That sounded a whole lot simpler than it was.
“Frankie,” Ian said, drawing my attention to him. “You were right—you’re worth a lot more than having us make some plan to get rid of a guy you liked. I’m not going to defend it. But…”
I raised my eyebrows.
“But hear me out this time?”
I nodded as Jake gave me a light squeeze. Since I was sitting with my back to his chest, his hands were over my abdomen, and I had mine resting on his. What had been nice a moment earlier set my nerves jangling. What was I doing?
“We like you. All of us.” There was a small round of nods, and there was something absolutely unsettling about having this conversation with all four of them. “A lot,” Ian continued. “But we don’t want you to date someone else if you’re dating us.”
Us.
“Plural? All of you, plural?”
“Told you, Frankie,” Coop said gently. “Welike you.”
“What happens if you decide you don’t want me to date anyone but one of you?” I locked gazes with Archie though, because Jake was behind me. Last night, Archie and I had crossed and then torched the line between friends and what—lovers? Did we qualify as that? The bracelet on my wrist suddenly took on a whole new weight.
The silence was telling as the guys glanced at each other, and then Archie shrugged. “It’s not a problem yet.”
Yet.
I tapped Jake’s hands, and he loosened his grip. It took me a minute to stand, and the wine I’d drunk along with the beer had already gone straight to my head, but I didn’t stagger. I needed the distance.
“Hey…” Jake said, catching my hand, but I pulled free. “It’s not a problem. We argue. Some of us do stupid shit.” He glared at Archie. “But we all agree on one thing.”
It was all just too much.
“You,” Coop supplied as he snagged a fifth chair and pulled it over for me. Perching on the edge of it, I was violently aware of the silence surrounding me.
“You hungry?” Ian asked.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I don’t know how to do this.”
“Well, that makes all of us,” Jake told me, reaching out again, but he pulled his hand back when I shifted away. “Since it’s us, I say we just do what feels right to us.”
What did that even mean?
Coop glanced at his watch. “Party starts in thirty minutes. If we’re feeding Frankie, we need to do it now.”
“Yep,” Archie agreed, his phone in his hand. “Jeremy is bringing food up.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I shifted to pull it out.
Mom:Breakfast tomorrow? Just you and me?
I didn’t know how to do any of this.
“Want me to do the honors?” Coop offered, but I shook my head. She was my mother.
Can’t. Have plans with the guys.
Which was technically true, even if this had suddenly become the last place I wanted to be.
I waited for a long minute, the phone matching the silence of the guys around me. When it buzzed again, I almost dreaded whatever message she’d send. What new lie she’d spin.
Mom:Are you planning on being out all night?