4-Ever Theirs: Four to Score, Book 1 (7 page)

“We’ve already brainstormed every possible solution,” he explained. “It won’t work.”

“Why not?” She swallowed. “I mean, I know I’ll be four hours away, but we could visit on weekends and holidays. The time in between would suck…”

Shaking her head, she stopped her wishful thinking. “It’s not fair to you guys to ask you to give up a real relationship for me. I’m sorry.”

Cooper surprised her by taking her hand. “Think about what you’re saying. You’d be alone most of the time. Waiting around for one of us to show up. And how would you…pick? Or maybe you know which of us you’d prefer to be with after the past week?”

“Are we on the same planet?” She rose, tugging on her clothes as she spun to face them. She couldn’t bear to be so naked. “Why couldn’t I have you all to myself?”

And when she said it like that…it seemed awfully selfish. How could she be enough for the three of them? Not for a fun night of fucking, but for something more permanent?

She couldn’t, she supposed.

Jumbled emotions had her pacing, mumbling to herself.

Simon hopped off the bed and crossed to her. He hugged her tight then said, “Andi, this is fun. And amazing. But what are you going to do when there’s a Halloween party at your new boss’s house? Or a fundraiser? Take three guys with you everywhere? Rotate us? Make one of us your public guy, and the other two your sidepieces?”

“I…” She shrugged helplessly. How could she hurt them like that?

“You haven’t had time to really digest this.” Reed stayed put. “We have. We’ve thought about it a lot.”

They obviously didn’t like the verdict they’d reached any more than she did, but what other choice did the four of them have? She could see it their way when she thought about how unfair it would be to them.

Cooper glowered. “I can see in your face that you still don’t get it.”

“We’re not worried about us.” Reed shook his head as he continued, “People will talk. They won’t necessarily be kind to someone who’s chosen an alternative lifestyle. And we won’t be anywhere around to protect you if you need us. We won’t put you in that kind of danger. Shit, look what almost happened last weekend! No more chances like that. If some wacko hurt you…”

Simon moaned.

“Okay, fine.” She rubbed her temples then said the unimaginable. “I won’t take the job. I’ll stay. Here…with you.”

“No!” they shouted together.

As much as she wished they were wrong, they weren’t.

If she didn’t go, she would regret it for the rest of her life. Everything she’d worked for would be for nothing. Her heart broke into a million tiny pieces. Sacrificing one dream for another wasn’t easy. It gored her so damn bad that she reacted like any wounded animal would.

Andi didn’t waste any time after that. Staying longer would prolong the torture.

She ignored their protests—refusing their help—and immediately began hauling her stuff out of her room. One box at a time, she packed up every bit of her existence and erased it from their apartment. It didn’t take as long as she might have thought. With that finished, she went to the bathroom, blew her nose, then took one final look around the kitchen before enclosing the doorknob in her fingers, willing her wrist to turn.

“Andi, where are you going?” Reed tried to grab her, but she shrugged out of his hold. “It’ll be dark before you get to Cunningham. Late. You’ve got to be worn out after today. This week. Don’t do this. We’ll leave if you want. It’s not safe for you to drive so upset!”

“That’s not your concern,” she snapped.

“You’ll always be—”

“No, I won’t. As of right now, I’m not. Not anymore.” She barely choked back a sob. “Now move!”

It took Cooper and Simon tag teaming Reed to drag him back, giving her the chance to escape. “You’re going to miss graduation? Our celebration dinner?” He simmered down at that. “Not after how hard you’ve worked. Don’t go, Andi. Not yet.”

“It’s time.” She swallowed the knot in her throat as she tried to be strong enough for all of them.

Andi looked at each of the three special men who had made her college years full and rich. She’d never forget their time together or the spectacular way they’d ended it. “I love you. Goodbye.”

She wasn’t proud of it, but she turned and ran while she could.

The rush of blood through her system made it impossible to hear what they called after her. Tears poured down her cheeks as she drove away, refusing to so much as glance in the rearview mirror.

Forward.

She was moving ahead.

Getting on with the rest of her life, having far more experience than she’d bargained for.

Chapter Twelve

One month later

Andi sat on her couch, staring at the ginormous flat screen she’d bought with her first real paycheck. Whatever show was on, she hadn’t seen a second of it. It droned, providing background noise. She hadn’t realized how damn quiet an apartment could be.

Her financial conservatism had insisted she put enough in savings to cover next month’s rent on her bright, cheery apartment, which felt like an extravagance since it was larger than the space she’d shared with three roommates. Another chunk of change had gone toward a certified pre-owned car that didn’t leak oil. Then she’d written checks for her first student loan payments, bought groceries for a month, started a rainy day fund, and she’d still had some room to spare in her budget.

It felt fucking weird.

So she’d splurged on the TV. Yet, somehow, she already could tell she wouldn’t be using it much. It just wasn’t the same without the clean but battered blue couch and the three guys who had overcrowded it in her last home.

A knock on the door startled her from her trance.

At first she planned to ignore it. She didn’t know anyone here, so it could only be a solicitor or maybe a group of church people hoping to save her soul. When it came again, louder this time, she changed her mind. After all, she hadn’t talked to anyone outside of the fellow employees she met at her new job. They were nice enough, but they weren’t friends.

Yes, she was turning into
that
person. Next she’d be making small talk in the frozen food aisle at the QuickPick so she didn’t lose her damn mind.

It might be too late for that.

Annoyed with herself, she marched to the door and flung it open.

“Hey.”

The last person she expected to see was the guy standing there. Simon.

Well, okay, maybe the
very
last person she’d expect to see was Reed. He was too stubborn to cave like that. He was the only one of her three ex-roommates who hadn’t emailed her in the past month. Not that she’d responded to the other two. She didn’t know what to say and didn’t trust her fingers not to type things she shouldn’t admit. Like an addict, she’d had to quit them cold turkey.

Withdrawal was a bitch.

One look at Simon and she knew she’d be hooked again after a single hit.

“What are you doing here?” She tamped down the urge to fly into his arms and smother him with a desperate mega-hug.

“Does that mean you won’t give me a tour of your new place?” he asked. “Seems like a huge step up. I understand if you want to keep the riffraff out.”

“Shit, sorry.” She chewed her lip as she debated whether or not it was wise. It wasn’t. But she did it anyway. “Come in.”

He nodded and whistled softly as he took in her new surroundings.

“Thanks,” she said with a hint pride. Her hard work
had
paid off.

“Anyway, uh…this came for you today.” Simon held up a thick envelope with DO NOT BEND stamped all over it in red block letters. “I thought you might like to have your diploma. Since you missed graduation.”

His wince made it clear that he understood how big of a sacrifice that had been for her.

“So you hopped in your car and drove four hours to bring it to me?” Her eyes went wide as she accepted the package.

“Yeah, well, I’m not really big on planning, you know?” He shrugged. “Didn’t have anything better to do.”

“What’s really going on?” She noticed the way he shifted his weight from foot to foot. Nervous, so unlike him.

“There’s something I want to tell you.” He swallowed hard.

“What’s wrong?” She put her hands on his shoulders, fighting the paranoid pessimism that she’d picked up right around the time her second parent had broken the news to her that he had a terminal illness. “Is someone sick? Hurt? Worse? Tell me straight. You’re scaring me.”

“Shit. It’s nothing like that.” Simon sighed then invaded her living room as if he belonged there. When he plopped onto her couch, she instantly liked it better.

“Then what?” She sat beside him and took his hand.

“I know a guy…” He trailed off then started again. “Okay, no. That’s bullshit. A friend of mine has a friend who plays for the Sabertooths. I called in a favor. He put me in touch with the head of the training staff. It turns out they can use a guy like me. The job is mine if I want it.”

“They play here, in Cunningham?” Her jaw dropped.

“Yeah. I mean, I’d have to travel with the team during the season, but most of the time…”

“Wow. That’s—” Andi shook so hard, still trying to digest his revelation and what that could mean for them, that when another knock came at the door, she literally could not stand to answer it.

“Hang out a second. Take some deep breaths. I’ll get rid of whoever this is, and we’ll talk more.” He stroked her hair. “You don’t have to decide right now. I thought I should tell you in person. No pressure. But I’m not going to leave until you’re settled down, okay?”

She nodded as she chewed her nails, a bad habit she’d picked up lately.

When Simon opened the door, she certainly wasn’t prepared for him to shout, “What the hell?”

Her gaze whipped up and saw Cooper standing there, equally as confused, on the other side of the door.

“I could say the same.” He glared at Simon.

“I didn’t break our pact. I just… Something came up and I wanted to talk to her about it before I said anything to you guys. Look, it was a dumb idea—”

Andi didn’t like the sound of that.

“Wait. No, it wasn’t, Simon.” She tried to rise. Her shaking legs pitched her right back onto the couch.

Both of the guys were beside her in an instant. Cooper knelt, then took her hand. “God, I’ve missed you, Andi. But…are you okay? Do you want me to go? I’ll kick him out too.”

She shook her head. Now that they were here, she couldn’t stand to think of them leaving. Especially not after the bomb Simon had dropped. How would Cooper take the news?

She shouldn’t have worried.

He destroyed more of the carefully crafted vision she’d built for how her life would go from here on out when he cleared his throat. “I have some news too.”

Her gaze snapped to his.

“I transferred to the law program at U of C. I was wondering if I could crash with you for a while, until I get my own place. It happened kind of fast. Classes for their summer semester start on Monday.”

“What?” she and Simon asked simultaneously, with equal amounts of shock coloring their question.

“I’m not expecting anything. You know…between us. That’s not what I’m asking. I thought—” Before Cooper could finish explaining exactly what he had imagined, the door nearly rattled off its hinges. This time it wasn’t a knock that intruded on their conversation, but a series of bangs that could only belong to one person.

“Oh shit.” Simon’s eyes went wide and he jogged to answer that nonverbal demand before her pretty white door got smashed to smithereens.

He was smart enough to duck as it opened, barely dodging Reed’s punch. Holding his hands up, he said, “Hey, you’re here too. Don’t get pissed that we beat you to it.”

“
I
was only planning to drive past and check out the neighborhood when I saw both of your cars sitting out at the curb. What the fuck?” Reed roared as he stomped into the living room.

Suddenly it seemed a lot smaller than it had before.

Andi cut through their testosterone-laden crap with the swipe of a hand. “What were you doing spying on me, Reed? How many times have you gone by and not had the balls to say hello?”

He scrubbed his hand over his mouth before admitting, “A few.”

“Now
that’s
pathetic,” Cooper said before thinking better of it. “At least when I drive four fucking hours to see a woman, I come inside.”

“I was here on business,” Reed shouted.

“What do you mean?” she wondered.

“The investors I brought on own a property out here. It’s got the facilities I need to get things up and running. And since it’s already part of their portfolio, they’re willing to lease it to me at a substantial discount in exchange for a portion of future profits.” He sighed. “It’s been in the works for a while, but I didn’t want to say anything—”

“Until you knew for sure.” An enormous grin broke over her face as she finished his thought.

Could this really be happening?

Simon joined her, since he had all the pieces too.

“Well, guys, there’s one thing I know for certain already.” She choked on the admission. “I’ve missed every one of you like hell. And…I love you. Each of you for who you are separately and I’m extra in love with you for what you’re like together. We have something that works between us. Hell, we’ve practically been in a damn relationship for the past four years, just without sex. What fun is that?”

Actually, it had been amazing. And it could only get better.

She continued, “I know we still have a lot to work on. The other issues you guys raised about turning this relationship into a forever thing are still going to be hurdles we have to clear. But I’m willing to figure it out if you are. What do you say?”

“I say I love you too, Andi. I don’t care how we have to do it, but I’m committed to making it work.” Reed charged to her and swooped her into his arms. He kissed her until she was dizzy before handing her off to Cooper, then Simon, who convinced her they felt the same way without having to say a single word.

“So I only have one question then…” Simon said with a smirk when he had taken his fill. “How big is your bed?”

“Pretty sure we’re going to need a new one.” She laughed then, thinking of the four of them jammed onto the queen-sized mattress, which had seemed enormous—and empty—the night before.

“Damn straight. And I hope you don’t have plans for the rest of the weekend. We’re not leaving this house until you remember what it’s like to belong to us,” Reed swore.

“Sounds good. Besides, it’s been a bitch having to do my own laundry, cook, pay bills, and take care of my car. I’m spoiled and I like it that way.” She couldn’t say that without cracking a smile. Though she’d only been teasing, they didn’t seem to mind.

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Cooper promised right before he kissed the shit out of her. The happiness that fizzed through her veins eclipsed anything she’d felt before, proving his point quite nicely.

“You know, that sounded kind of sexist, Andi. Not like you…” Reed lectured with an evil twist to the corner of his lips.

“I
am
a bad girl now. Maybe you should spank me for it.”

“Maybe I should.” He stalked closer with a growl that didn’t scare her in the least. But she shrieked and let him chase her around their new home—any place they were together would deserve that title—for a little while before getting caught.

After all, anticipation made things so much sweeter.

She knew that from experience.