Page 34 of Her Three Tech Bros

“But you have a beer here.” I can hear Ethan’s voice coming closer. He’s following me inside.

I reach the bar and turn to see Ethan on the other side, staring at me. Logan is at the terrace door, watching our exchange.

“I want something stronger,” I tell him.

I take a bottle of Irish whiskey from the liquor cabinet, place a tumbler on the bar, open the bottle, and pour. As I drink, I let the warmth of the alcohol and the nutty, vanilla flavors linger on my tongue as I gather my thoughts.

Ethan and Logan watch with what I hope is patience as I take a few deep breaths. I have so much that I want to say, but I don’t know how to express it right now, so I just look at Ethan. “What the fuck, man?”

Then, realizing Logan has been completely quiet throughout most of this, I turn to look at him. “What about you? You haven’t said a damn thing.”

Logan shifts his weight from one foot to another and lowers his gaze. It’s at that moment I’m positive Logan is still seeing Jade, too.

“You gotta be shitting me!” I shout and take another sip of whiskey. “Both of you?”

Ethan turns around so that he can see Logan. “Logan?” he asks.

Logan looks at me, then at Ethan, and confirms my thoughts. “I’m still seeing Jade.”

I gulp down the remaining whiskey and set the glass on the counter hard enough to startle them. They spin in my direction and stare at me, waiting.

“Yes!” I say. “I’m still seeing Jade.” The jazz music humming in the background is a stark contrast to my loud declaration.

I continue. “I care for her, okay?” Then, finally deciding to face the truth of my feelings, I admit it to them and myself. “I care for her a lot.”

“I get it,” Ethan says. “She’s special.”

“No.” I practically bark at him. “You don’t get it.” Ethan’s startled expression mirrors the one on Logan’s face.

“Do you know why we win in our business? Why we’re always so tight with our shit?” I ask them.

I put the lid on the bottle of whiskey, place it back on the shelf, and turn to them.

“Because we know where we excel. You are my boys, ride or die. You know what I like and don’t like. I like to compete. But as much as I like competition, when it matters, I never fucking compete with you!” As I talk, my voice rises until it's a shout.

Logan steps up. “I don’t think there’s any reason to scream. We’re fucking adults. We can talk about this calmly.”

I glare at him. “Talk, then. How do you feel about all of this?”

“I don’t know yet. This is something I’ve never experienced before. I’ve never been interested in any of the women you like. So, right now, I don’t know.” Logan lifts his hands and shrugs.

“This is ridiculous!” I say to them. I pace in circles. “Logan’s right. We don’t like each other’s women. We never have.”

Unable to find a solution for myself, I stop in my tracks and turn to them again. “So, what’s the big deal about this one woman?”

In a calm voice, Ethan answers. “Like I said, she’s special. There is something about her that appeals to each one of us.”

I find it difficult to speak as calmly as Ethan. “But I’ve never had to think twice about either of you aspiring to be with the type of women I like. That’s why I thought I was the only one with her. To hear you both say you’re involved with her is messing me up right now. And I don’t even know what to think about you wanting to keep seeing her, Ethan.”

“Well,” he begins. “It’s clear we all feel some type of connection to her. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be seeing her. I normally don’t think twice about letting a woman go if there’s no spark.”

“My point is,” I say, still trying to get through to Ethan. “There is no fucking way there can be a spark with all of us.”

“I gotta disagree with you on that one, Ryan.” I turn and look at Logan. After being a spectator in this discussion, he is finally speaking.

“Disagree? You said yourself that we don’t like the same women.”

“I didn’t say we couldn’t. I said I never have.”

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