“Do you want to know? Or are we just figuring it out as we go?”
I stare out the window and watch houses and trees blur past. “I don’t know.”
“Come on, Tiger. Don’t be like that.”
I pause, taking a moment to muster the courage of what I’m really feeling. I whisper, “I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of being forced to choose. Of hurting someone. Of ruining everything.”
He reaches over and takes my hand. “Who said you have to choose?”
I turn to look at him.
“I’m serious. Who said you have to pick one of us?”
“That’s how relationships work.”
“Says who?”
“Everyone. Society. Common sense.”
He squeezes my hand. “Fuck society. Fuck common sense. Fuck everyone, Tiger. What do you want?”
I don’t answer. Because what I want feels impossible. Selfish. Wrong. But I’ve been getting what I want anyway, haven’t I?
“Tiger,” he says gently. “What do you want?”
“I want all of you,” I whisper, realizing that being tossed around between them without any labels is probably the easiest way toget what I want. It’s going to come at a cost though. That much I do know. “But I can’t have that.”
“Why not?”
I shake my head. “People don’t do this, Cal. This isn’t normal. Are you okay with sharing me?”
He’s quiet for a moment. “If it means I get you? Yeah.”
“What about Jax and Zephyr? It doesn’t mean that they’ll want to share. Oh my god. This sounds horrible, Cal. Listen to us.”
My sneaky plan of sleeping with each of them before having this conversation is not going as planned. Of course, one of them would demand to know what I’m doing here. I can’t have my cake and eat it too. And now I realize how horrible this sounds out loud.
He grins at me. “We’re going to figure it out.”
We pull into the driveway, and my stomach twists into knots.
Jax and Zephyr are waiting in the living room when we walk in.
I can tell immediately that they’re on edge. I look into each of their eyes, and panic surges through me. They know. They can tell. I hug myself tighter and inhale.
It’s time for a conversation, whether we want to have it or not.
“Hey,” I say weakly.
Neither of them responds.
Callum closes the door behind us and says, “We need to talk.”
Jax stands up. “Yeah. We do.”
