Page 60 of Her Three Tech Bros

“I…” Unable to form a complete sentence, I just step aside, allowing them space to walk past.

They filter in, and I shut my door, still trying to convince myself that this is real. When I turn around, they’re all sitting on my couch, waiting for me. I walk over and place myself on the opposite end, away from them.

“Why are you guys here?” I finally ask.

Logan clears his throat. “I want to apologize for the way I acted. I’ve been deeply ashamed of myself for that, and I want you to know something. I know I had implied that I didn’t want this, but I was just confused. I do want this, more than I’ve let on, and I’m willing to do whatever is necessary to make it work.”

Before I can respond, Ryan speaks up. “I’m sorry, too. I wasn’t completely innocent. I definitely added fuel to the fire. You shouldn’t have had to witness that.”

I look at Ethan expectantly.

“Jade, we all missed you so much, and the time apart made us realize something. We need you. We want you, and we want to do whatever it takes to keep you. But… we understand if you need time.”

“Please, give us another chance,” Logan says. “We don’t deserve it, but give it to us anyway. It’ll be different this time, we promise.”

I look at the floor, gathering my thoughts. I’m overjoyed that they’re all here and that they want to make it work, but I have questions.

“Why didn’t any of you contact me this week?”

Ryan speaks first. “I wanted to, believe me, I did. But I didn’t want to betray Ethan and Logan since we had previously agreed that it was all or none with you.”

“But why didn’t you guys get together and talk about it then? What took you so long?”

“We needed time and space from each other. We didn’t know what to do, this being uncharted territory and all. I’m sorry, we should’ve thought more about you,” Ryan answers.

I nod. I want them back, of course, I do, but my need for them doesn’t negate my worries.

“How do I know this won’t happen again? I don’t think I can handle another blow-up like that one. Or another week of silence. This week has been terrible, especially not knowing what you guys were thinking or if I’d ever hear from you again.”

“We’re going to communicate more,” Logan says. “All of us. With you and with each other. Starting immediately.”

“You have no reason to believe us, and I’m sorry that we broke your trust like that. But all of us want this equally, and we know now that we can’t live without you. That’s the difference between now and before. We aren’t going to screw this up again,” Ethan says earnestly.

I purse my lips. All I can do is try. The worst that could happen is they break my heart, but I’ll never know unless I take the leap. I feel like it would be unfair to judge them too harshly for handling such an unusual situation a bit poorly. I mean, I knew there were going to be growing pains, and this is all so new. I should at least give them a try to figure it out.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“I forgive you all, and I’m willing to give you a second chance.”

I look at each of them, watching a smile break out on each of their sickeningly handsome faces. Yeah, this is what I want.

I stand up, and the three of them follow my lead, but I hold a hand up.

“If you pull this shit again –”

“We won’t,” Ethan says, cutting me off and closing the distance between us.

He crushes me against his chest, and moments later, I feel the other two snake their arms around me. Breathing is impossible, but I don’t even care. This is exactly where I want to be. Where I should be.

Nothing makes me happier than the fact that they want it, too.

“So can we order pizza?” Ryan asks after a while.

All four of us burst out laughing. The sound is amazing, and it only makes me want to hold them closer.

“Yes, Ryan. We can order pizza.”

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