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Connie and Guy. Guy and Connie. You couldn’t have one without the other. They were always together (despite their on-and-off phase in high school). They were a perfect match. The Ducks always said they were soulmates; that Guy would propose the second they graduate college.
They were right: they’re soulmates. Still in college, it took Guy everything in his bones not to get down on one knee and propose to Connie with the ring he had bought when he was 17. It wasn’t anything special, and maybe Connie was a material girl, but he knew she’d say yes either way. Though she’d kill him, she’d probably even say yes if he proposed with a rubber band instead of a ring.
They followed each other to Boston College; Guy playing hockey and Connie joining mock trial. Although the couple had busy schedules, they continued seeing each other as much as possible. Their relationship had never been stronger now that they were in college, the freedom, the independence, the lack of teasing from the Ducks. It was a dream come true.
Except things were getting a bit confusing now that they were on their own.
Well, on their own with Julie.
Being their best friend and all, Julie had always been a big part of their relationship. She roomed with Connie all four years at Eden Hall and was rooming with her again. She loved hockey just as much as Guy and scrimmaged with him every chance she got. She was constantly third-wheeling the two, but it never felt like that. She went on dates with them, sat in between them on group movie nights, you name it.
It was like she was practically a part of their relationship. Minus kissing them and all that… obviously.
That’s where it gets confusing. They had spent so much time with Julie that maybe they wanted to kiss her. Which was a scary thought. Not because they didn’t love her, but because they had only ever had eyes for each other. What did this mean for them? Were they falling out of love and into Julie? No, not possible. They were still head over heels for each other…and head over heels for Julie, too?
Connie and Guy thought they started to grasp the idea that Julie could be a new addition to their relationship, but they were missing one thing: Julie wanting to be in their relationship. How were they going to have this conversation? It took them (what felt like) weeks to conclude that they wanted Julie to date them, so how could they muster up the courage to tell her that?
So they didn’t. They couldn’t risk losing Julie as their best friend. What if they told her and she hated the idea? What if things got awkward? What if it ruined their friendship? Julie meant too much to them, so keeping their feelings a secret would have to do.
But things felt wrong without her. Like she was the last piece of their puzzle.
So, they told her. And thank god she felt the same way.
“You’re not fucking with me, are you? This isn’t a funny joke guys.” Julie said with a shaky voice, jumping up out of the seat she was in and starring Connie and Guy down. They were sitting on the couch in front of her, staring up at her with soft eyes.
“We’d never joke about this, Jules. You mean too much to us. It took us a month to finally decide to tell you.” Guy frowned, not breaking his line of sight from her.
Connie nodded, looking at Guy then at Julie. “We understand if you hate the idea or something, but we couldn’t live with not telling you. It’s been eating us alive.”
Julie sighed, calming down and sitting back in her chair. “You guys mean,” a pause, “so much to me.” Her voice was still shaky, afraid to admit her feelings. “I’ve wanted this for so long, and I never thought you’d feel the same way. I thought I’d have to live with this,” another pause while she tried to find the right word, “guilt forever. Like I shouldn’t want both of my best friends, especially the two that are dating each other.”
Connie frowned, tearing up. “Julie, never ever feel guilty for how you feel.”
Guy motioned Julie to come sit on the couch with them, moving aside so she could sit in the middle. She took a deep breath and got up to sit in between them. The couple put their arms around her, holding her tight.
“I’m so sorry you felt that way. I wish we had told you sooner to avoid you hurting any more.” Connie sniffled, squeezing her hand on Julie’s arm.
Julie leaned her head onto Connie’s shoulder, nudging her leg against Guy’s. After a moment of silently embracing, Guy said, “So… does this mean we’re dating now?”
Julie laughed, and Connie hit him lightly, breaking their embrace. “Guy, we’re having a moment!”
Guy put his arms up in defense. “A sad one!” Connie made a face at him, but Julie continued laughing.
“It’s ok, Con. Sorry I got all emotional. This is just a lot.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “If you guys will have me, then yes, we’re dating now.”
Connie squealed in happiness, planting an excited kiss on Julie’s cheek. Guy wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling into her neck. They couldn’t worry about the logistics of their relationship right now. This was all too new and exciting that they didn’t bother thinking about how they’d tell people. For now, the only thing that mattered was the three of them.
—
Both Connie and Guy decided they’d have their first kisses with Julie on their own terms. They didn’t need to kiss her together, nor did they have to kiss her the second they started dating. They opted for letting it happen naturally.
Connie was the first to kiss Julie, the memories of crushing on her throughout high school flooding her head. She suppressed the crush, denying both her bisexuality and the fact that she liked another one of her best friends. She’d let the thoughts out sometimes, and even snuck glances of Julie when she wasn’t looking, but never let the thoughts linger in her head. She suppressed the crush for so long that it took her until sophomore year of college to admit it to herself. It never went away after high school, and thankfully Guy felt the same.
When she first kissed Julie, it happened like she had always imagined it. When those thoughts were allowed out, she imagined kissing Julie in the Eden Hall locker room. Pushing the blonde against the cold metal of the locker, kissing her with everything she had in her.
Her stomach was filled with butterflies as she waited outside the women’s hockey team locker room to congratulate Julie on a great game. Guy had an away game on the same day and couldn’t make it, so Connie went to cheer their girlfriend on by herself.
Once all of Julie’s teammates were out of the locker room, she snuck in and surprised Julie, who was squeezing her hair dry with a towel. The blonde was wearing her post-game attire, and Connie loved seeing her girlfriend all dressed up.
“Con, hey!” Julie ditched her towel and opened her arms. Connie ran into the hug and buried her face in her neck. “You were so great out there! I know I’ve seen you play before, but it’s so much more magical now that we’re together.” She muffled into Julie’s hair. Julie laughed affectionately, holding Connie tighter.
Once they broke, Connie looked Julie up and down. “My girlfriend cleans up nice.” She chewed her lip. Julie blushed. “You’ve seen me like this before.”
Connie scoffed. “I know, but you look so much hotter now that I can actually look at you without worrying you’ll notice me staring.”
“I’ve noticed you staring before.” Julie admitted.
“I must not have done a very good job at trying to hide it, then.” Connie laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear. She was nervous. Giddy. Julie made her feel some type of way.
“Must not have.” Julie said back, eyeing the girl in front of her. She moved over to her locker, grabbing things to put into her bag.
Connie tried to regain control of the situation. Julie made her so goddamn nervous that she couldn’t act how she wanted to. “You know, I used to stare at you in high school, too. After games, in our dorm. I tried not to, but sometimes my mind took over.”
Julie smiled, packing up her bag. “Oh yeah?”
The brunette twiddle her fingers anxiously. “Yeah.” she paused, taking a deep breath. “I used to imagine kissing you after a game or practice or something. We’d be the only two left in the room when the guys somehow got out before us. And then I’d,” she moved over to where Julie was standing, “grab you and push you against the lockers.”
Julie let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “You’re able to push me like that in this scenario?”
Connie made a face and pushed Julie against her own locker. “Yeah, I can.”
The two stared at each other for a second, Connie’s grip on Julie’s shirt tight. Julie put her hands on Connie’s upper arms, eyes fluttering at the girl’s sudden dominance.
Connie closed the gap between them, breathing in deeply as she did.Finally. She’d been waiting to kiss Julie for years, and this is exactly how she had always imagined it.
–
Guy and Connie were very similar in the ways they wanted Julie; they each had the idea of being with her in relation to hockey. A few days after Connie kissed Julie, Guy invited them to his home game. Similarly to Guy with Julie’s game, Connie couldn’t make it, so Julie stood in the stands cheering her boyfriend on. Guy would look up at her in the stands, lift his helmet up, and flash a smile. She’d blush and wink at him every time he did this, making his stomach swirl.
Julie waited for Guy after the game, and he took a hell of a long time to leave the locker room. She sat on the bleachers, watching the spectators leave the stands until she was the last one there. As she was about to get up and see if Guy was ok, she saw him skate out onto the ice in his warm-ups. She smiled at him.
“I thought you died or something in there!”
Guy shrugged. “You coming on the ice or not?”
Julie laughed. “I don’t even have my skates.”
“So what?”
“I’ll fall!” Julie said, pointing out the obvious.
“No you won’t, I know you. Now come on.” He motioned her to come onto the ice.
Julie stood for a moment, let out a sigh, and gave in. She made her way to the ice, watching as Guy came over to give her a hand. “I’m going to fall.”
“I got you.” Guy reached out for her hands. She took them and looked at her feet, wobbling onto the ice. “See? I won’t let you fall.”
“You’re such a romantic, Guy Germaine.” Julie looked up at him, her knees buckling.
“So I’ve been told.” He smirked at her. “Now relax, you’re psyching yourself into thinking you’ll fall.”
Julie took a deep breath, relaxing her body. Guy smiled at this as he picked up his speed, dragging her around the ice. Now relaxed, Julie laughed, enjoying the moment. She didn’t know what came across his mind to do this, but she had to admit she was having a good time.
“I heard Connie kissed you.” He said as they came to a stop in the center of the rink.
Julie blushed. “She did. Is that ok?”
Guy’s gaze softened. “Of course, Jules. She’s your girlfriend. I didn’t bring this up to be jealous or something.” He shook his head, gathering his thoughts. “I wanted this to be smoother.”
He leaned in, grabbing her waist, kissing her softly. Julie relaxed into his touch, placing her hands around his neck for support. “I thought that was pretty smooth.” She muttered against his lips. He smiled, kissing her harder.
Julie’s cheeks were red from both the cold of the rink and a blush at the kiss. “You brought me out here to kiss me?”
Guy bit his lip in embarrassment. “Not just to kiss you, that was just a bonus.” He brushed his fingers over her cold cheeks. “I always thought about bringing you out here after practice in high school. Well, Connie, too. I wanted us to all just skate around, just the three of us. But I was never brave enough to take Coach’s keys like Charlie did.”
Julie rolled her eyes. “None of us were brave enough to do what Charlie used to do. I like that you and Connie are safe. But hey, we’re out here now, aren’t we?”
He smiled. “Yeah, we are.”
–
The next day they all sat on the couch in Julie and Connie’s apartment watching a movie. It was as if nothing in their friendship had changed. Well, except for the fact that they were all tangled together.
Julie looked at her boyfriend, then at her girlfriend. They got to kiss her, but she didn’t get to kiss them.
“Hey, you guys?”
“Yeah?” The two said in sync.
She kissed Guy. Then she kissed Connie.
“That’s all.”
They didn't worry about telling the other Ducks about their relationship; how could they? They were all so infatuated to care about anything other than each other.