Texas:You don't needanything?
Marv:If you need anything, feel free to come to the house. We can come get you if youwant.
Grayson:Just come to the fucking house. Marvin iswhining.
Bellamy:Glad to know you'reokay.
Marv:What the hell is Grayson doing in thischat?
Grayson:I'm sitting across the room, why don't you say that to myface?
Knix:Good to know everything is going well, Harlow. Marvin. Grayson.Enough!
I snorted and then suddenly, I was laughing. Laughing so hard I couldn't stop as more text messages came through. I pictured Grayson's smug face as he sat across the living room—Marv seething, ready to get up and strangle him. But he couldn't because Knix was telling him—VIA TEXT MESSAGE—that he couldn’t. To be honest, it was the most ridiculous, albeit accurate, image in my head. It was so funny that I found it difficult to breathe for long moments as I gasped and wheezed. I laughed, trying to stifle the noise with my palm, for so long that I guessed the guys realized I wasn't answering any of their messages back and suddenly, my phone lit up with a phone call from Texas. I choked back a fresh wave of laughter andanswered.
"H-hello?" I said, wiping tears from myeyes.
"Hey, you stopped answering. Knix asked you a question, are you okay?" Texas' voice wasworried.
I choked again, gasping for breath. "Y'all are...so..."
"Are you laughing?" he interrupted. I erupted into even more giggles as he sighed over the phone. "Well, I'm glad that you're okay, but what's sofunny?"
"You—Knix—Marv—he just...and Grayson." I couldn't even get out a coherent sentence. It took several more moments for me to calm down enough to explain. "It's just..." I started, "I could hear all of your voices in my head. Marv getting all upset and Grayson being his snarky self and then you and Knix and Bellamy...and when Grayson said he was sitting across the room. I just...lost it." I tried explaining the image in my head that had really set me off and by the time I was done, Texas was chuckling aswell.
"I think you're tired, Princess," Texas admitted once he was donelaughing.
I sank further into the couch. "Maybe...but..." I bit my lip, wondering if I should admit my thoughtsaloud.
"But what?" heasked.
I chewed on what I wanted to say and then sighed, giving up. "I don't want to hang up," I said. "I want to keep talking toyou."
Texas was so quiet on the other end, I thought I had upset him. I sat up quickly, worrying about what I should say or if I should apologize. When he didn't say anything for several moments, I pulled the phone away and looked down, but his name was still displayed there, so he hadn't hungup.
"Texas?" I said his namehesitantly.
There was a rush of breath on the other end. "Sorry, Princess, I wanted to go to my room real quick so that I could get comfortable while wetalk."
I breathed out a sigh of relief. "So, it's okay?" I asked after abeat.
"What'sokay?"
"That I want to talk to youmore?"
"Harlow...is this about...what we talked about before? About all of us likingyou?"
"I just don't want to hurt anyone's feelings," I admitted uneasily. I could hear Texas shifting around on what sounded like a bed and he grunted softly before sighing. "Princess," he started, "you're not going to hurt anyone'sfeelings."
"You don't know that," I protested. "I mean, think about it, me...four guys." Grayson... maybe...no, probably not. I mean, I wasn't as close to Grayson as I was with the guys, but there was something there too. I didn't want to say as much because Marv would certainly be pissed, and even though Knix and Bellamy could tolerate him much better, they likely wouldn't be comfortable with thateither.
"Harlow?"
"Huh?" I realized that I had drifted, and Texas had been talking to me. "I'm sorry, what did yousay?"
"I was just asking if you're worried aboutjealousy."
"Well, yeah...of course I am," I said. "You guys are really close and I only just came around a couple of months ago. It's not exactly...normal for someone to go around kissing theirfriends."