Page 45 of My Three Roommates

“If it makes you uncomfortable or jealous, I don’t have to take her,” he continues. “I could always go solo. Everyone will ask where my girlfriend is, but I don’t care. If you don’t want her to come, I get it. This whole this is pretty new for all of us.”

I remember the talk we all had about being with each other and all that. “I never thought about more public stuff, like work events. We can’t take everyone, so it makes sense to take Kenna. Maybe in the future, we could try one guy with another.”

“I really don’t think that I could do it with my job,” Cody says morosely.

“I’m not sure if I can either. It’s something for the future. It’s just strange for me to open up my relationship with Kenna. I imagined us living together and then getting married, not being in a foursome. It’s been a wild ride.”

“That’s for sure.” He leans back in his chair. “You still didn’t give me an answer. I need to know. We have to be clear on who we’re bringing, they have a table count or something. I know it makes sense for me to take Kenna as my date. But are you okay with it? I don’t have to take her if it’s too weird for you. It’s not that big of a deal.”

I know it’s a really big deal for him. It’d be their first time out together since everything happened. I should feel something about it.

“That’s the thing. It’s not strange at all. Guess I’m getting used to the idea that she’s not only my girlfriend now. What bothers me is that it doesn’t bother me, you know?” I rub at my eyes. “Does that make any sense?”

“Yeah, it does,” Cody says.

“Good. Then explain it to me.”

He nods. “This is new for all of us. We’ve never been in a situation like this before. I hate to say it, but maybe we need to define it more. I wouldn’t take her if it upset you.” He catches my gaze, sincerity shining in his eyes. “I’m glad it doesn’t.”

“What does that say about me? I was planning on marrying Kenna eventually. Now we’ve got this going on.” I wave my hand around. “Everything’s turned around. I don’t know how to feel, or act.”

“It’s not something I expected either,” Cody says.

“Really?”

“Of course not. I might’ve had the occasional threesome before, but that was purely about sex. It was nothing like this. What we have is so completely different, sometimes I wake up and wonder if I’m dreaming.”

I laugh. “Me too.”

“So you’re all in.”

The joke I’m about to make evaporates. Cody’s gone completely serious. Christ, he has an intense gaze when he decides to. I can’t look away. It’s unnerving.

Also hot.

He’s waiting for my answer and I know this means everything to him. He and Kenna are becoming solid. So are he and Tanner. Same with me. The only question mark is hanging over Cody and I.

I try to grab the beer bottle back from him so I can stall. This time he won’t let me, holding it far out of my reach.

I’ve never seen him so serious before. I swallow hard against my rising nerves. His question is everything. The final step to us truly being a foursome.

I want to say yes. Something’s stopping me. The tension rises between us.

Cody sets the bottle down on the night table right beside me. My stomach twists as he stands up. I can’t let him leave. The fear of that is much stronger than whatever makes me want to hold back from him.

I can’t lose him. I can’t let him fade out on me now.

I grab for his hand, curling my fingers around his tightly. He stops in mid-turn.

“Don’t go. I am.” I take a deep, shuddering breath. “All in.”

A smile ghosts across his lips. I pull him back down onto the bed.

He’s right beside me. We’re so close together, we could easily kiss. I want him to know what this means to me. “I can’t go back to the way things were. I don’t want to.”

“Me neither,” he says in answer to my unspoken question. “Somehow I’d rather have a boring night in than spend an entire weekend out clubbing lately.”

“Really? Cody Maddox, the Club King, likes to stay home now? Never thought I’d hear those words coming from you.”

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