In the end though, I did the only thing I could do. The only thing that made any sense to the old Holly, or even the crazy new one:
I made the same date with all of them.
Standing outside the coffee shop, I was more nervous than I’d ever been in my life. One by one I saw them go in. Through the window I watched as they sat down alone, picking their own little spots, completely obvious to one another.
My stomach was doing barrel rolls the whole time. I felt like throwing up.
You could leave now, you know.
I supposed I could. None of them had even seen me yet. I could concoct an emergency. In just three little text messages, no one would be the wiser.
But as much as I wanted to…
Summoning every ounce of courage, I forced myself to walk through the door. Lincoln saw me first. He stood up with a smile, and I greeted him by taking his hand and pulling him along.
“Come with me.”
I reached Brody next. His back was to me. I tapped him on the shoulder and nodded in the direction of an empty table. He followed grinning, but his grin faded as he saw Lincoln coming along too.
This is it…
My heart was thundering inside my chest! I sat them down next to each other, the both of them wholly confused. Then I held up a single finger as I left.
“Wait here. Just one sec...”
Donovan was clear on the other side of the room. It took another minute to grab him. By the time I’d gotten him back to the table, Brody and Lincoln were already discussing something. They still looked confused though.
“Brody, Lincoln, meet Donovan.”
I motioned my personal trainer into a third chair. He went reluctantly, totally bewildered. But he still went.
“Donovan, this is Brody and Lincoln.”
All three men sat in a circle now, sizing each other up like gunfighters. Only Brody made a half-hearted effort to shake hands. He quickly stopped himself though.
“I know this is weird,” I said, taking the fourth seat. “And I know you’re all here expecting to meet up with me. But please, hear me out. Let me just say everything I have to say, because God knows I’ve practiced it enough times.”
I had their attention, all three of them. For one strange and wondrous moment, an electric thrill shot through me.
Just do it already!
One deep breath later… I did it. I told them everything, just as I had with Jocelyn, only this time I left out all the more heated details.
It was crazy, telling the story to all three of them, each one knowing a third of it already. I talked about my impromptu date with Brody. My date with Donovan. My shopping trip-turned-romance with Lincoln, too. All three of them listened intently, as if I were telling the most interesting story in the world rather than an account of my very busy weekend. I left nothing out, but I also left certain things to the imagination. I wanted to be honest, not raunchy.
By the time it was over all three of them were staring at me. From time to time, they’d stare at each other, too.
An uncomfortable silence blanketed the table. It was as if each one of them was waiting for someone else to make the first move.
“So?” I said finally, prompting them. “Now you all know the story, and you all know each other.” I sighed and sank back in my chair, my shoulders slumped. “Let the fun begin.”
The last part came off intentionally sardonic. Or at least I hoped it had.
“What fun?” asked Brody.
“The fun of calling me a complete asshole?” I said, totally exasperated. “I mean… look at what I did. I played with your feelings. I went out with three of you in three days.”
“So?” Donovan asked.