Page 166 of Light My Fire

I’d never forgive myself if I lost not only her forever, but if I damaged my friendships with Luke and Wyatt in any real way.

I’m not sure exactly at what moment I realized I needed to fix this. Somewhere between stunned shock on Friday to waking up alone this morning with no Brooke in the bed with me.

And nothing in between but one work shift and a whole lot of lonely as fuck time spent in my apartment going around and around in my head.

Finally, there is a rapid knock on the door. It’s Jackson’s knock. It also turns it into a musical rhythm. This is clearly the Jaws theme song.

I open my door and give him a sheepish look. “Thanks for coming over.”

“You know I’m always here for you,” he says mildly, strolling into my living room. “Even if you insulted the fuck out of me by saying I don’t take anything seriously.”

That makes me wince. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that to sound so harsh. I didn’t mean it as a blanket statement. I just didn’t think you were looking for a relationship.”

“I wasn’t,” he says simply. “But there was Brooke and it was done. I fell in love with her, Wyatt. I thought that was kind of obvious, but I guess not. To you or to her, apparently.”

There’s another knock on the door. Normally, Luke’s knock always sounds a little angry, but this one is just a normal rap, which gives me hope that he’s not irreparably pissed off at me.

“Hey,” I say.

“Hey.” He puts his hand out for a fist bump. “So what are we going to do to reassure Brooke this can work? I’m assuming that’s why you summoned us, right?”

“Well, yes. One hundred percent. But I also wanted to clear the air. Do you guys want a beer or anything?”

“I’ll never say no to a beer.”

“Do you have craft beer or just domestic?” Jackson asks.

I give him an are-you-fucking-kidding-me look. “No.”

“Fine. I’ll just take a bourbon.”

We get our drinks and settle into the living room. Jackson is on the couch with me, Luke in the club chair.

As I’m debating how to say what I need to say, given how complicated all of my feelings have been, Luke speaks first.

“I went and saw Marci.”

Jackson chokes on his bourbon. “No shit?”

“No shit.”

We both stare at him. When he doesn’t elaborate I ask, “Why?”

“I needed closure. She did apologize for what happened, which was good to hear. Funny thing is though, when I saw her, I realized I didn’t need closure from her. I could get it on my own if I just allowed myself to move on. To trust Brooke and what I feel for her. I’m in love with Brooke.”

“Damn, I’m happy for you,” Jackson says. “Betrayal is a hell of a weight to carry around all these years.”

“It is. So I put it to bed. One woman’s selfish actions don’t define all women. Or me. Maybe I could have been a better husband. It doesn’t excuse what she did, but I didn’t hear what she was asking me for, you know what I mean? I worked a lot. I spent most of my free time with friends and not with her. Maybe I wasn’t ready for marriage or maybe she just wasn’t my person.”

“Brooke is your person,” I say, already knowing the answer.

He nods. “But the thing is, she’s yours too, and Jackson’s. She belongs to all of us, and all of our hearts belong to her. We need you to be okay with that.”

“That’s why I called you here. I owe you both an apology for making assumptions that you both weren’t invested in Brooke or our relationship. And I do meanourrelationship. This only works if it’s all four of us and I guess I needed what happened Friday to be the thing that knocked me over the head and made me understand it.”

“So you’re willing to commit to it being the four of us, permanently?” Jackson asks. He’s eyeing me carefully. “Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes. I realized that we all give something different to Brooke that she needs. But more than that, we’re best friends. We’re a team. I’m the kind of guy who goes all in on a relationship and I have to admit, I would have a hard time dragging myself away from Brooke for time with friends. Now I don’t have to. I have the best of both worlds.”

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