Page 143 of Neighbors With Benefits

“Karen said the three of you used to be angsty, always bickering with each other. She’s seen all your relationships come and go. Howard even counted all your individual girlfriends.” I pointed to each man in turn. “Seven, four, and three.”

Dante’s brow tightened. “Seven?”

“They must not be counting that Australian girl you hooked up with,” Bash said.

“Erin.” Dante smirked. “That was a fun three days.”

“You’re seriously bringing down the vibe of my big speech,” I said.

Dante’s smile disappeared. “Sorry.”

“Karen and Howard both said that since I moved in, the three of you are happier than they’ve ever seen before,” I continued. “They insisted that we should stay together.”

“So… they know about our situation? How the three of us are sharing you?” Bash asked.

Dante grunted. “Forget about knowing. They actually approve?”

“That’s the part that shocked me the most,” I said. “They’re accepting of our weird polyamorous relationship.”

Aiden tossed his ladle across the room. “Jazz, I don’t care about the rules we set up when we started having sex. I tried keeping it casual, but I just can’t. I love you, Jazz.”

The words were like a shock to my system. I might have gasped.

He loves me?

“Or at least, I’mfallingin love with you,” he quickly added. “I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about my feelings a lot lately, and all that matters is they’restrong.”

Aiden crossed the room and knelt in front of me. “I can’t just be your friend with benefits. I want more, Jazz. Ineedmore. Deep down, I’ve known that since we were first intimate. Maybe even before that, when we were still having innocent game nights.”

Everything he said was a validation of my own emotions. It was like he knew exactly what I needed to hear. Except these were hisgenuinefeelings, not just a man saying whatever he needed to say to make me happy. I could see the love in his eyes.

Bash sat on the couch next to me and took both of my hands in his. “I don’t think I’m ready to drop an L-bomb, but I care deeply about you, Jazz. Since the moment I met you, when you walked in on me in the bathroom at your housewarming party, I’ve had a big fat crush on you. I’ve tried pretending like it’s casual, but it hasn’t been. Not since we first started hanging out on game nights, not since we began hooking up, and definitely not now.”

“I can’t take these confessions of love seriously,” Dante said. “You’re all wearing dumb neon workout clothes.”

Aiden turned and cleared his throat. “You don’t have anything you want to say to her?”

“She knows how I feel about her.”

“Does she?” Bash asked.

“I’m not sure I do,” I said, eager to hear what Dante had to say.

“Tell her what you told us earlier,” Aiden insisted. “When we were standing in front of Voldemort’s door.”

“Howard’s door,” I corrected. “But yes! What did you say then?”

Dante leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “I said you’re a cool neighbor, and a great fuck.”

“After that,” Aiden insisted.

Dante’s gaze collided with mine. He stared at me for three long seconds, and I wondered if he was going to say anything else at all.

“I enjoy your company,” he finally said. “That’s why I came home early. Because I can’t stand to be away from you another minute longer. Because I feel like I’ll fuckingdiewhen we’re apart.”

His confession meant the most to me, I realized. He wasn’t the kind of guy who shared his emotions, so this was a huge admission.

“I am a great fuck though, right?” I asked.

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