Now what?
“Well shit,” Lincoln added, “I’m not going to step aside and let these guys just have you.” He leaned back in his chair and began stroking his goatee. “I’m all in. I want you too.”
I sat there awkwardly, just staring back at them. As far as men went they were beyond beautiful. I fixated on Brody’s flowing blond hair. On Lincoln’s incredible shoulders. On Donovan’s powerful, muscular physique…
“Well I can’t date you all!” I blurted helplessly.
Another span of silence followed. Then Donovan cleared his throat.
“Why not?”
My breath caught in my chest. What?
“Yeah, what he said,” added Brody. “Why not? There are seven days in the week. Maybe we each take a couple.”
My throat was a field of dust. I could barely swallow.
“B—But…”
“Hell,” Lincoln said, cracking his knuckles. “I’m so busy at the office, maybe this works out best for me anyway. I get all the fun of spoiling a girlfriend, without feeling guilty and constantly pressured about time.”
I looked up, and my gaze found his. “W—What?”
“Every relationship I’ve ever had has ended in a battle over the clock,” he admitted. “Her getting mad that I’m working late, or staying at the office, or whatever else. This way would actually be different. With the other guys taking you out, you’d never get lonely. And we’d only be seeing each other one-third of the time, so…”
“So every date would be three times as special,” Donovan finished for him. The grin on his face was slowly growing wider. “I work long hours too, actually. And absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?”
“Speak for yourself,” laughed Brody. “Any days you guys don’t want, I’ll take em’.”
Lincoln and Donovan both threw sour faces his way. “Easy there, chief.”
By this point I was dumbstruck. Totally speechless. I sat there like a zombie as the waitress dropped off our coffees, listening to them talk among themselves.
“Holly, you’re not saying anything,” Lincoln pointed out.
I shook my head slowly. “I… I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll try it,” said Brody. “Obviously, we’re interested in seeing you. We all want a second date, at the very least.”
Donovan cradled his mug in both hands. Of course he’d ordered his coffee black, no sugar.
“You’ve been honest with us and we’re saying we’re okay with it,” he said. “So sure, date all three of us. Maybe sometime down the line you make a choice. Or maybe you don’t. Or maybe one of us does,” he shrugged. “Who knows?”
Just like Jocelyn, he was making it all seem so simple. When in reality…
“What about sex?”
The question tumbled from my lips before I even had a chance to consider it. All three of my lovers glanced at each other.
“What about it?” asked Brody.
“I mean… obviously you’ll get jealous if I’m sleeping with all three of you,” I said. “How’s that going to work?”
“You’ve slept with all three of us already, right?”
Another pause. I nodded, numbly.
“Then what’s the difference?” asked Donovan. “If you’re only dating us, it’s not really cheating. Not if you’re staying within our own little triangle.”