Unwrapping Holly

“Screw that,” I told him. Moving closer, I slipped my hand into his. “You’re staying with me until you can fix all of this.”

He smiled wanly, but still looked sad. “I don’t have the money for another bed,” he sighed. “And I can’t flip this one over. I checked.”

“We’ll figure it out,” I told him. “Right Sayid?”

Standing in the doorway, probably not sure if he should go or not, Sayid returned a weak but friendly smile. “Of course we will. Don’t sweat it, bro.”

Brody stared at his roommate as if seeing him for the first time. Finally he grinned. “Oh, Sayid?” He let out a short laugh that came out a bit maniacal. “I’d like you to meet my girlfriend Holly.”

Girlfriend… The word surprised me, but not in an unpleasant way.

“Holly, meet Sayid.”

Thirty-Two

HOLLY

The next few days were a whirlwind of getting shit done.

At the office I kicked unholy amounts of ass, finishing every last report and summary document due before the upcoming holiday weekend. I dotted every ‘i’ and crossed every ‘t’, before cleaning and straightening my desk in preparation for w

hat promised to be a very interesting new year.

I was just about ready for lunch when a text popped up on my phone. I smiled happily. All my recent text-messages had been the most interesting ones of my entire life. Especially the sexy little group text we’d started, between Lincoln, Donovan, Brody, and I.

My smile faded quickly however, as I realized this one was from Malcolm:

Coffee?

I must’ve gotten hundreds of single-word texts like this in the past — all from him. Coffee during lunch break was one of our things. Or it had been one of our things.

I considered ignoring the message altogether. But something — probably the OCD part of me that wouldn’t let things remain open-ended — made me hammer out a response:

No, thanks.

Short, simple, to the point, my answer left no room for misinterpretation. Besides, it felt good to be on the other end of the rejection for once. Really good.

Five minutes later I was street-level, walking briskly in the direction of my last stop: a specialty gift boutique where I’d custom-ordered a laser-engraved cigar box. It was the final pickup for my final client, signaling the end of a very hectic — but also very lucrative — personal shopping season.

Somehow I’d completed it all — everything for everyone, Lincoln and Donovan included. I’d lost count of how many times I’d trained at Crunch Time for free, but I’d done more than enough shopping for Donovan’s friends and family to make up for the lost time.

Besides… you can do things for each other. He’s your boyfriend now. Or at least, one of them.

The thought made me giddy whenever it came to mind. I didn’t just have a boyfriend, I had three of them. All of which were gorgeous. All of which were fun and funny, strong and confident. And yes, even a little bit cocky, too.

Best of all, every last one of them made me feel like a princess.

A princess? Is that how we’re putting it?

I was looking very forward to the coming weekend. Lincoln was closing down for the week on Friday, and we’d finally made plans for a quick trip to Maine. Apparently he shared a lease on a plane, and that fact alone was astonishing to me. Then again I’d seen his books, so I knew how much money he was clearing.

Two days, three nights, tucked away somewhere in the snowy backwoods of Maine. A cabin in the middle of nowhere, with not a single soul for miles around. The exact opposite of New York City.

Holy shit. It sounded absolutely magical.

We’d be back just in time for Christmas Eve, which the four of us were planning on spending together. Donovan’s relatives were still clear across the country. And Brody’s grandmother was always picked up for the week, staying with her sister and her family in Bridgehampton.

All four of us….