“Sounds like a plan.”
She watches us like she’s waiting for the trap. When it doesn’t spring, she asks, “So, what can I do better?”
I blink at her. “Huh?”
Salem utters, “Seconded.”
Knox asks, “What are you talking about?”
“I want to be a partner in this…whatever we are. That means taking criticism. So, how can I improve? How can I be a better partner to you three?”
“No,” Salem says, quick. “You didn’t earn our bad habits by having some of your own. Don’t try to take the blame for our screwups, Lou.”
Knox shakes his head. “You’ve been great. We’re set in our ways. We default to old roles under stress. We clashed with you because you don’t let us get away with it. That’s not a problem to fix. That’s why we asked you in.”
“You can ask us to stop sooner.” I shrug. “Don’t be polite about it. If we slip, say the word, and we stop. But that’s the only thing I can think of.”
“What word?” she asks.
“Pick one,” Salem says. “Red card. Halt. Enough.”
She thinks. “Halt. Short and ugly.”
“Halt it is,” Knox says. “If you say it, we stop. No questions until you’re ready.”
“Thank you, guys. It’s like I said to Houston—I’m trying to adjust to three partners and their needs, and you guys are adjusting to only one. So, sometimes, things are going to be uneven here, and I’ll need to take a break. It’s not a breakup. I just need to breathe sometimes.” She pauses. “I’m not used to being with someone. Let alone three someones.”
I don’t follow. “You were with Troy.”
She scoffs at that. “Could anyone bewith Troy? He’s in his own little world most of the time, and you can’t be a partner to someone like that.”
“What about before him?” Knox asks.
She shrugs. “I dated. But…this…what we have, it’s different. It’s real.”
That hits deep in my chest. “Yeah. It is.”
“What about you guys? Anyone you were serious about?”
I smile, but shake my head. “A few girls were interested in more than being a groupie, but they never stuck. Never clicked.
“Same,” Knox says.
“Belinda,” Salem grumbles.
“Tell me about her.”
He drums on the table beside him. “Not much to tell. We clicked. We had fun. I thought… It doesn’t matter what I thought. She was only in it for the good times and the money she could skim and using my name to get out of trouble for things like shoplifting and picking fights in clubs.”
“Oh, damn.”
He nods. “It was a mess. Quincy handled it, thankfully. But before her, after her, no one who stuck around long enough to matter. Not until you.”
She gives a slight smile that looks like hope. “So, none of us are good at this, then?”
I chuckle at that. “Yeah. I’d say so.”
“It’s going to take some practice,” Knox says. “We’re four different personalities and strong opinions. But if we’re all willing, we can make this work.”
