Page 58 of Classroom Confessions

I’d become even more of an odd man out. I took a step backward, ready to retreat to the kitchen and give them space. Maybe I’d have another whiskey, after all.

“You can’t talk to Carrie without me. We’re doing this together. All of it.” She held out a hand to me. “If that’s what you want.” Her chin quivered before she managed to control it. “I won’t force any of you into this. None of you signed up to have kids. I told you I was on birth control, and I was.”

“It’s always a possibility.” David put an arm around her shoulders. “I’m not upset. Not at all. And from the way Cole is acting, I’d say he’s over the moon.”

It was true. Cole acted like he’d regressed fifteen years. There was a lightness in his step, a joyful note in his voice, and that damned brightness in his eyes. All of it combined to confirm that he was more than happy to learn of Rebecca’s pregnancy.

Why did it bother me so much?

“Ethan.” David spoke my name with a sharp note that jerked my anger up to the surface.

“What?” I fisted my hands and tried to curb the annoyance roiling under my skin.

Rebecca crossed to stand in front of me. Her chin tipped up as she angled to meet my eyes. “What’s wrong, Ethan? Please talk to me.”

How could I deny the plea in her voice? She was the one woman I’d never be able to deny. It was why I’d been willing to walk away. I still would if it was what she wanted. “We have to come clean.”

To her credit, she didn’t flinch back from the harshness or the darkness I felt clawing through me.

“We will. We’ll tell my parents soon. There’s no need to say anything right now.” For the first time, I saw fear in her expression. “I’m only six weeks. Dr. Patricia recommended that we wait until twelve weeks to share the news.”

“Why?” I asked.

Cole toed the carpet, his joy evaporating. “Twelve weeks is considered the safe date. If she carries the babies to twelve weeks, there’s a good chance she’ll carry to term.”

That turned dark in a hurry. I’d not even considered that the pregnancy might not make it to term. One look at Rebecca’s downcast expression and I brought her in for a hug. “I’m not upset about the pregnancy. I’m jealous as fuck that there’s no chance they’re mine.”

“They are our children.” Cole waved his hands around in a way that was meant to encompass all of us. “I couldn’t care less about biological paternity. We are all their parents.”

It was a nice sentiment. Would it hold up once they were born? What about in the years afterward? Would Cole see David in one of the babies and feel this same burn of jealousy? I knew one thing for sure. If I didn’t get a handle on my own jealous nature, I’d never make it as part of this relationship. The mere thought of my jealousy driving me away caused the red fury to fade.

Rebecca fit in my embrace like she’d been made for me. I’d seen the look on the others' faces when they held her. We all felt that powerful connection and we’d do anything to keep Rebecca with us.

I rocked Rebecca from side to side. “Okay. They’re our kids. But we can’t keep this a secret much longer.” I tipped her chin up and stared into those gorgeous eyes that had hooked me from the beginning. The next words out of my mouth would ruin the festive spirit, but they needed to be said. “We need to tell the dean the truth before it’s too late.”

28

REBECCA

Nothing had gone the way I thought it would since I first walked into Ethan’s class. Standing in front of the dean with Ethan, Cole, and David on either side of me felt like the biggest mistake in the world. My book might be doing fantastic online, but I still wanted my degree. I still wanted to take classes taught by these three men. Why did I fuck everything up? I don’t regret our time together, and they’ve been wonderful since finding out about the pregnancy. If anything, learning we were having twins had solidified the scattered pieces of our relationship.

Twins. Just thinking the word shocked me into straightening my spine and lifting my chin to stare down Dean Scott.

His casual pose in his big leather chair with his fingers steepled in front of his mouth wasn’t fooling anyone. He’d been narrow-eyed and glaring from the minute we all walked in. Ethan had guided me to a seat, and Dean Scott became even more focused and intense.

All the degrees in the world would not stop the storm of wrath coming my way. Our way.

“I think it’s time someone told me what we’re doing here.” Dean Scott rocked forward and planted his elbows on the desk.

My palms itched with the need to reach for Ethan on my left, or Cole on my right. David sat on Cole’s other side, out of my physical reach, but his solid support never wavered.

They’d argued over whether to tell Dean Scott, but Ethan won in the end. Just like David insisted on telling Carrie, Ethan demanded that we come clean with the dean.

I opened my mouth but stopped when Ethan sat forward.

“You were right to question us.” Ethan took my hand.

Dean Scott’s eyes narrowed so far that he resembled a beady-eyed ferret.

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