Page 43 of Playing By Their Rules

I nod. “I am.”

“If it changes, call us. Any time. We’ll answer, and we can be here in fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you,” I whisper, looking between them.

Ethan kisses my cheek, and they both leave.

The door closes behind them.

“Well,” Mina says, leaning on the little counter that divides the kitchen from the living room. “You’ve been busy.”

“I know.” There’s a long pause while I try to discern her mood, but her expression is fairly flat. Not judgmental, and not giving anything away. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about it, but it was so new. I didn’t even know if it would go anywhere.”

“It’s okay, I get it.” She grins. “Talk about getting your daddy issues worked on, though.”

“Daddy issues…oh. Because they’re older.” I force a laugh. For a second there, I thought she was talking about the whole “daddy” vibe I have going with them.

“But you might be taking it a little far.” She pushes off the counter and brings forward a bag full of garlic bread, fresh from Pepperoni Palace. I start salivating immediately, even though my stomach does an uncomfortable twist at what she’s saying. She goes on. “Two guys, older men. Interested in a young woman. Just…protect your heart, okay?”

She thinks it won’t last, that this is a temporary fling. Could she be right?

Of course she could be right. They want to be with me for longer than a few hook-ups because Chance talked about me being their girlfriend, and they didn’t object to me calling them my boyfriends. But still, something this perfect couldn’t possibly last.

“Yeah, of course I’ll protect my heart.” I steal a piece of bread. Before taking a bite, I say, “I mean, this is early on. We’re having fun right now.”

“Okay.” Knocking her shoulder against mine, she says, “I’m just worried for you. If you’re interested in having fun, maybe we could find some guys our own age, and go out with them, you know?”

“Ha. I don’t have time to find anyone.” Or the desire. I am one hundred percent Ethan and Chance’s girl right now. Forever, probably, even if my presence in their lives is only temporary for them.

My stomach gives another little twist of uncertainty, but Mina and I put on a movie and I shove away the darkness. I just had the best night, and I’m not going to ruin it with stupid doubts.

13

RAIDING THE ARMORY

Chance

When Friday rolls around, Ethan and I are waiting in my apartment for Maisie to arrive.

“Do you have any idea yet, what’s going on with her?” Ethan asks.

“Nope.”

Something has been bothering Maisie this week. She didn’t stay to talk to me after class. Ethan didn’t see her in his lecture, because he had another TA teaching. I’ve texted her a few times, and so has Ethan, but her responses have been…lacking, for lack of a better word.

“Maybe she sucks at flirting over text,” Ethan says. “It’s not a dealbreaker for me.”

“It isn’t a dealbreaker for me, either, but I don’t think that’s the issue. Something’s missing.”

“Well, what is it?”

“It’s the playfulness,” I finally say. “She hasn’t been playing with us. She’s just been…I don’t know. Usually there’s mischief, a little bit of brattiness. What happened to that?”

A knock sounds at my door, and Ethan shoots me a glance. “We’ll find out tonight.”

I let Maisie in. No costume today, just some soft jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, her hair in a ponytail. She gives me a quick hug and smiles up at me, but the usual spark of playfulness is missing from her eyes. My heart feels like a bundle of lead in my chest.

“Baby girl,” I say, “what’s troubling you?”

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