Page 36 of Her Three Tech Bros

“Bro, are you okay? I didn’t think you’d get this upset,” Ethan says.

“I’m not upset. I’m still processing what you said. It’s not something easy to come to terms with.”

“I know it’s hard. But like I said, we’ll figure something out. I don’t want this to be a problem between us.”

“Then why are you suggesting that we have to get together, too?”

Ethan and Ryan blink a couple of times. They exchange glances and turn back to me. Ethan holds my shoulder gently, and I instinctively coil away from it.

“What do you think I’m suggesting? Seriously, tell me what’s exactly on your mind.”

I groan. “Don’t make me say it out loud.”

“Just say it.”

“Ugh! Fine! I just don’t understand why you want the three of us to be romantically involved, too!”

A long silence hangs in the air as they stare at me. My face turns hot, and I don’t know if it’s from embarrassment or anger.

“What?” he and Ryan finally say in unison.

I turn to Ryan. “Oh, now you’re going to act surprised about it? You were considering it a few seconds ago.”

“Because I was not thinking the same shit as you!”

Ethan sighs and rubs his head. “That’s not what I was saying. Not at all. God, you think I would come at you like this if that were the case?”

“Given why you called us here in the first place, yes.”

He rolls his eyes and grabs both of my shoulders. “Logan, I was not suggesting that. Let me make myself clear. When I suggested we date Jade together, I meant dating her openly, as a group. No overlapping between the three of us. Just her.”

He gives me a good shake before letting me go. A feeling of relief washes over me, but now I feel stupid for misunderstanding.

I sit down for a moment, feeling a bit lightheaded. So much is happening right now that my brain can’t handle it in such a short time.

“Give me a fucking shot of tequila,” I mutter.

Ryan’s already handing me a glass. “Didn’t think you’d get so stressed.”

“Ethan didn’t specify.” I swallow the tequila in one gulp. “Even so, it’s still a crazy idea.”

“I know it is. Believe me, I went over this in my head a thousand times,” Ethan says.

He looks down at his lap, a frown forming on his face. I’m assuming that’s how I look right now, if not worse.

“Explain what you meant,” I say.

“That we date Jade, together but separately. We all have her on equal footing. No competition and no fighting over her. No romance between us, but this way none of us has to lose Jade.”

Ryan hands me another shot, and I down it.

We all look at each other. How the fuck did it get to this?

I’ve never seen Ryan this serious before. He’s not even cracking stupid jokes about the situation, and Ethan’s not goading him into it like he’d normally do.

They’ve never been this serious about a woman before. Sure, we’ve all had our fair share of relationships. They just don’t last that long. Work always comes first for us.

Which brings me to the question – can I really do this? What about my morals and standards when it comes to these types of relationships? Where do we even start with this?

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