Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 138775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
After a few minutes, there was another knock at the door. This time when I said come in, two men did.
They’d both changed, and Kyle hadn’t bothered to put a shirt back on, which normally would’ve distracted me in the best way, but not now.
To my surprise, he climbed into bed next to me. He rolled onto his side, his body pressed against mine, his hand resting on my hip. If I’d thought it was comforting snuggling up to one man in the dark, two were even more amazing. Then I felt the mattress shift—Jayden had sat at the foot of the bed.
Everyone was quiet for a while, and never before had I appreciated just how comforting this kind of touch could be. But then Jayden broke the silence. “We need to talk.”
Instantly, the tranquil feeling vanished. “I didn’t mean it!” I said rapidly. “I meant I like hanging out with—”
Jayden grasped my ankle through the blankets, squeezing lightly. “Why don’t you let us go first?”
My words trailed off, and I nodded. This was the point where they told me that while they cared for me, this was all just good fun, and if I let myself catch feelings, my heart would get broken.
I wanted to pull the covers over my head to spare myself from that conversation.
Jayden took a deep breath. “We were talking, and we think we kind of… skipped a step. Namely, the one where we figure out what the hell this is. You deserve to know, Tori. You deserve to know if it’s something longer term or if it’s just… “ He trailed off.
“Really hot sex?” Kyle supplied.
Jayden rolled his eyes. “Yes, thank you for phrasing that exactly right. What I mean is, this could be all just for fun… or it could be something else.”
“We should all be on the same page about that,” Lucas added. “So I’ll go first. I want a relationship with you, Tori. A real one. I want to be your boyfriend, or one of them. If that’s what you want.”
My heartbeat sped up at his words, but I didn’t know how that could work. Not when there were four of us here.
He was thinking along the same lines. “I know it doesn’t just involve the two of us, but that’s what I want. A relationship. Not just really hot sex.” He shot a look at Kyle with that last part.
I wanted to answer him, but I couldn’t. Not yet. Not until I knew where Kyle and Jayden stood. So instead, I found Lucas’s hand and squeezed.
“I do too,” Jayden said. “I want something real. But this is one of those two yeses, one no situations.” He looked around. “Or four yeses, one no situation.”
I frowned, meeting Lucas’s gaze. He looked just as confused as I did. “We’re not following,” he told Jayden.
“It’s like in a marriage,” Jayden began. “If there’s a big decision like whether to have another kid or move across the country, you only do it if both of you say yes. And if one person says no, you don’t do it. So, it’s two yeses, one no.” He stared at us for a long moment and then shook his head. “Jesus, didn’t any of your parents have a healthy relationship?”
There was a beat of silence, and then Lucas, Kyle, and I all said, “No.”
He rolled his eyes. “In this case, it would need to be four yeses, not two. And I’d say that your answer is the most important one, Tori.”
“Not most important,” I said quickly. “I mean, if we do this, then we all get an equal say.”
“Yeah, but you’re the cornerstone of this arrangement,” Lucas said.
Kyle laughed softly. “And what woman doesn’t like being called that?”
I elbowed him. This conversation was too important for joking.
Lucas lightly kissed my temple. “So what do you want, Tori?”
I gulped. I knew what I wanted, and I was still afraid that it would scare them away. “Um, can Kyle go next?” I shifted his way. “Please?”
“All right.” His voice was gruff, and he rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. And then he didn’t say anything.
“Kyle?” Jayden finally asked.
“I’m thinking how to say it.” He took another half minute to do that and then cleared his throat. “At that party tonight, that was the kind of scene I’ve been going to ever since I started here. Since before that. But it felt different tonight.” He reached between us and clasped my hand.
“Different how?” Jayden finally prompted.
It took Kyle another moment or two. “Pretty much the whole time I was there, I wanted to be here. With you.” He squeezed my hand and then he sighed. “With all of you. Like the Spaghetti Night we had the other day. And it makes no sense. It was a great party. Do you know how many girls hit on me? Or offered to—”