And I was there the year he lost the Super Bowl.
But we still have Reed. If there’s anyone that won’t respect her wishes, it’s him. It won’t matter that she said there was no reason for her to stay—he’ll find one.
She’s smiling up at him, but his jaw is tense. What the fuck? What’s wrong with him?
She calls him close, forcing him to bend, so she can whisper in his ear. His eyes close before a thin veil of bullshit closes over him. Protecting himself from her seeing what I do.
That he likes her too.
Double fuck.
Her hand lingers on his chest before she moves to Cole. But in true fashion, he takes control of the moment, taking her hand and kissing it before leading her to the door.
The cold drifts in as it opens, and she looks back at us—a bunch of fucking emotional grown-ass-man chickens. She gives a small wave accompanied by an even smaller smile. And then she’s gone.
My hands run through my hair as I finally step away from where I’ve felt rooted, letting the moment fall from my mind. Jace’s voice follows me.
“What now?”
Reed clears his throat before answering.
“Now we pack up. And get out of here.”
Jace crosses his arms. “Are we really pretending we’re not rocked by that shit? By that girl? We all just turned into a bunch of jackasses.”
Cole’s jaw tenses. “We made a deal, Jace. And the deal is done. If she wanted to amend it, we gave her plenty of room to do that. Not crossing a line she set doesn’t make us jackasses.”
“Bullshit,” Jace spits. “We should’ve said something. Given her the option at least.”
“For what?” Reed bellows, throwing his hands in the air. “To date us? Have you even thought about how that would work? Because I fucking have. Who goes first? Who does she introduce to her family? Her friends? Or do we just show out together because that won’t cause a scene? The weekend is over, J. It doesn’t matter how we feel. We’re going home. And then you can find a little piece to bury your dick in and get over it.”
Hands connect with chests, and before I know it, Reed and Jace are tussling like a bunch of assholes. Fuck-yous are hurled left and right. But Cole and I are there in an instant, pulling them off each other.
“Enough,” I thunder.
My voice cuts through the bullshit as they look at me.
“We need to shut the house down and get back to the city. Because we can’t do shit about the what-ifs since we’re here and she’s there.”
Jace and Reed disperse, Reed chucking something in his hand out of frustration. But that’s not my concern anymore. Right now, it’s Cole who’s looking at the door.
My hand falls heavy on his shoulder.
“She’s one of a kind.”
He says nothing but he doesn’t have to. So I keep talking.
“The weekend was always going to be enough…or not. We knew that going in.”
Cole huffs a laugh.
“We’re fucked, Alec. Because if there’s a possibility to keep her…I’m not so sure I’m willing to share. And I’d venture to bet we’d each say the same.”
A smirk grows on my face. “Then I guess negotiations should start in the car…where we can’t kill each other.”
twenty-six
“My life is not a book, Eleanor.”
“We’re so glad to have you home,” my mom breathes.
I smile at my mom and nod as my sister pours a very generous glass of white wine for me.
We’ve been holed up in the kitchen pretending to help my mom cook. My dad walks past me, giving my back a gentle pat.
“Yeah, Mom was starting to think we’d never get you back off that mountain.”
I take a gulp before shrugging.
“Well, I’m back in one piece…” Kind of.
He momentarily frowns at me, but my sister just tops off my glass, interjecting, “Did I tell you I started dating that guy—”
“Which guy?” Mom shoots back, looking up from the bowl she’s mixing stuffing ingredients in.
Eleanor leans on the counter, giving me a wink. “The one from the roller derby. He’s so hot.”
My dad scoffs.
“The one with a purple mohawk and all the metal in his face? Jesus Christ. It must take him an hour to go through airport security.”
My mother chuckles but Eleanor shrugs.
“He doesn’t believe in flying…he’s reducing his carbon footprint.”
I almost laugh because it’s like she customized the perfect story to set our retired airline pilot father off and away from my bummed-out mood.
My phone buzzes in the pocket of my cardigan before I pull it out, staring down at the texts.
“I’ll be right back,” I barely say audibly before slipping off the kitchen stool to go somewhere more private.
Four texts stare back at me.
They must’ve all sent them at the same time without telling each other they were doing it.
Cole: Home?
Jace: You good?
Reed: Proof of life? Naked pics, preferably.
Alec: Got home safe?
“Wow,” my sister rushes out from behind me, resting her chin on my shoulder to look at my messages. “I call bullshit. Those guys are interested. You sooo predictably read them wrong.”
I shake my head, thumbs hovering.
“I know they like me, Elle. But…I like them. Emphasis on them. And they don’t do that.”
She scurries in front of me, grabbing my thumbs so that I can’t text.
“How is it you managed to find a pack of emotionally unavailable fuck boys?”
I roll my eyes. “I’m just lucky, I guess.”
“Wait, how do you know they don’t do that?”
I scowl. “Because they laid it out at the start.”
She tugs my hands. “But you said Alec said it was unexplored territory. Did you ever just tell them what you wanted?”
I shake my head. And she laughs.
“Why are you so dumb? God, I hate this trope.”
“My life is not a book, Eleanor. Cole walked me to the door. Reed didn’t say anything. None of them did. I made a fool of myself, standing there waiting for them to say anything to stop me. If he wants to, he will—isn’t that the saying? Well, they obviously didn’t want to. So—”
She pulls me into a hug. “I’m sorry.”
I pout. “It’s fine. I’ll get over it. It’s not like we’re in love. I just…”
Eleanor releases me, smiling as she draws back, and finishes my sentence, “Wanted your own boy band?”
“Yeah,” I sigh.
She turns to rejoin my parents in the kitchen, motioning for me to come too. But my eyes drop to my phone, teeth finding my lip as I make a group message.
Me: I’m home. Miss you guys.
No, delete, delete, delete.
Me: I’m home. Let’s get drinks soon.
No, we can’t do that. Shit. Delete, delete, delete, delete.
Me: I’m home. And, ummm, I think I quit.
twenty-seven
“Wait…she dated all of them…at the same time?”
“Are you having fun?” my sister snarks, knowing my answer as she raises her phone for yet another selfie of us to put on the ‘Gram.
“Define fun.” I chuckle, taking another sip of the cheap champagne.