Page 83 of Light My Fire Three Times
And me? I can’t take it anymore. This endless circle. The fighting. The lies. Pretending I don’t see what’s right in front of me.
So, I do the one thing none of them expect.
I speak.
“Or maybe… this isn’t about choosing at all.”
Three sets of eyes whip to me. Olivia’s wide, startled. Jesse’s narrowed, suspicious. Karl’s brows shoot up, and then he laughs.
“You’ve lost it,” Karl scoffs, shaking his head. “What, you’re suggesting she just… what? Has all of us?”
I hold his gaze, unflinching. “Why not?”
The room goes dead quiet again.
Karl blinks, confused. Jesse, though… Jesse’s face twists, half disbelief, half fury.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Jesse snaps. “She’s not… this isn’t…”
“She’s right there,” I cut him off, my tone sharp. I nod toward Olivia, still clutching the towel, her cheeks flushed crimson. “If she’s gonna have a say, let’s give her one. Let her decide what she wants instead of all of us tearing each other apart like idiots.”
Karl leans back against the wall, arms folded, smirking, enjoying the show. But I can see the flicker of something in his eyes. Interest. Curiosity.
Jesse’s fists clench. His whole body is wound tight—he’s two seconds from exploding. But he doesn’t lunge. Doesn’t deny it. He just glares at me. I’ve just lit a fuse neither of us can put out.
And Olivia…
Olivia stares at me, as if seeing me for the first time. She can’t decide whether to slap me, laugh in my face, or think about it.
“Leo… are you serious?”
I meet her eyes and nod once. “Dead serious.”
The air is so thick that it's almost impossible to breathe.
Olivia’s still clutching that towel, but the flush on her cheeks isn’t just embarrassment anymore. It’s something hotter.
Jesse shakes his head hard, running a hand through his hair. He can’t believe we’re even having this conversation.
“This is insane,” he mutters. “She’s not… this isn’t some game.”
“Who said anything about a game?” Karl drawls. He tips his head toward Olivia, a slow grin curling across his face. “She doesn’t look like she’s hating the attention.”
Olivia swallows hard, her knuckles white around the terrycloth. “I… Karl…”
Jesse snaps, “Don’t talk to her like that.”
I cut in before they can spiral out of control again. “You’re both missing the point. It’s not about what we want. It’s about what she wants.”
All eyes swing to her again.
Olivia presses her lips together, chest rising and falling quickly under the towel.
“And what if… what if I don’t know yet?”
The words slam into me hard as a punch. Not rejection. Not denial. Just… honesty.
Karl whistles low. “Christ, Liv. You’re killing me here.”
