Deep 6 (Multiple Love)

Sandy loads up huge plates of chili, which she serves with homemade cornbread.

We all take our seats, and I'm amazed that everyone waits for Sandy to sit before tucking in. It's like having a woman around has resurrected all the manners that were lying dormant behind the testosterone in this house.

"Dig in," she says, smiling.

I am not exaggerating when I say it's heaven in a bowl.

"It's better than yours, T," Damien says carelessly.

"It always was," Tyler says, grinning in the lopsided way that makes him look younger than he is. It's his smile that reminds me of Jake the most, and that always makes me sad.

"Amazing," Andrew says, tearing off a chunk of bread and heaping it with rich meat and beans.

"It really is, Sandy." For once, Arden doesn't have a joke, and I catch a hint of redness on his cheeks when he looks at her.

At least he still has some shame. Dickhead shouldn't have come snooping. If you're going to watch people having sex, they should at least know you're doing it. Anything else makes a peeping tom in my book.

I wonder if Greg realized Arden was there. If not, and he finds out, Greg's massive shovel of a hand might end up wrapped around Arden's throat! As much as I love my triplet, I would probably enjoy seeing that.

Sometimes he needs to be taken down a peg.

As soon as I think it, I regret my feelings. Arden has always had it harder than me and Andrew. He struggled a lot in school and developed his cocky joker persona to cover up his issues. Even now, I think he was drawn to come home today to work out where he's going to stand in this whole arrangement. He'd hate it to be last to get with Sandy. He'd hate it if he felt like she didn't want him.

Everything comes back to his insecurities.

I hope Sandy will be careful with him if it gets that far.

"So, how was work today?" Sandy asks. She's so sweet, trying to make polite conversation while we're all tucking into dinner like pigs at a trough.

"Good," Tyler says. "We ordered you a new tire and some brake pads too. Yours were worn."

Sandy stops chewing. "I…" She pauses, rubbing her mouth with her napkin. "Is that going to cost me a lot?"

Tyler shakes his head, his eyes flicking between Sandy and his food as though he's worried that he'll turn into a pumpkin if he looks at her too long. "We've got it, okay? You don't need to worry about it."

Sandy's hand comes out, palm facing Tyler. "I can't do that. You're not responsible for my car."

Greg clears his throat, and we all focus on him immediately, including Tyler. There's a second where I think all of us are expecting Greg to bulldoze in and tell Sandy that paying to fix her car is nothing. Would she listen to Greg more than Tyler? These are complex dynamics that I'm not sure about. In the end, Greg surprises me. "Listen to Tyler, Sandy. Honestly, it's not a big deal for us. The parts come at cost price, and the labor is ours to give."

Sandy seems to slump down a little in her chair. I guess it must be weird for her to accept gifts from us, so I understand her response.

All of this is very new.

She seemed very worried about the money. Tyler told me she's a literature teacher. Surely that pays well enough to cover a few minor repairs. Something in her response doesn't feel quite right.

"We still going to The Passage tonight?"

"Shit, I forgot about that," Tyler says. He glances at Sandy, pausing as he tries to decide.

We usually race at least one night a week. The day changes to keep the cops on their toes, and the location varies too. Tonight's race is in an almost deserted part of town where the old factories used to be. The road there is wide enough to take delivery trucks, so it's perfect for racing. There are no residential homes either, so the risk of getting spotted is minimal.

Usually, it would be a no-brainer. The cars are in the double garage next to the house. We take it in turns to compete against the other racers. Sometimes they're local, but sometimes they come from further afield. With social media, there's an increased awareness of what we're doing, which brings amateur race enthusiasts from long distances.

It's always the most interesting when there is someone completely new to race. Everything is unknown.; the car and the spec under the hood, the driver and their skill and attitude toward risk. Add all that to variable road conditions and weather, and you have a nail-biting situation.

The adrenaline is a buzz that's hard to recreate.

"What's The Passage?" Sandy asks when Tyler takes too long to answer.