The Arrangement

And of course, on top of all that I was a very happy girl.

Monday through Wednesday I hung out with Chase, Nathan, and Burke respectively. Saturday we all had off together, and usually did something fun. Sunday they all worked… which was sort of my day ‘off’ from everything. I got a lot of my own stuff done then, including odd jobs and errands.

Thursdays and Fridays though, were a little different. Burke kept himself glued to his keyboard, but Chase and Nathan had started taking half-days off. It was during those times they double-dated me… which was every bit as fun as it sounds.

“We’re good

with switching dates by the way,” Chase had once told me.

“Or sharing dates,” Nathan had added with a wink.

The three of us were in the kitchen, where I was making them sandwiches at the time. The idea had sent my stomach on an instant roller-coaster ride.

“W—What about Burke?”

They two of them had looked at each other and shrugged. “He’ll come around,” they assured me. “He’s just a bit of a workaholic.”

I’d learned a lot about my three new boyfriends over the past month, the least of which were their working schedules. For one, I found out they’d each published stories before. Chase had won some sort of Young Writers of America award, and Nathan had put out a small series of mystery novellas that had gathered a cult following. Burke’s biggest achievement was a first prize in a ‘World-Building’ contest — creating some sort of dystopian future that had readers chomping at the bit for more. He was apparently in the middle of fleshing out his award-winning creation, when the three of them had decided to throw in together on a new trilogy.

“Why walk when you can run?” Nathan had grinned, as if it really were that simple.

Still, in his case it might actually be that simple. I found out it was Nathan’s father who was funding their little venture. He’d rented the villa out for them, and one of his closest friends was one of the chief editors of a high-level publishing house. They had a guaranteed in. A fully-approved book deal, all ready for editing, print, and distribution. Not to mention a killer marketing team as well.

“So you’re telling me you have three gorgeous new roommates…” Marcy was still shaking her head. I winced as she dumped even more ketchup on her mountain of fries. “And none of them have girlfriends.”

She slid the phone back to my side of the table almost reluctantly. I tried not to stare at it.

“Nope.”

My friend let out a dreamy sigh. “So which one do I get?”

My mouth opened. The straw dropped from my lips. “Pardon?”

“I mean, which one are you going to set me up with?”

None of them! My mind screamed.

“You can’t have them all, Kayleen,” she giggled. “That’s greedy.”

“I… I don’t. I’m not. I mean—”

“Well I assuming you’re screwing one of them, right?”

“I am not screwing one of them,” I said truthfully.

My friend glared back at me from across the table. I saw her eyes narrow. She was too smart for this.

“Say that again,” Marcy demanded. “More slowly this time.”

I opened my mouth again and then closed it. Hell, I just told her I’d moved in with three gorgeous single guys, then showed her a bunch of photos. What the hell did I expect her to do?

“Fine then, I’ll pick.” She tapped my phone with a fingernail. “Give me the tall one. I’m a sucker for a nice blond, anyway.”

“You can’t have Nathan.”

I was shocked at how quickly the words came out of my mouth. It was like someone else had said them.

Marcy shrugged. “Okay, set me up with the one with the goatee.”