The trees around us thin, and after a few more feet, we all step out into a clearing. There are designated campsites and a dirt road that connects them all, and I can hear the faint sound of moving water somewhere in the distance. Thankfully, there’s no one around, and I once again tell myself that we are very far from the beaten path, and the likelihood that we’ll run into anyone out here is pretty small. My reassurances fall a little flat though, after what happened at Remington’s house. I thought we’d be safe and secluded out there, but that didn’t last nearly as long as I thought it would.
Remington smiles at the view of the campsites. “We should choose something as close to the water as we can get. Let’s drink our fill and make sure we’re plenty hydrated, and then we can start boiling water from the stream and refilling water bottles. You boys can enjoy yourbeans a la can, and I’ll go see what I can forage for myself,” Remi announces, as she treks further back into the campground, and we all follow her like her newest collection of pets.
We settle on a good spot about twenty feet from the slow moving water, and Brant and I go find kindling and firewood, while Remi and Theo lay down the large tarp and start setting up our sleeping bags and the solitary tent. I watch them out of the corner of my eye, until the hunt for dry wood takes me further into the trees, and Remi and Theo are out of sight. Brant snickers, and I fire off a glare in his direction.
“What? You going to try and pretend that she’s not everything you didn’t know you wanted in one hot and incredibly weird little package?” he asks.
I give an incredulous snort and then raise my eyebrows in surprise at him. “Is that how you feel about her?” I ask, deflecting.
“Oh, so youarestill swimming in denial,” he retorts, rolling his eyes at me. “News flash, Mad, I’m pretty sure we’realllooking at her like that. Like somehow she’s the oxygen we’re desperately trying to breathe in now that we know we’ve been missing it.”
His words are eerily similar to my own thoughts not too long ago, and it unsettles me. Is it the mission that I needed, or is it her? Maybe it’s both? I wave that thought away and pile more wood into the crook of my arm. “So, what, you and Theo are going to arm wrestle for her?” I tease, but Brant just shrugs, not a hint of humor in his face.
“Maybe it can be like what Remi talked about in the car,” he says carefully, and I don’t miss the way he shoots me a tentative look.
I laugh as I bend over to snag another broken branch from where it’s leaning against a tree trunk. I look up, expecting Brant to be grinning or ready to laugh, but I’m surprised when I see that he’s deadly serious.
“Wait a minute,” I say, stacking the the branch on to the pile in my arms. “You’re serious?”
“Why couldn’t it work?” he replies quickly. “I didn’t care when she was kissing you or Theo. I don’t know why, but it just seemed...comfortable? You and Theo always fuck the dumbest girls. Girls you guys don’t even reallylike. But it’s different with her. We all like her, and she likes us, and maybe we could...” he rubs a hand over his face in frustration. “This isn’t coming out right…I’m attracted to her. Fuck, weallare, but I don’t think it would be that big of a deal for me if she was with you guys too. You and Theo are my family. I don’t know where I would be without you, and it’s plain to see that she’d be good for us. She’s different, dude. And maybe that’s what we need. Maybeshe’swhat we’ve been needing. Ever since we got discharged, nothing’s been...right.” Brant shrugs. “I dunno, man. Isn’t it at least worth talking about?”
When I don’t answer, Brant sighs and moves off in the other direction, looking for more kindling. I stare after him for a minute, not sure what to think about what he just said. I’m not even sure why I feel like I need to solve the problem that isRemiright now. We’ve known her for a few days days, and I don’t understand this hurried feeling I have when it comes to her. Maybe it’s an end of the world thing. Would I even be considering any of this if it weren’t for the collapse of life as we know it? Would I even think the wordsharewhen it came to the woman I wanted?
My first thought is, no fucking way. There’snoway that we could ever share the same girl. But if I admit to myself that I dowant her, what then? Because Theo and Brant obviously want her too. Do I let her break us apart? Let the jealousy fester and destroy the bond that we have? Or do we all decide to stay away from her? I snort at that thought. I already know that wouldn’t last long. Remi is...addicting. It would just be a matter of time before one of us got caught sneaking over to her place in town, and then we’re right back to square one, except mistrust would’ve been planted and watered. Why the fuck would that be the better option? Like Brant said, I didn’t completely hate seeing her with them. Maybe wecouldshare.
But guys don’t ever date the same chick. It feels against our nature. As I think that, the argument forms that Theo, Brant, and I aren’t just any old guys. We’re a unit. We’ve been through a lot of shit together, and we always have each other’s backs. But even if I could somehow get on board with this, how long would it be before someone caught wind of it and then tried to shit on it? It’s not like Endstone is a hotbed of open-mindedness and well-cultured people. I love the town and the residents, but it’s still a small, sheltered town. Then again, why the fuck should I let society dictate anything about my life? What has society done for me? I’m just one among the many wounded soldiers thanked for my service and then practically forgotten in the next breath.
I stand in the middle of the woods, and really let Brant’s words dig into my head. Society and knee-jerk reaction aside, what if itdidwork? Are the three of us actually capable of sharing? Do wewantto be capable of sharing? And what about Remington? Would she honestly be up for something like that? I know she thinks she is, but the three of us...we have baggage. I am fully aware that I’m not an easy man to be with, but maybe that might actually be a reason why this could work.
Wasn’t she saying shit about that? That sometimes she needs the asshole, and sometimes she needs the romantic? So maybe when my asshole is front and center, instead of her being beat up about it, the other guys can fill in until I rein things in, because let’s face it, that’s sure to happen. That’s what always happens with chicks when I try to have more than just a hookup. Because Iaman asshole, and they eventually get sick of it and bail. Not that I blame them. But maybe this could actually work, because Theo would be there to make her laugh, and Brant would be there to do all the fuzzy sweet shit, and we’dallbe there to take care of each other exactly how we have been since the Rangers.
I think back to the kiss in the woods. I’ve been trying to avoid focusing too much on it, but I have to admit, when Remington kissed me, I was shocked as fuck, but when her little tongue snaked out and demanded some attention, I knew right then that I wanted to have more than just my tongue in her mouth.
My mind is spinning with the implications and the pros and cons of this kind of thing when I meander back into the clearing. Theo is setting an extra layer of rocks around the designated campsite fire pit, and Remington is gone, probably doing whatever scout bullshit she was so jazzed up about. I go through the motions of arranging the kindling and branches in a little wood teepee and getting a nice pile setup. Brant comes and goes, stacking more wood right beside the fire pit. I get the fire started in no time with the piece of flint, and then Brant gets Puddles settled with some food and water in retractable bowls he was smart enough to bring.
I don’t notice that the other guys are watching me as I silently brood until Theo finally elbows me, snapping me out of my scattered thoughts. “Dude. What’s up?”
I look over at them and realize that I’ve been stirring a can of beans for who knows how long, staring at the fire and not taking a bite. I look around to make sure we’re still alone before I ask, “You guys are seriously considering dating her? Together?”
Brant and Theo exchange a look. They’ve always been more easygoing than me, and I wish I could be like that sometimes, too. But I have my doubts that they can actually be so chill aboutthis.
Theo shrugs. “Why not? If she’s up for it, and she’s into us—which she pretty much spelled out for us in the car—then I’m willing to give it a go. She’s hot as fuck, fun, and different. We could takerealgood care of her,” he finishes with a cocky grin.
“But can she take care of us?” I ask seriously. Because come on, we’re three virile guys. If we managed to keep our jealous and competitive natures at bay, could she honestly keep up with all of us?
“Don’t you worry, soldier,” I hear Remington say behind me, making me jump and spill beans down the side of my hand. “I can handle you three just fine.”
I look over my shoulder, watching as she enters the campground. I clear my throat guiltily at being caught talking about her. When I notice her empty hands, I jump on it. “Did the hunting not work out for you, Scout?” I tease.
She rolls her eyes at me and then pulls a bag I hadn’t noticed hanging from her thigh holster. She opens it, revealing a bunch of plants inside. “Found some wild onion, chickweed, and I even found some wild strawberries, which is crazy, because they aren’t even in season yet,” she says proudly.
I look into the bag she holds out and see the smallest fucking strawberries I’ve ever seen in my life. They’re about the size of my fingernail, but she has a couple handfuls of them in the bag.
“You can’t live off that,” I tell her seriously. “Here,” I thrust my can of beans at her. “It’s warm. I stirred it.”
“A lot,”Theo says under his breath with a laugh.
I ignore him and watch Remington reach behind her and unclip something from the belt loop. “Thanks, but I’m good.” She brings it around and it’s a small gray and brown bird that’s clearly dead. Remi sits down on the ground next to us and I stare at the small catch as she unties the string from its feet. “I set all my traps, so I should have more fresh meat by morning,” she says confidently as she waves a dismissive hand at the can I’m still holding out to her.
