Once inside, she looks around for signs of trouble. “What’s wrong? Are you not liking your apartment?”
“The apartment’s fine. It’s me that’s the problem.”
She unpacks her purchases at my small kitchen counter and puts the ice cream in the mostly empty freezer. “How are you the problem, B? What’s going on?”
I don’t know where to start. I usually tell Olivia everything, but so much has happened that I haven’t shared with her. I decide to dive right in. “I’ve been dating the Evans brothers.”
She’s silent for a long moment, just staring at me. “Wait a minute. Brothers, plural? More than one of them?”
“Not real dates,” I rush to clarify. “They offered to help me get some experience.”
“I’ll bet they did.” She nudges my arm with her elbow and does an exaggerated wink-wink to indicate what kind of experience she’s talking about.
“Olivia, stop. Please.”
To her credit, my friend instantly sobers. “Sorry. Okay, so your golf course guys are taking you out on dates to help you get experience. All of them? Together?”
“All of them, but individually. Kind of.”
She arches a curious brow.
I drop down on my bed, and bury my face in my hands for a moment before continuing. “It’s all gotten really complicated.”
Olivia sits next to me, and I tell her about the dates, and how dating the men individually has made me see them in different ways. Without going into detail, I tell her that they’ve also given me some physical experiences.
“And how has that been?”
“In the moment, it’s wonderful. Afterward, I can’t stop thinking about them, and I think it’s the physical stuff that has me all confused.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know how I’ve always liked Cade?” My friend nods. “Well, I’ve been getting feelings for all of the men. I’m afraid these fake dates are going to ruin our friendship. I tried to tell them that they didn’t need to take me out anymore, but they wanted to continue.”
Her brow shoots up again. “Whose idea was it for these dates in the first place?”
I think back to that night at their house when I told them about my bad date, and about my accidental orgasm. “Knox brought it up first. He’s the oldest one. He’s always helping his brothers, and he thinks of me like a sister. Or, at least I thought he did. He said going on dates with all of them would help me get experience so I’d be more comfortable when I went on real dates.”
“So it was Knox’s idea. What did the other guys say?”
“They all seemed to get on board right away. Cade actually texted me that same night to make plans for the first date.”
“And you’re feeling more than friendship for them now? For all four of them?”
I nod slowly. “The dates seem so real. Maybe it’s my lack of experience making me think that, but then – the things we’ve done with each other – that all seems real too. I’m falling for all of them, and I don’t know what to do.”
“You don’t think they feel the same?”
“The dates were only meant to help me get experience. None of the men have ever said that they want any type of relationship with me. That’s why I think the problem is me, reading too much into it all.”
Olivia looks thoughtful. “You know … if they thought of you like a sister, or just as a friend, they could have just as easily fixed you up with friends of theirs as a way for you to get experience. I’m sure they have friends they would have trusted to take you out, rather than them doing it themselves. That’s typically what friends would do.”
I hadn’t thought of that. “They actually told me they don’t want me to date anyone else while I’m seeing them. Because it wouldn’t seem right.”
Olivia takes my hand and squeezes it in hers. “B, I think they might be feeling things for you, too.”
“Yeah?” I look at her, my eyes wide.
“I don’t think they would have come up with this idea if they didn’t like you – I mean, of course they like you, but you know what I mean. Wait – doesn’t Cade have a girlfriend?”
“They broke up. None of them are dating anyone else.”
Olivia smiles. “I think you should see where this goes. You trust them, right?”
“Completely.” It’s myself I don’t trust. But if Olivia thinks the men might be feeling something, too, maybe things could work out. Maybe all of the emotions I’ve been experiencing make perfect sense.
“Being friends first is a great way to start a relationship,” she says.
Then I remember another worry I’ve been having. “But there’s four of them, Olivia. I’m falling for four men.”
She shrugs. “Your sister’s with four men. And her friend is too. It’s not so strange anymore.”
I never imagined following in Lacy’s footsteps, not in this area, but I have to admit that I’m falling in love with four men. If there’s a chance that they might feel the same about me, I need to be brave and pursue that possibility.