Shared

Could it work?

Fuck if I knew. But every ounce of me — mind, body, and soul — was dying to try.

“Of course,” Hunter finished, “none of this happens unless you want it. Because if it’s not something you’re—”

“I want it.”

Their eyes lit up. Their expressions, filled with passion and eagerness and longing, sealed the deal for me.

“You do?”

“Yes,” I repeated. “I want it — all of it. All of you.”

My soul soared. Whatever was about to happen, I knew it would be amazing. Filled with incredible times, laughter, happiness and respect and love.

And of course… the wildest, most exotic sex I could’ve never even imagined.

“I want each of you,” I told them. “I want to call you my boyfriends… to have the three of you, all to myself.” I smiled broadly, and they grinned right back. “And as your loving girlfriend, for you to have only me.”

The room fell abruptly silent at the magnitude of what we’d just agreed upon. We sat around the table, staring at each other, each of us lost in our own nefarious thoughts.

“Sooo…” I said. “What happens next? Do you strip me down? Pounce on me, like a pride of wild lions?”

I was only half joking. The other half of me that was serious was excited and nervous… even more so than the night I’d lost my virginity.

“Not just yet,” laughed Colin. “See, we made one last pact you don’t know about.”

“Oh?”

Hunter nodded. “We promised each other that no matter what your answer, we’d leave you alone for tonight. Give you some breathing room. Some time to process.”

“Ah,” I said. “The proverbial head start.”

Everyone laughed now, including me. Albeit nervously.

“We’re still lions though,” Brandon said. “So we’ll sniff you out.”

The laughter broke all the tension in the room. Things were instantly back to the way they were before; casual and fun. Four happy souls who shared a house, a bathroom, and very soon, our beds with each other.

I scooted my chair closer to the table and picked up my fork.

“Now,” I said, breathing a long but excited sigh of relief. “Can we finally eat?”

Twenty-One

CLAUDIA

Grading papers was my least favorite part of teaching. And grading midterms? Ugh.

At least I had peace and quiet. The best part about midterms was coming home in the early afternoon, finishing my work, and then having the rest of the day to relax. Right now I was sitting cross-legged on my bed, comfortably bra-less in a fresh T-shirt, the strings of my favorite sweat shorts blissfully undone.

I sighed contentedly. The only real complication in my life right now was that my bowl of pretzels was empty. And it was a problem I meant to remedy right away.

BZZZZZ!

My phone vibrated on the pillow next to me. I flipped it over to a single line of text:

I did it.