my watch. When Anna spoke, I was relieved not to hear disapproval in her voice.

“I don’t blame you,” Anna said, glancing at both elves. “I’d do it, too.”

“You would?” I asked, relieved.

“How would you choose between them?” she shrugged, surprising me. The others nodded in agreement. Choosing between them was only a small part of the problem, but I couldn’t get into the whole immortality thing and the fact that they were elves. My friends seemed to think that I had it made, and they were right. We talked a bit, though I didn’t give many details, except to admit that both of my “boyfriends” were very, very fun to be with.

The party lasted another two hours and my elves were being very patient about it, though every now and then one of them would approach me and tell me what they had in mind for when we got home. That made it hard to stay and be sociable, which is why they did it, but I managed anyway. By the time the crowd began to thin out, it seemed safe to make our exit. I said my goodbyes to everybody and thanked Glen for the party. He promised to come and visit one of these days and he thanked me for introducing him to Anna. They had a date planned for the next weekend and he seemed very pleased about it.

When we got to the car, Thranduil opened the back door for me, but instead of shutting it behind me, he climbed in, too. I knew by the look in his eyes exactly what he had in mind.

“I don’t think that this is a good idea,” I told him as he pushed me down onto the seat.

“I need you right now,” he growled, pushing my dress up to my waist.

“I don’t think it’s fair to Haldir,” I told him, slightly annoyed, as he divested me of some of my clothing. “I haven’t seen him for over a week. Maybe you should drive.”

“Oh, I’m planning on it,” Thranduil said. “I’m going to drive myself into you in about ten seconds.” He was already unzipping his pants to free his throbbing erection.

“Go ahead, Sinda,” Haldir said as he pulled out of the driveway. “Maybe he’ll be more manageable when we get home.”

“Yes, Sinda,” Thranduil said, attacking my neck as he positioned himself between my legs. “I’ll be more manageable.”

“All right,” I said, acquiescing. If Haldir was okay with it, that was my only concern. I was more than ready for Thranduil.

The drive was only fifteen minutes via the highway, but either Haldir had found an obstacle course to take on the way home, or he was intentionally whipping the car around corners and making sudden, unnecessary stops. I knew for a fact that there should be no stops on the freeway and was beginning to think that maybe he wasn’t quite as okay with what was happing in the back seat as he had led me to believe.

He wasn’t the only one playing games. I knew Thranduil well enough by now to know that he was intentionally dragging things out. We could have both come, easily, after the first five minutes but every time I began to get close to release, he changed positions. He waited until we were pulling into the parking lot to finish us both off. I know that he wanted to use every minute that we had but even more, he wanted the Marchwarden to hear me in the throes of passion and he didn’t want the sounds muffled by the engine or radio, which had been playing very loudly.

Haldir didn’t wait for us, but reached over the back seat and grabbed my purse to get the keys. It seemed like he slammed the door a bit louder than was necessary, though my mind was mostly elsewhere at the moment and I couldn’t be sure. I knew I’d have to smooth his ruffled feathers when we got inside, but that was all right. I liked smoothing his feathers. Sometimes I even liked ruffling them.

Thranduil didn’t let me up right away after we finished, as I had expected him to do. Instead he brushed the hair away from my face and said, “Please say it, Sinda. I know you won’t say it in front of him and I want to hear it before I leave tomorrow.”

“I love you,” I told him, making him smile. “I’m going to miss you while you’re gone, too. I think I’ve gotten kind of used to having you around.”

“When you get to Oregon, I want to see you more often,” he told me. “I want a schedule.”

I didn’t know how that idea was going to go over with Haldir.

“Let’s talk about it in the morning,” I suggested. “I can think of better things to do now.”

We went inside and I found Haldir looking out the window again, though it was dark out and I doubted that he could see much, elven eyes or not. I approached him and stood in front of him, where he couldn’t ignore me. He looked down at me and almost smiled, finally pressing his lips to mine. Thranduil closed the vertical blinds behind us, which would prevent anybody from seeing inside. I presumed that meant that we would be starting upstairs, rather than in the bedroom. My heart began to speed up with the thought.

Moving behind me, Thranduil lifted my long hair out of the way and began to kiss the back of my neck in all the right places. Haldir continued kissing my mouth, pressing his body closer to mine as his hands bracketed my face. Stepping back for a moment, he quickly discarded his shirt, tossing it onto the couch while Thranduil slowly unzipped my dress and kissed his way down my back.

I felt somebody slide the straps of my dress down my arms, but I couldn’t have said which one had done it. It didn’t matter. My senses were being assaulted from every direction and I reveled in it. Cupping my now bare breasts, Haldir finally dropped to his knees to put him at mouth level, his fingers running over one nipple as he sucked and licked at the other. His touch was glorious and I moaned with delight as he continued to pleasure me. Behind me, I could hear Thranduil undressing and when he returned, I knew that he was completely naked without even seeing him. He caressed my hips and bottom before sliding his fingers beneath my panties and pulling them down and off of me, along with my dress which had stopped its downward movement somewhere around my thighs. He worked his way back up my legs before dropping a lingering kiss on the small of my back and then using his tongue to trace a path up my spine. I was shivering with anticipation by the time he finally moved back to my neck and pressed his arousal against my backside.

I moaned as the two elves worked on me. I whimpered, too. I couldn’t help it. The feel of their hands and lips on me was exhilarating. I pushed back against Thranduil and heard him gasp.

Haldir stood now and moved back a few steps. I was mesmerized by his bare chest as well as the sight of his hands as they moved to unfasten his pants. He was not hurrying and I realized that he was watching as Thranduil's hands came around to squeeze my breasts. The Marchwarden groaned when the other elf dropped one hand down between my legs. In his sudden hurry to rid himself of the rest of his clothing, he tangled his legs in his pants and cursed as he finally freed himself.

When Haldir came to me again, he fisted his hands in my hair, crushing his mouth to mine in an enthusiastic kiss. I felt his body against mine, leaving no question as to whether or not he was ready for action.

"Get on your knees, Sinda," Thranduil told me. Haldir groaned again as I dropped down in front of him, grasping his hard shaft with one hand and taking him into my mouth. Thranduil stood still for a moment, playing with my hair and presumably watching, before finally placing himself behind me. I wasn’t quite sure how this was going to work, since I was in a somewhat upright position on my knees and wouldn’t be able to drop down onto my hands and still reach Haldir.

As usual, Thranduil had the situation under control. Also on his knees now, he lifted me onto his lap, impaling me in one swift movement. He grasped me around the waist with one arm and held me in position as he thrust up into me from below. The Marchwarden's fingers were still twisted in my hair and I could see his eyes move back and forth. He would look down to see me pleasuring him for a while then his eyes would drift to take in Thranduil as he was thrusting into me. I didn’t think that Haldir could see the Elfking actually entering me, but he could see our bodies moving and I wondered what it looked like from where he stood. His breathing quickly grew erratic as he watched and it was having an effect on me as well. I felt Thranduil’s free hand move between my legs as he began to thrust into me a bit harder, now, his mouth moving to kiss my ear and lightly bite my earlobe.

My mind flashed back to the last time the three of us had been together and I marveled at how it had changed since then. I remembered dreading it, but this time was different. If I could have done it, I think I might even have considered being with both elves all the time. Hard to believe that it was only the previous morning when I had been reluctant to try this again. I think at that moment, I actually thought that there might be room for the three of us together in a relationship on a more frequent basis. I loved being with both of them and I loved them both, I just didn’t know how they would feel about it.

I was brought quickly back to the present as Thranduil began to move faster and harder into me, still using his fingers to increase my pleasure. I moaned again, causing Haldir to grit his teeth, obviously trying to hold off. He twisted his fingers harder into my hair.

Thranduil also reacted, either to the sound of my moan or to the sight of Haldir clenching his teeth as he held off his release. Suddenly I felt Thranduil’s hand leave me as he now wrapped both arms around my waist and began to slam up into me. That did it for me. I cried out, as well as possible under the circumstances, as wave after wave of pleasure began to roll over me. That was all it took for Haldir, who yelled my name as he reached fulfillment. Thranduil followed only seconds later, emptying himself into me with a roar as he achieved his own release.

Haldir pulled away first and dropped to his knees, leaning down to kiss me as the last of my orgasm shook my body. Thranduil thrust two more times before finally stopping. He rubbed his cheek against mine, slowly getting his breath back. When the king finally pulled away, Haldir stood and helped me to my feet.

“Shall we move this to the bedroom?” I asked, loving the idea of having them both in my comfortable waterbed.

Haldir took my hand and led me downstairs while Thranduil turned off the lights and locked up. By the time he got downstairs, we were already going at it in bed. It had been too long since I’d been alone with Haldir and our two interludes tonight hadn’t done much to alleviate our need for one another. I assumed that when Thranduil came downstairs, he would join us, but he surprised me by lying on the bed and watching, rather than participating. I think that it was a first. I found out why, shortly thereafter. He leaned over and kissed me when Haldir and I finished and he whispered into my ear.

“I want what he just had,” he told me. I nodded, knowing what he meant, though Haldir didn’t. Haldir and I had not just had sex, we had made love and I knew that Thranduil had seen it in my face and my eyes. He wanted the same thing and I would give it to him. I asked Haldir if he wanted to watch or not and he said that he did. I made love with Thranduil the same way I had just done with Haldir, but I had told Haldir with my mind that I Ioved him. When the same moment came with Thranduil, I blocked my mind so that Haldir couldn’t read my thoughts and I used my small bond with Thranduil to tell him that I loved him. He whispered those Elvish words to me again; the words that I had meant to look up but hadn’t. I wished I would have done it, because I saw a look of betrayal on Haldir’s face now and wondered what Thranduil could have possibly said to me to garner that reaction. He hid the look quickly and we continued our night until the early morning hours when I couldn’t take any more and fell asleep on them.

I have to say that the next morning was one of the best of my life. I can honestly say that I had never before woken up with two elves in my own bed, two elves that I loved. I was facing Haldir, with Thranduil’s arms wrapped around me as he lay behind me. We all seemed to come awake together and I suspected that they had been in reverie, patiently awaiting me. We continued where we had left off the night before until Thranduil reluctantly told me that it was time for him to leave for the airport. Haldir stayed in bed when I went to shower with the king, which was just as well. My shower wasn’t really big enough for the three of us. When we returned to the bedroom, Haldir was nowhere to be seen. I knew where to find him and we went upstairs.

Thranduil put his bag by the front door and came to join us, near the balcony. He led me to the couch and pulled me down to sit on his lap.

“I want a schedule for when Sinda gets to Oregon,” he told the Marchwarden, looking into my eyes.

Haldir turned from where he was looking out the window, regarding us now.

“A schedule?” he asked.

“I want equal time,” Thranduil said, surprising me with that revelation.

There was silence for a moment as we all contemplated this.

“I had hoped for more time with Sinda,” Haldir said at last, quietly. “I have been working to end my other relationships so that I could be with her more often.”

My heart skipped a beat.

“And we both know how dangerous that is,” Thranduil stated, casting a look at the Marchwarden. “You have become far too attached to her, Haldir. You risk your life in doing so.”

They spoke as though I wasn’t even in the room, and I didn’t mind because I didn’t know what to say. My head was churning right now. The thought of having Haldir more often was something I had yearned for, but Thranduil was absolutely right. It was far too dangerous.

“I will not give up more time to you,” Haldir said now, hotly, as he directed his stare towards Thranduil. “I have been patient with you so far.”

“Why do we not let Sinda decide?” Thranduil asked confidently as he regarded me. I sighed, standing up. I would not address them both from Thranduil’s lap.

“First of all,” I said, looking at Thranduil, “I honestly don’t know if I could handle being with you half of the time. You wear me out. Haldir is much better about letting me rest.”

“I will let you rest,” Thranduil promised. “It will be different if I know that I will have you half of the time.”

I turned to Haldir. “And what Thranduil said was true. You are playing with fire if you let yourself become too attached to me and I don’t think I can be a party to that.”

Haldir came to me and took my hands. “I don’t care anymore, Sinda. I will gladly give up my immortality to be with you now and you know that. I wish to bind myself to you, to have children with you.”

His words hit me like a freight train. Thranduil was on his feet at once.

“Are you insane?” he asked Haldir, stunned. “Listen to yourself! She will be dead in sixty years and you will die with her? Don’t be a fool!”

I felt like I had been slapped. I walked away from them both to stand on the balcony, sliding the door closed behind me. I needed a few moments to get a grip on my emotions. The reality was that I could not allow Haldir to give up his life for me and that meant that I had could not give him more time. Giving them equal time would be the answer, as long as Thranduil was serious about promising me more time to rest. I wiped the tears from my eyes and went back inside.

“I wish to split my time evenly between the two of you,” I said, not looking at either of them.

“Sinda,” Haldir said, anguished. “We are meant to be together. You know that.”

Yes, I did. But it wasn’t going to happen and I sent him that message.

“You are simply afraid that if Sinda spends equal time with me that she will choose me over you,” Thranduil sent out the challenge to Haldir. Haldir remained silent. He believed it.

“How do we split the time evenly,” Haldir asked at last.

“Every other day,” Thranduil said.

I didn’t like that. I felt like a kid in a custody suit.

“I think I’d prefer three days at a time,” I said.

They both agreed.

“And one day of the week, we share you,” Thranduil suggested. I sucked in a breath. I’d have them together, once a week. I liked it. We both looked at Haldir and after a moment, he nodded.

The decision was made that I would spend Wednesday through Friday with Haldir and be with Thranduil on Saturday through Monday. Tuesday nights would belong to both of them.

“Now, I just need to find a job with flexible hours so I can still have enough energy for all this elf sex,” I said in an attempt to keep things light.

“You don’t need a job, Sinda,” Haldir told me. “We have spoken about it and we would like to support you.”

“You must be joking,” I said, crossing my arms. I had been completely independent since I turned eighteen. They thought I would allow myself to be a kept woman, now?

“Just listen to us, Sinda,” Thranduil explained. “Compared to our long lives, you do not have much time. Every moment of your life is precious and we do not wish for you to waste it working when it isn’t necessary. You can work...later…if you wish, though we would prefer to support you for the rest of your life. We both have more money than we’ll ever need.”

I considered his words. If I had ten good years left, it would be like taking a chunk of my retirement now. I could work an extra ten years, rather than retire at sixty five, because I wouldn’t have anything else to do anyway. The extra years of work might keep my mind off of the fact that I was alone and childless. The only problem was that my early retirement would be at their expense.

“No,” I said. “I understand what you are saying, but I can’t live off of the two of you.”

“How much profit are you making on your condo, Sinda?” Haldir asked me, sitting down on the couch.

“Almost a hundred thousand dollars,” I told him.

“And how long could you live off of that without a house payment or utility bill,” he asked.

I thought that I could survive for ten years, but maybe that was just the number that was sticking in my brain for other reasons.

“Ten years, if my car lasts that long. It’s paid for and it’s only two years old.”

Haldir started to say something, but couldn’t get the words out. He closed his eyes and let Thranduil take over.

“Who will inherit from you when you…die…Sinda?” the Elfking asked, quietly.

“Charity, I guess, if there’s anything left,” I said.

“The three of us will buy a house together, for you to live in. Haldir and I will each invest half of the money and the three of us will own it equally. You keep your money to live off of and pay us later. You can leave your portion to us in your will. Consider it an interest free loan.”

I glanced at Haldir, but he would not look at me. He didn’t like the conversation any more than I did. I thought about Thranduil’s offer, though it brought a lump to my throat. It really was a good idea and it was the only way I’d consider giving up my job while we were together. The only problem would be if I grew sick when I got older and my medical bills ate up my money there would be no way to pay them back.

When I brought up this possibility, Haldir stood immediately and went out onto the patio, closing the door behind him.

“He is already far too attached to you, Sinda,” Thranduil said.

I nodded, not wanting to think about it. I spoke with Thranduil about his offer as though it were a normal business proposition and we were finally able to agree upon terms. I would not work until they grew tired of me, though that wasn’t exactly the way it was worded. When we were done with our discussion, I walked Thranduil to his car and he pulled me to his lap.

“You know that things have changed, do you not, Sinda?” he asked me, gently.

“Yes, I understand that,” I said. Everything had changed, but I was happy with it, overall.

“Please do not make me wait a whole week for you this time,” he asked me. “I do not wish to go through that again.”

“If I make you wait a whole week, will you chase me through the park and tear my clothes off?” I asked him.

“Perhaps, if you ask me nicely,” he said, kissing me gently. He sighed, “I promise I will never scare you again, Sinda. This draw is very strong and that is why I do not wish to be away from you for long. I don’t understand what is causing this, but it changes me. I need to be near you.”

“I know,” I told him. Whatever it was, it was beyond all of our control.

“I have to go now, Sinda.”

“I love you,” I said. “And I’ll miss you.”

Standing up, I watched as he closed his door and I waved as he drove away moments later. When I returned to Haldir, he was still standing on the balcony.

“Are you all right?” I asked him.

“I do not like to think about you aging and dying,” he said, not answering the question directly.

“I understand that, but it’s something every human has to deal with,” I explained.

He sighed and took my hand to sit with me on the couch. At first he wouldn’t look at me, but finally said, “So you have fallen in love with Thranduil?”

I didn’t deny it. “How did you know?” I asked him.

“Last night, seconds after you blocked your mind from me, he replied to you with ‘I wish I could love you more.’ It didn’t take a genius to figure out what you had told him.”

So that was what the Elvish words had meant.

“Besides that, you forgot to shield your thoughts when you told him that you loved him in the car. When did this happen, Sinda?”

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “I guess it started the night of our date. It has grown since then, but Haldir…”

“Don’t,” he said, not looking at me.

“Yes, I will,” I said, angrily. “You started this whole thing and damn it, I have the right to explain myself!”

He looked up at me now, a little surprised.

“I do love him, but it’s not the way I love you,” I sighed. I wasn’t sure how to explain it because I was still confused. “If I found out tonight that I had to give up Thranduil, I’d be upset. If I found out that I had to give you up, I’d be devastated.”

He searched my mind and my face for the truth before nodding.

“At the party last night, when Elaine asked the two of you if one of you wanted to go home with her, I had a moment of near panic thinking that you might do it. I knew that it would more likely be Thranduil and that didn’t bother me quite as much. The thought that you might do it terrified me. Does that help?”

“I would never do that to you, Sinda,” he said, quietly.

“I didn’t think so, but that wasn’t the point,” I told him. “The point is, I have become attached to Thranduil and can even say I love him. I love being with him physically, more than anything. With you, it’s not only the physical, but there is something deeper. When you and I have sex, I feel like our souls touch each other.”

“Yes,” Haldir said, eyes finally holding mine. “That is how I feel, as though my fea touches yours.”

“What is a fea?” I asked, confused.

“A soul. There are those who are destined to be together and they are called fea-mates. I feel that way with you, Sinda.”

“But that can’t be, since I am a mortal,” I reminded him.

“No, I suppose not,” he admitted. “Though that is how it feels. You do not feel this way with Thranduil?”

“No, not at all.”

“Yet it seems that the more time you spend with him, the closer you grow to him and that is my fear; that you will grow to love him more than me.”

“Haldir, I honestly don’t think that is possible,” I told him, meaning it.

We spent the next hour in bed then the hour after that getting the last few items placed into my car. The movers arrived right on time and had my condo packed up in a jiffy. I was impressed. After they left, I found myself walking through the house one last time, looking for any little thing that I might have left behind as well as saying goodbye to my home. I cried when I locked the door, but I walked away, anyway, leaving behind the only life that I had ever known.

~~To Be Continued~~