Page 55 of The Final Straw

My phone rings again, pulling me from my misery. I say a quick, silent prayer that it’s not the district attorney again.

My soul lights up when I see Olivia’s name on the screen and immediately hit accept.

“Hey, Olivia.” I try to be cool, but I feel like a girl excited about the boy she’s crushing over calling her. “I’m so happy you called,” I blurt. Smooth, real smooth.

“I’m happy you answered. I have a question for you.”

Her tone is stilted, and I can feel the tension through the line. We’re still unsure of where we are with each other and the new situation we’ve found ourselves in.

“What is it?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to go to dinner with me?”

A smile stretches across my face, and warmth enters my heart. This is good; she wants to meet and have dinner.

“Olivia, I?—”

“Van, before you commit to going, I need to tell you something else. I need you to know I went to see Kipp and Grady and we had a conversation about us. We’ve decided we want to continue to see each other.”

My heart tightens and sweat beads across my forehead. This wasn’t what I was expecting her to say. I fully thought she was ready to move forward with us, not them.

“But I also want to continue to see you, to rekindle what we had. I know I’m being selfish, but I want all three of you. I can’t deny how I feel about you or them. If I have to choose between the three of you, then I’m not going to at all. I’ll walk away from everyone.”

I can hear the sadness in her voice, how it catches as she holds back a sob. My girl is trying to be strong.

Can I be okay with sharing her? Can I live without her? Just the time we’ve been apart has me turned upside down, craving to be with her, missing how her body feels pressed against mine.

“Olivia, I don’t know that I can do that.”

“Can you just go out with us and see where things go? Just give it a try and see what happens?” she’s basically begging me to relent and give it a shot.

I want Olivia so badly. Is it possible to put aside my reservations and take a chance? To see if we can make this work as a unit of three men dating one woman.

“Does this mean when you’re asking me to dinner that they’ll be there too?”

“Yes.” Her voice shakes and I know she’s afraid I’m going to say no. “This is our fresh start. All of us. But I think the only way to know if it’s going to work is if we all jump in headfirst and see what happens.”

“Okay, I’ll do it for you, Olivia. But I can’t promise that I can share you with them.”

My mind wanders to what it would be like as a couple made up of four people. Would they expect us to all have sex together? Would Grady and Kipp expect to fuck me as well? This is all too much to think about. Could I just sit there and watch someone else fuck my girl? If I were to answer the question at this moment, probably not. I feel like I might rip their arms right out of their sockets if I saw it happening. Olivia is mine. She has been since the night I met her. I don’t want to share her, but will I do it to avoid losing her?

“That’s all I can ask,” she tells me, her sweet voice reminding me how much I love her.

Reaching up, I massage my temples, trying to ease the headache that is building.

“What do you have in mind?”

“I was thinking we could do a fun activity to start off and just get used to being around each other. We could ride together, then we could split up to shower and change for an early dinner. I’d need to get ready for the shoot I have tonight, anyway.”

“Okay, what time?”

“Can you be ready in two hours?” she asks.

I can’t help but burst out laughing. That’s one thing about Olivia: she doesn’t beat around the bush. When she wants something, she pounces.

“I can be ready.”

“Come on guys, it’s fucking mini golf. It’s not like you’re having to hit the ball from the green,” Olivia teases and as I look over at Kipp and Grady, I see the same emotion written across their faces that I feel. Love. One hundred percent love.

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