When Jade Smith felt a spark with her friend Lauren, she hoped it might lead to something more.
But then she discovered Lauren had a boyfriend.
Was three a crowd? Jade, from Newcastle, NSW, finds out.
As I grasped my hands around a glass of wine, festive lights twinkled in the pub.
On my own, I gazed at the happy couples.
I wish I had someone to share this time of year with, I thought, longingly.
I’d dated men and women in the past, but now I’d been single for a year and I was feeling fed up.
Then, four months later, I was out with friends when
I was introduced to Lauren.
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach as we chatted for an hour about our love of cosplay and Star Wars.
‘I better go, my boyfriend’s outside,’ she said eventually.
At that, my face dropped.
‘It was nice to meet you,’
I muttered.
For the next year, I stayed single but I thought about Lauren often.
Then one day, I was swiping through a dating app when a familiar brunette popped up on my screen.
Lauren!
Reading her bio, I saw that she was in an open relationship.
I swiped right, and amazingly we matched.
And when we got chatting we agreed to go for a coffee.
After three cups, she brought up her boyfriend.
‘We’re polyamorous,’ she said, explaining it meant having feelings for more than one person. ‘He’d like to meet you.’
My mind whirled.
‘We’ve been together for five years,’ she said, showing me a photograph of him.
Matt was tall and handsome with green eyes.
I’d always been in monogamous relationships in the past, so it was definitely a new concept to me.
‘I could give it a go,’ I laughed.
That day, I went back to their house, and we kissed. ‘Come see me tomorrow,’ she said. ‘Matt will be here.’
The following night, Matt opened the door, smiling.
Can I really do this? I wondered.
But I decided to stop worrying and go for it.
Surprisingly, everything about the evening just
felt right.
‘Matt and I think you’re wonderful Jade,’ Lauren smiled.
It felt so exciting knowing that two people liked me.
Matt and Lauren told me they were high school sweethearts.
‘We’ve been looking for someone like you,’ they said.
They explained there had always been something missing in their relationship.
And I was it!
From then on, the three of us began to date, enjoying romantic dinners and trips to the cinema.
Two months in, I realised something.
‘I love you,’ I blurted out.
Matt and Lauren both grinned ear to ear.
‘We love you too,’ Matt beamed.
Lauren grabbed my hand.
‘We think you should live with us,’ she smiled.
The following week, I moved into Matt and Lauren’s home and our polygamous relationship became official.
It felt so normal.
Next, Lauren invited me to meet her parents.
I knew she hadn’t told them about us, so I was nervous about their reaction.
And when Matt kissed me in front of them, they looked at us open-mouthed.
‘I’m sorry,’ her mum said to me later. ‘It was a shock to see Matt kissing you.’
‘Lauren’s just told us the news,’ her dad said, putting his arm around me.
They made me feel very welcome and put me right at ease.
Later that week, Matt introduced me to his family too.
‘We’re happy if you are,’ they said.
I dreaded telling my dad as he’s very conservative, but I eventually plucked up the courage.
‘As long as they’re treating you right,’ he said.
Proud of our relationship, I posted regular photos of Matt, Lauren and me on social media.
But I received lots of hateful messages from people calling me weird.
‘Ignore them,’ Lauren said. ‘They don’t understand.’
The important thing was we were happy.
And when Christmas came around, I wanted to show them both how much they meant to me.
‘I’ve got to buy gifts for two partners this year!’ I laughed to the shop assistant.
‘Excuse me?’ she said, looking confused.
‘Don’t worry,’ I giggled.
On Christmas Day, Lauren, Matt and I visited all three of our families and exchanged pressies.
They’d bought me some beautiful enamel pins to add to my collection.
‘I love them,’ I gushed, kissing them both.
Back at home, I’d never felt so happy.
From then on, our relationship went from strength to strength.
Now, we’ve been together for nearly a year.
We go on dates once a week, either all together or in pairs.
Although people stare, no-one has said anything to our faces.
While Lauren and I do the cleaning, Matt cooks dinner every night.
Staring at those couples in the pub all that time ago, I longed to have someone to share the festive period with and I’m lucky enough to have found two!
Now every Christmas Day there is triple the love in our house. ●
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