“Guys,” he said, “she doesn’t see it like we see it.”
“Thanks for the news flash,” said Landon.
“What does she expect us to do,” said Ben, “storm the house, break down the doors, ransack the place and get the camera by force?”
Trevor shifted nervously in place. “Well, that was one of her suggestions.”
“I’m in,” I said.
Will and Ben laughed.
“The funny thing,” Ben said to Will, “is that he’s serious.”
I shrugged. “One for all and all for one. Isn’t that how the saying goes?”
“Yeah, if we were the Three Musketeers,” said Ken. “But in case you haven’t noticed, we’re not. And we’re not frolicking about the French countryside.”
“Did you just say ‘frolicking?’” said Will.
“I did.”
Will shook his head. “How could you use a word like that at a time like this?”
I addressed Trevor, “What other choices do we have?”
“Choices?” said Trevor. “We don’t have choices. We’re just going to have to wait until her anger subsides. Maybe they’ll publish the photo, it will become a big scandal for a few days, then it will die down. Everyone will forget about it, and we can look back on this and laugh.”
“I’d rather frolic,” said Ken with spite that he directed at Will.
I shook my head. “We’re going to have to go in after that camera. There’s no other way.”
“It’s just going to get worse,” said Christian. “When you fight fire with fire, eventually, you’re bound to get burned.”
Trevor sighed. “Those are the exact words I said to Bonita.”
“Great minds think alike,” said Will, “and, also, your minds, too.”
“I say we go after the camera,” I said.
“No one’s asking you,” said Landon.
I glared at him. Why is he being such a dick?
“You heard what Sasha said,” Ken chimed in. “We let it go.”
“I agree,” said Trevor. He motioned to the bedroom. “Try convincing her, though.”
“I will.” Ken stormed off to the bedroom.
He was gone two minutes before he returned, shaking his head.
“We came here to do a documentary on Sasha Snow,” said Landon. “How did it turn into a spy game of corporate espionage?”
“Things kind of snowballed,” said Christian. “And I let it get out of hand.”
Landon put a hand on Christian’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “We all let it get out of hand.”
“Yeah, but I’m supposed to be the reasonable one!” Christian shouted in an unreasonably loud voice.
I might have been the only one saying we should go after the camera, but deep down, I knew I didn’t really mean it. The absurdity of breaking into the home of known spies, plus the fact that Sasha wasn’t on board: I knew it wasn’t an option. I cursed under my breath. The others did the same.
We may have been dejected. We may have been feeling hurt and guilty. But these feelings, we all felt them. I realized, at that moment, that we shared more than just a girl. We were more than just a harem; we were a team.
“We’re going to have to work together,” I said.
“We always have,” said Ben.
I nodded. “That’s true. But until now, we’ve been working together to give Bonita what she wants.”
“She wants that camera and the pictures the spies took,” said Trevor.
“I know,” I said.
“But this escalation has to stop,” said Christian.”
“I know,” I said.
“Bonita gets what she wants,” said Will.
“That’s what I’m getting at,” I said. “We’ve been working together to give Bonita what she wants. Now, we have to work together to make sure what she wants isn’t to go on a dangerous breaking-and-entering mission.”
“Any idea how we accomplish that?” Asked Will.
I looked at Trevor; Trevor looked at Ken; Ken looked at Will; Will looked at Ben; Ben looked at Christian; Christian looked at Landon.
“If we can fuck her senseless,” said Landon. “Maybe we can also fuck some sense into her.”
That reasoning made no sense to any of us. But it did involve fucking, so we thought it was worth a try.
I knocked softly on the door to the bedroom, the rest of the team crowded around me.
There was no answer.
“Bonita, can we come in?”
“Come in,” she said. There was no enthusiasm in her voice.
All seven of us, shirts unbuttoned, jeans unzipped, entered the bedroom sheepishly.
Two seconds later, we exited just as sheepishly.
“Any other bright ideas, Landon?” said Christian.
Landon shook his head. “Nope. Sex was pretty much all I had.”
We had no idea how to make Bonita feel better. But we did agree that that was our goal—all of us, the whole team, with one unifying purpose. Sex, too. We wanted sex. But it was agreed that if we could reach the first goal, the second goal would take care of itself.
Great minds think alike.
15
Bonita
I’d snuck out of my home at midnight, got on a boat, and crossed the Atlantic. I thought, finally, I was free. I thought, finally, I could make decisions for myself: no more parents telling me what I could not do, telling me to be prudent, play it safe. And where had all that gotten me? Surrounded by “friends” telling me what I wanted wasn’t worth fighting for, wasn’t worth the risk; “friends” not letting me make my own decisions; “friends” telling me to be prudent, play it safe.