“You askin’ us if we wanna share?” Andrew asked.
“I’m not sure I can share her, guys,” I said. “I mean, this is Katie we’re talkin’ ‘bout.”
“I’m not keen on sharin’ her either,” Andrew said.
“Nope. She’s mine no matter what I gotta do to make her see it,” Caleb said.
“Okay. Lemme get this straight. We all screwed around with her, we all like her, yet we’re all unwillin’ to share her,” Dylan said.
“Sounds about right,” I said.
“Then that means the four of us need to sit down and have a conversation. Together. As adults,” Dylan said.
“I can get behind that. It’s the only way we’ll get answers,” Andrew said.
“She hasn’t talked to any of y’all ‘bout how she’s feelin’? ‘Cause she opened up to me a little bit about it,” Caleb said.
“She did to me, too. Yesterday. I kind of blindsided her,” Dylan said.
“That why she was cooped up in her office all damn day? ‘Cause ya pissed her off?” I asked.
“What did she say?” Andrew asked.
“She said she was uncomfortable with makin’ a decision because she had feelin’s for all of us,” Dylan said.
“‘Bout what she told me,” Caleb said.
“Wait, really? She’s got feelin’s for all of us?” I asked.
“You heard ‘em. And that includes you, lover boy,” Andrew said.
“There’s been so much shit goin’ on ‘round here that I can’t keep up with it all. Who’s screwin’ around with who and who knows what. It’s gettin’ old,” I said.
“Which is why we all need to sit down and talk,” Dylan said.
“But is it a good thing to, ya know, spring this on her?” I asked. “Shouldn’t she know ‘bout this meetin’ and all?”
“With how she took me bringin’ up the idea of choosin’, I don’t think so,” Dylan said.
“Way to go asshole,” Andrew said.
“Look, I fucked up. I get it,” Dylan said. “And now, we gotta fix this. She’s feelin’ lost and confused. I think if we all sit down with her and explain to her that it’s okay for her to feel how she’s feelin’, she won’t feel this way anymore.”
“I think her hearin’ what Dylan said from all of us might help. Ya know, that she’s wanted ‘round here for more than her company, no matter what choice she makes,” Andrew said.
“But ultimately, we gotta pose this question to Katie,” I said. “You know, her choosin’ between us.”
“What if she chooses all of us?” Caleb asked. “That’s a possibility.”
“Like we all said, I don’t think any of us could stand to share her,” I said. “I know I couldn’t.”
“Well, it ain’t your decision, hotshot. If that’s what she wants, and you care ‘bout her enough, ain’t you gonna give her what she wants?” Andrew asked.
I didn’t know how to answer that question. Standing in a room with my brothers discussing the fact that they’d all had her made me sick enough to my stomach. But the idea that Katie wanted that dynamic?
It was beyond me.
“Andrew’s right, Wyatt. In the end, it’s not your choice. It’s Katie’s. And if she cares about all of us and wants all of us, who are we to deny her that?” Dylan asked.