Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Frank’s eyes go from weary to wary as Griffin and Zeb turn toward me with similar expressions.
“What’s up?” Griffin’s voice is hoarse.
I take a sip of coffee so I can quickly collect my thoughts. “I don’t have all the details, but there’s a good chance I’ll be moving back in with my old roommate. I just wanted to let you know I’ll probably be moving out soon.”
Frank reaches for my arm. “Ember, there’s no need for you to leave.”
“What kind of place is it? Not the same building, right?” Zeb’s jaw is tight.
“I don’t have all the information yet. But me staying here was only supposed to be temporary. I really appreciate you taking me in, but it wasn’t supposed to go on so long.”
Griffin looks like I’ve kicked him, but he sounds much more clear and firm when he says, “Let’s talk more about it over dinner tonight, Ember. Don’t rush into anything.”
The first part of our short ride into work is quiet and feels tense, but then Griffin tells us about something funny he watched last night, and things feel a bit more normal.
The workday passes like usual, and though I don’t make any decisions, I do get more information from Abby. The place she’s found is a little nicer than our old place, but also slightly more expensive. The main drawback is that it’s farther from the shop, but not completely unmanageable. It’s available immediately, and she’s going to check it out tomorrow morning.
I give her a maybe for now, and tell her I’ll have a decision by tomorrow. I’m fairly certain I’ll be saying yes, but part of me hopes that somehow Griffin will come up with a magical solution, where I can keep living with the three of them with no strife among them, no secrecy needed, and some way where my heart won’t get broken if I continue sleeping with them.
I’ve moved on from dreamland to fantasyland.
I catch the three men huddled together a couple of times during the day, and all of them go out at different times for their lunch breaks, rather than eating in as they often do.
Back at the house, I do schoolwork in my room until Zeb comes to tell me it’s time for dinner. He waits for me to finish up, then leads me to the dining room, where I’m surprised by a fancy spread.
The flowers catch my eye first, a big vase of red, white, and pink blooms in front of the place where I usually sit. There are also two wine bottles on the table and wine glasses at every setting, and a couple of platters of fancy-looking appetizers.
Despite Zeb’s delicious cooking, our meals never look like this.
“What’s the occasion?” I ask.
Griffin pulls out my chair and gestures for me to sit. “We’re celebrating Convince Ember to Stay Day. It’s a big occasion.”
“Oh.” A jumble of emotions run through me as I take the seat. I’m flattered, of course, and somewhat confused, and also a tiny bit irritated.
Telling them it’s time for me to leave wasn’t easy, and they’re apparently going to make it harder, even though they know there are good reasons I can’t stay.
We dig into the food—puff pastry with savory cheese baked inside, mushroom caps, potatoes, and more of Zeb’s expertly-prepared steaks—and it’s all delicious, but my appetite is flagging.
It’s not until dessert, which is chocolate truffles from a local artisan chocolatier, that the conversation turns to the prospect of me leaving.
“Did you find out more about the property?” Zeb asks.
I was about to take a bite of chocolate, but instead, I take a deep breath. “I did.” I give him the pros and cons, and assure him the place looks decent from pictures online.
“It’s farther away,” Griffin says. “Your commute could take a long time.”
I nod. “It could.”
“So why leave?” Frank asks.
“Nothing has changed since we first talked about this,” I say, which is a lie, because so much has changed. The way I feel about these men has deepened into something I never expected, but that doesn’t remove the obstacles between us.
“What we’ve been doing is against work rules, and jeopardizes my job every day. In addition to that, my schoolwork has been suffering from … um … how busy you’ve all been keeping me.”
“We can help you make more time for your schoolwork,” Griffin says.
“Yeah,” Zeb says, “you’ve insisted on helping with the cooking, but you don’t need to. That’ll free up some time.”
“As for work …” Frank’s tone is even more serious than usual, and grabs my attention. “The three of us can transfer back to the main location, leaving you to manage the new one, and eliminating any work conflicts.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to do that. It wouldn’t be fair for you to have a longer commute, and there might not be room there anyway, since they’ve hired new artists.”