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Mila poked her head into the classroom. She’d been sent to find Georgi when Viktor realized he wasn’t at skating club. She’d worked backwards through his schedule for the day, finding him in his second class of the day. “Georgi? What’s wrong?”
Georgi shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong. Everything is fine.”
Mila smiled and sat beside him, nudging him with her shoulder. “Everything is fine. Of course it is, that’s why you’re sitting in an empty classroom crying. Wanna try that one again, Georgi?”
It got a weak smile out of him. “Okay. Anya dumped me.”
“Ouch.” Mila leaned against him. “She say why she was dumping you, or is she just being a bitch?”
“She says she dumped me because I’m too dramatic and she finds it exhausting. I’m not any more dramatic now than I was when we first got together, and what did she expect when she decided to date a theater major?”
“I’m sorry.”
“So what are you doing here?”
“You’re missing skating club.”
Georgi groaned. “Dammit. Viktor’s not going to leave it alone. He’s going to keep pestering me until I find a new girl, and all I want is to sit back and grieve the end of my relationship with Anya.”
“Hey. I know you need some time, but when you’re ready, I have an idea where you might look. Someone who knows how dramatic you are and loves you for it. Okay?”
Georgi looked skeptically at Mila. “You’re sure she won’t run when they realize the drama’s a permanent thing? They always do.”
“Not this time. I’m sure.” Mila got to her feet and helped Georgi up. “Come on, before Viktor sends out a search party for both of us.”
As predicted, Viktor was annoying to Georgi about finding someone new. After a couple weeks, Georgi called Mila. “I’m not sure I’m ready to move on, but if Viktor doesn’t shut up, I’m going to punch his face in. Help?”
“I’ll be right over.” Something occurred to her. “Wait. Is Viktor there?”
“No, he’s off searching campus for that Japanese dancer. He’s completely convinced he’s a student here, he just needs to look in the right place.”
Mila laughed. “He’s tried the studios, right? Okay. Be there in fifteen minutes.”
She had a text to send first, though. Sara met her outside Georgi’s dorm. “Do you really think this will work, Mila?”
“Once he realizes that I’m serious, yes. You’re not going to back out, are you?”
Sara shook her head. “I said I was in, and I’m in. Georgi’s the one person who might actually enjoy having to deal with Michele’s dramatic overprotectiveness.”
“There is that!” Mila giggled and hugged Sara. “Let’s go.”
Georgi was surprised to see Sara, but he was gracious and welcoming. “All right, Mila. You said you had an idea where to look for a new girlfriend. I’m still not convinced I’m ready for one, but if it will get Viktor off my back…”
“That’s the plan!” Mila hugged Georgi. “Okay. So you’re probably going to freak out about the suggestion. It’s not just one girl, it’s two.”
“Two.” Georgi looked blankly at her. “Why two?”
“Why not two?”
“Because… a woman deserves her man’s full attention! Why would anyone ask a lady to share her boyfriend?”
“You know, polyamorous relationships are a thing. You can love more than one person at a time, and if everyone’s willing to share and be shared, what’s the problem? I know you can handle it, if you’ll just give it a chance. The thing that your girlfriends have said drives them away is the intense focus and the drama, well, spreading that over two girls is one way to help avoid that, right? You’re a guy with a lot of love to give.”
Georgi stared blankly at Mila, who smiled encouragingly at him. Sara reached out and patted his shoulder. “It can work, Georgi. If you want proof, look at Otabek.”
“What about Otabek? He’s Yuri’s boyfriend.”
Mila raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know about JJ?”
“Everyone knows King JJ. He’s obnoxious and hard to miss. What about him?”
“You didn’t know he’s dating Otabek and Yuri?” Mila pushed.
“Both of them?”
“Both of them,” Sara confirmed. “And, of course, Otabek and Yuri are dating each other. It’s not that hard, if King JJ and the angry kitten can make it work, so can you.”
Georgi shook his head. “Okay. I promise not to freak out and to give it a chance. After all, what’s the worst that can happen? It doesn’t work out and I break up again?”
“Exactly! Good.” Mila breathed a quick sigh of relief. One hurdle down. The next hurdle, though, wasn’t really any easier. She looked over to Sara, who gave her an encouraging nod. “All right. Georgi, Sara and I both like you, and we think the three of us could be good together.”
Georgi sat there staring at Mila for a long time. “Mila, you’re one of my best friends.”
“Yes, I am. You know I can handle your drama and I’m not going to get tired of it, and the same is true of Sara. You also know that we’re not the type to mess with you or set you up to fail. We’re not out to hurt you.”
“We wouldn’t mess up our own relationship either,” Sara said. She reached out and took Georgi’s hand. “Friendship is the best basis for a relationship. Mila and I have always known we wanted someone else in our relationship, someone we could share, and we agreed that we wanted it to be someone we were both friends with first. And now, we’ve found someone we agree on.”
Georgi looked between them. Mila reached out and took Georgi’s other hand, smiling encouragingly at him. “You both know I’m still not quite over Anya.”
“Right. This way you get to have the time you need, because Mila and I aren’t going to push you for a commitment you’re not ready for, but you have something to tell Viktor next time he starts in on you needing to move on and find someone who can appreciate you. You have.”
It took another couple weeks before Georgi was ready to do much more than put on a show for Viktor, but once he was, he took to having two girlfriends easily. He earned Michele’s respect by going to him and declaring his intention to court Sara and promising to treat her with all the respect she was due – and Sara’s respect by making it clear he wasn’t doing it to earn Michele’s permission. Sara’s permission was all he needed.
Mila was surprised when Georgi took her out on a proper date, and at the end of it, asked permission to kiss her. “You’re ready for this?”
“Yes. You and Sara have both been great, and looking back at previous relationships, I can see that something was missing. Do you want to call Sara?”
“No, I want you to call Sara and tell her.”
Georgi laughed and called Sara. They arranged to meet up at Georgi’s dorm room – Viktor had found his Japanese dancer and was almost never home anymore.