Page 59 of The Final Straw

“Okay,” I say, taking a deep breath. “But you’re sure about this?”

Van’s eyes meet mine. “Yeah, I won’t know unless we try, right?”

“Right.”

I look at my phone, seeing that it’s almost midnight. Shit! We need to get home; we didn’t plan on staying out so late.

“It’s getting pretty late, we should all head home. Are you good to drive?” I ask Van.

“Yeah, man. I’m good.” He raises his hand to get the attention of our server and when she comes over, we ask for our tab.

Pulling her tablet from her apron, she pulls up our bill, and Van hands her his card.

“This one’s on me, fellas.”

“Thanks, man.”

The server hands him back his card and grabs our empties. “You guys have a good night and be safe.”

“Well, we’ll talk more later. But tonight was good. We needed this to break the awkwardness between us,” Kipp announces.

I move closer to Van, and slowly, tentatively, I wrap my arms around him. At first, it’s stiff, awkward. But then, something shifts. The tension eases, and we relax into the hug, finding a surprising sense of comfort in each other’s presence.

It’s a small thing, a simple gesture, but it speaks volumes. At this moment, we’re not just three guys trying to figure out how to share the same woman. We’re a unit, a team, bound by Olivia and our willingness to make it work.

When we finally pull away, there’s only relief, a shared understanding that maybe, just maybe, this could work.

“Well, what do you think? You already had your first intimate moment with me,” I joke.

“Well,” Van says, his voice teasing. “That wasn’t so bad.”

Kipp grins. “Told you. But seriously, we’ll figure this out, man. Together.”

I nod, feeling a sense of camaraderie. “Yeah, we’ve got this. For Ollie.”

Van smiles a genuine, hopeful smile. “For Ollie.”

As we part ways, there’s a feeling of possibility in the air. It won’t be easy, but we’re willing to try. For her. For us.

And that’s all that matters.

The next day comes bright and early. I’m still tired because we stayed out way too late and drank a little too much. But we have plans. Ollie texted when she got home late last night and we asked her to breakfast, to which she agreed.

We meet her at our favorite cafe, the aroma of coffee and freshly baked pastries teasing my nostrils. She looks radiant, her eyes lighting up when she sees us.

“Hey, you two,” she greets us, her smile wide and genuine. We take a seat, the warmth of the sun filtering through the large windows, casting a golden glow over everything.

“So, how was the rest of your night?” Olivia asks, her curiosity evident.

“We talked,” Kipp says, glancing at me. “Actually, we went to the bar, just the three of us.”

Olivia raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”

I take a deep breath. “We want to try to make this work, Ollie. All of us. Together.”

Her eyes widen slightly, a mixture of surprise and hope. “Really?”

Van appears at the door, his eyes finding us immediately, and heads to the table. “Sorry, I’m late. I had to deal with some things. Tell me what I missed.”

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