Unconventional

Thankfully, I didn’t see it again.

Finally, there were the guys themselves, and what had happened between us. The whole thing had been so fucking hot. So incredibly sexy and powerful and meaningful to me, that I just assumed it would be the same for them — even if it were only on sexual levels.

Instead they were acting indifferently towards me, even glancing away when I tried to catch their eye. It wasn’t exactly the cold shoulder, but it wasn’t the warm, flirtatious relationship we’d cultivated throughout their employment.

Maybe you crossed a line, I thought to myself sadly. Or maybe they just weren’t as into it as you are.

Bullshit.

If anything, they were even more into it. All three of them, totally enthusiastic. And yes, I knew they were guys. I knew strange chemical changes occurred in their alpha guy brains, the very second after they’d all finished exploding all over me.

But they’d done me again in the dead of night, and there had been connections between us. Each of them had bonded with me on certain levels — or in some deeper, one-on-one way — during the whole dirty act of our spontaneous little foursome.

After two days of weirdness, I got fed up with the silence. I waited until they were generally in the same area — right around lunch time — and marched straight over to all three of them, without any lemonade.

“Alright,” I said crisply. “Out with it.”

The guys all looked at each other and then back at me.

“Out with what?” asked Noah.

“You’ve been acting weird, all three of you. Ever since… since…”

“We had sex?” Chase offered.

“Yeah. That.”

Julian took off the bandana he’d been wearing. I felt my heart drop into my stomach as he lifted one big tattooed arm and ran his fingers through his dirty blond hair.

“We were giving you space,” he said. “That’s all.”

“Space?” I choked. “Space?”

“Yeah,” Noah shrugged. “After what happened that night… well..”

“We didn’t want to overwhelm you,” Chase finished.

I folded my arms across my chest, and shifted to my back foot.

“An astronaut needs space,” I said defiantly. “Not me.”

Chases’ gaze dropped. Noah looked at Julian, who only shrugged.

“Then what do you need?”

“I need the same funny, happy, flirtatious crew I had before dinner that night,” I declared. “I need things not to change between us, over the simple act of a little sex.”

Julian chuckled as he tied his bandana back on. “That was far from a little sex.”

“Whatever.”

I sounded petty and I knew it. I found myself searching my feelings, wondering what about the whole thing was bugging me so much. I wasn’t exactly angry. I wasn’t even hurt. I might’ve been a little discouraged, or confused or maybe just plain lonely with the guys not giving me the attention they had been. Or maybe I was just being childish overall.

“Tell you what,” said Noah. “Why don’t you make us dinner again later. We’ll sit down and talk about it.” There was a slight pause as his gaze shifted accusingly to the others. “Just talk.”

I had to admit I was taken aback. It wasn’t exactly the response I’d expected.

“O—Okay.”