32. Kylie
32
KYLIE
When I walked into the Dancing Horse on Saturday, I tried to project a confidence I didn’t feel. Truth be told, I hadn’t even been able to decide what to wear today. I considered going with a skirt to remind the guys of that party we’d attended together. Then I thought maybe I should go with all black to show them how much they’d hurt me. But in the end, I dressed as myself. Short shorts—even though it was cold—a cotton shirt, and a long-sleeve sweater over it. The only thing I did differently was to wear ankle boots instead of sandals. It was too cold for those.
So, I entered the dump of a bar as myself, as the person they'd fallen for. If I wasn’t who they wanted anymore, that was on them. They’d changed—I hadn’t.
The place looked as grungy as ever, and it took a while for my vision to adjust to the dim light. Then, over by a booth, Jude stood up.
My heart pounded painfully in my chest as I made my way over to him, skirting rickety tables and chairs. When I neared, I saw that he had the same dark circles under his eyes as Parker had the other day. “What’s?—”
That was all I got out before he took me in his arms and held me tight. Something inside me loosened as I returned his hug. Just like when Parker had hugged me the other day, tears threatened. But I wouldn’t let them fall—not until I knew the score.
Mason slid out of the booth and grabbed me the moment Jude let me go. His hug was strong enough to squeeze the air right out of my lungs, but I didn’t want him to stop. Parker was last. His hug wasn’t as fierce, perhaps to compensate for Mason’s. “It’s so good to see you,” he whispered in my ear.
Jude and Parker sat down on one side of the booth and Mason took my hand and pulled me in next to him. “We ordered food,” he said.
“Thanks, I’m not hungry.” For a moment, I just stared at them, from one face to another. They really looked exhausted. Maybe their excuses about being super busy this week were true, but that certainly didn’t answer all my questions. “I went by the suite.”
Jude groaned. “We thought you’d stay away because it might be too painful to go back there.”
“It was.”
“I’m sorry, Kylie,” Parker said with concern in his eyes. “We wanted to tell you, but first, we had to make sure there was something to tell you.”
Well that was about as clear as mud.
And speaking of mud, a server brought out a tray of mostly broken tortilla chips and a bowl of something that looked very much like dirt. But upon closer inspection, I determined it was a black bean dip. Maybe.
“Try it,” Parker urged.
“Thanks, but I’m not hungry.”
“I’d really like your opinion on it,” he insisted.
Sarcasm got the best of me. “Why, did you make it?”
“No, but one of the people I manage did.”
“Maybe someone else can try it,” I said, absently. Then I looked up. “What did you just say?”
“I’m the new manager. I keep the books and order the supplies,” Parker said.
“You work here?”
He smiled. “Yeah, I do.”
I blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of this development. Maybe there was no sense to it. Maybe I was actually back on Alyssa’s couch dreaming a really weird dream.
“I work here, too,” Jude said. “I’m in charge of the music and the sound system, obviously.”
“What about you?” I turned to Mason, still not sure what was happening. “Are you the stripper?”
Mason grinned and flexed his muscles. “I could be. But no, I’m the bouncer. And also, so far, the guy who fixes the ice machine and the lock on the bathroom stalls. Oh, and also the guy who helps unload the delivery trucks.”
“This makes no sense.”
Jude smiled gently. “Remember Delores? The eighty-year-old who owns this place?”
“Yeah.”
“She hired us. Said she needed some fresh blood managing the place.”
“But—but what about your classes?”
“We only work in the evenings, and not every evening at that. There are other employees here, of course. They fill in the gaps,” Parker said.
“I still don’t understand. Why would you want to work here?”
“For the room and board, of course,” Jude said with a twinkle in his eye. “We’ve moved into the apartment upstairs.”
“But, but… you had room and board at Henderson.”
“Yes, but we didn’t have you,” Parker said.
I bit my lower lip to keep it from trembling. “ That’s why you gave up the suite?”
“Yes,” Jude said.
I turned to Mason. “That suite was your dream.”
His blue eyes were steady on mine. “I have different dreams now.”
I gripped the table, as if to steady myself. “So… is there room upstairs for me?”
Jude grinned. “Not really. There are only three bedrooms. Still, we thought you might be interested in spending a third of the week in my room with me, another third in Parker’s room, and the last third in Mason’s.”
“Why am I last?” he grumbled, and of its own accord, my hand shot out and patted his muscular thigh.
“So… if I’m going to stay here, I guess I know what my role is. The bartender.”
“The hot bartender,” Jude emphasized. “You’re going to clean up with tips.”
“And assistant manager. The record-keeping in this place was shoddy for decades. It’ll take two of us MBA nerds to straighten it out,” Parker said.
“But won’t this interfere with our coursework?”
Jude shrugged. “Maybe. But in all honesty, it’s not much more extra work than running the conversation club. And we don’t all have to be on every night. There are other employees.”
“I figure if we each put in three or four nights a week until we get this place back on track, then we can cut back,” Parker said. “What do you think?”
“You gave up the suite,” I said weakly. “I still can’t get past that.”
Mason swung his arms around my shoulders. “There’s only one person in the world we would’ve done that for.”
That did it—the tears fell. The moisture made my vision blurry, but I still saw Jude and Parker across the table, smiling at me. Then Parker spoke up. “If you’re not going to try that disgusting bean dip, then maybe you’d like a tour of the apartment upstairs?”
“I sure would.”
“This is my room,” Mason said. The room itself was musty with dark fake wood paneling on the walls. However, the bed looked top-of-the-line and brand new. “That was delivered yesterday,” he said when he saw me staring at it. “It’s a California King.”
“It’s huge,” I said.
Mason grinned. “That’s the point.”
“Come see my room, Kylie.” That eager request made Parker sound like a little boy, but it made me smile.
Jude smiled when I didn’t move. “I thought you wanted a tour?”
“Um… maybe I could get a tour of that bed?”
Mason chuckled. “That might be possible.” He held out a hand, gesturing for me to go explore.
Tentatively, I moved toward the bed. A large, silver comforter covered a row of four pillows. I kicked off my boots and climbed onto it, settling myself in the middle. Then I looked at my guys and patted the sheets on either side of me.
Jude exchanged a glance with Mason and got a nod. Then he went around the far side with Parker following him. Mason sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes. “Where do you want me, sweetheart?”
“As close as possible.” My voice was almost a whisper. The huge bed shifted as he lay down, his arm stretched out toward the center. I couldn’t help myself, I snuggled up next to him and rested my head on his arm.
Then I burst into tears.
“Oh, hey, don’t do that,” Parker said, climbing onto my other side and pressing his body against mine.
Jude climbed onto the huge bed, too, surveying the three of us. “You need more than two sides,” he told me, and then he crawled down to the end of the bed and sat cross-legged, pulling my feet onto his lap.
“What’s wrong?” Parker murmured in my ear.
I couldn’t quite control my crying enough to answer. “I—I thought it was over. That—that we’d never be close again.”
“That’s never going to happen,” Mason said, smoothing my hair away from my reddened face.
Parker planted a gentle kiss on my cheek. “We barely lasted one night in that suite. It just wasn’t the same without you. So we started planning.”
“I—I wish you’d told me.”
Jude squeezed my feet in his large hands. “We didn’t want to tell you until there was something to tell.”
“But we should have,” Mason said, surprising me.
“We weren’t lying about being exhausted,” Parker said.
Mason smiled at me. “If you think this apartment is a dump now, you should’ve seen it three days ago. We’ve been working hard, sweetheart. For you.”
Jude contradicted him. “For us.”
I took a gulp of air to calm myself. “I thought that there wasn’t going to be an us anymore.”
“There wouldn’t have been, if we hadn’t found a way to get you back,” Parker said. “It’s not the same without you.”
“And we’d never want to be without you,” Jude added.
“I don’t want to be without you guys, either.”
“So, if that means living in a dump for a while, that’s fine by me,” Mason said.
Parker smiled at me. “We’re still us whether we live like paupers or princes.”
Suddenly, I felt tongue-tied. They’d given up free room and board in the most amazing suite in the world for me. “I—I like being us.”
“Me, too,” Mason said.
“But also—I kind of love being us,” I said softly. “Because I love the three of you.”
“You do?” Jude said, surprised.
“Yes. I know we haven’t known each other that long, but… that’s what I feel.”
“Me, too,” Mason repeated.
“Me, three,” said Parker.
And then there was Jude. “Me, four,” he said with a soft smile.
“Is that crazy?” I whispered.
“Probably,” Mason said. “But does it matter?”
“No,” I whispered, reaching my arms out to them and hooking my feet around Jude’s waist. “All that matters is being here with you.”
“That’s all that matters to us, too.”
I wasn’t even sure who’d said the last part because the relief at seeing my guys again was almost overwhelming. It felt like I hadn’t had a proper second of sleep since I’d left them.
They were tired too, and we all cuddled up in a heap like sleeping kittens. Later, I wanted to show each of them how much they meant to me. But for right now, I just wanted to rest, safe and secure next to the men I loved.