Roommates Box Set #4-6

24. Alyssa

24

ALYSSA

Steaks sizzled on the grill as Spencer stood over them. The smell was heavenly. Even the twins thought so. Instead of playing down in the yard, they were up here on the deck, taking turns swinging in the hammock.

Raphael was inside, preparing some side dishes, so I took this time to remind Spencer of his primary directive. “Remember, if Rafe comes out here with any kind of seasoning or spices, what are you to do?”

“Stab him with a barbecue fork,” Spencer said. “I heard you the first dozen times.”

“Just checking.”

The approaching night air felt good on my skin. The grill and the heat lamp in the corner kept it from getting too chilly. Leaning back in the patio chair with my feet up on another one, I was as happy as a soon-to-be-steak-fed clam. Part of that was because Nana was doing well. She was still in the hospital, but she’d soon be moved to an assisted living center. It was the same one where the twins sometimes volunteered, so they’d be going to visit her as soon as she got there.

Raphael brought some plates out to the table and then paused to check out the action at the grill. I kept a watchful eye on him, but he didn’t appear to have any spices hidden on him. “Looks good,” he said. Then he nudged Spencer and jerked his head to the right. I followed his gaze and saw Flynn walking this way. “I thought the smell of steaks might bring him over.”

Spencer nodded.

The twins were glad to see their other uncle and immediately recruited him for pushing them both on the hammock, which seemed to double as a swing set. “Evening,” Flynn said, vaguely in my direction. I nodded, feeling a bit too self-conscious to look him in the eye. The last time I’d seen him had been up in the treehouse—something I’d been thinking about a lot lately.

“Alyssa here is treating us to steak night,” Spencer said.

Flynn cocked his head at me. “Is that so?”

“Yeah. When I talked to Nana earlier, I asked her which grocery stores delivered, and she told me all the best spots.”

“You won’t find anyone who knows more about Lake Boise than Nana,” Raphael said.

“That’s for sure,” Spencer agreed. “Anyway, we have Lyss to thank for this treat.”

My face reddened. “I just ordered the ingredients—it’s not like I’m the one cooking.”

Raphael was quick to defend me. “No one expects you to in your condition. Just wait until your cast comes off; then you can take over the kitchen if you’d like.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “The problem with my cooking isn’t the bad leg. The problem is that I have no cooking skills.”

Flynn made a grunting sound that might have been a rusty laugh.

Lucas jumped off the hammock just then, causing it to rock back and forth with Charlotte still inside. Her giggles echoed off the side of the house. “Alyssa walked around the circle,” he told Flynn.

“What circle?”

“The one in front of our houses.” Lucas seemed to think that was sufficient explanation, but Spencer did not.

“She made two laps around the cul-de-sac with her crutches,” Spencer clarified. “It’s been a bit tricky with her bruised ribs, which you would know if?—”

“Do you want something to drink?” I asked Flynn, cutting Spencer off.

Flynn raised an eyebrow. “Am I going to get to see your crutching in action?” When I didn’t respond to that, he nodded. “A beer would be good.”

“Waiter?” I tugged on Lucas’s sleeve, and he laughed. “Can you go see if Uncle Rafe has something Uncle Flynn can drink?”

“Sure.” He seemed to like being deputized into action.

Charlotte took his place after he left. “I can be a waitress.” She seemed to have followed our conversation wonderfully well, even though they’d told me it was hard for her in a big open space with multiple people talking. But in my amateur opinion, she was doing a lot better than she did when I first arrived. Spencer thought so, too.

“Can I get an order of baby carrots?” I asked her. It was the only simple thing I could think of, since we’d be eating soon.

“Sure thing,” she said and hurried away.

Spencer looked over at me and winked. “We’ll have to be sure to tip the waitstaff after we eat.”

I nodded and then pointed back at the grill. “Guard that with your life,” I reminded him. He nodded and got back to it.

The steaks were incredible. I already knew that Raphael was a good cook, despite his addiction to heat, but this was only the second time I’d see Spencer grill. And the other time had been rather unexciting chicken thighs. “You did a great job,” I told him.

“Why do you keep saying that to Dad?” Charlotte asked.

“Because her mouth isn’t on fire,” Raphael said at the same time Lucas said, “Because she can’t cook.” Raphael signed something to Charlotte, and I figured he was catching her up on what both of them had said, since it had been at the same time and probably hard for her to suss out.

I grinned. “Both are true.” But then, as I finished the rest of the steak—or at least as much as I could eat of it and the delicious sides—a sense of unease filled me. Tonight, for me, wasn’t just about treating the people who’d done so much for me to a good meal.

When everyone was finished except Flynn, who looked determined to polish off his very rare steak or die trying, I cleared my throat. “Before we adjourn to story time, I’d like to request a meeting among the adults after the kids are in bed.”

Several raised eyebrows met my words, but it was Lucas who responded first. “Why just the adults?” He had a look on his face that said he was prepared to protest. Charlotte did, too.

“I need help with my taxes,” I responded instantly. Oddly enough, that seemed to satisfy both children.

Flynn caught my eye. He looked as incredulous as I felt. What was with kids these days? That hadn’t even been a good lie.

“I think that can be arranged,” Spencer said, though he looked puzzled.

“All of us?” Flynn asked, and I nodded. “All right then.”

Raphael agreed, too.

Whew. That was the first part of my plan. My last one, faking a fall by the window, hadn’t worked very well. Or possibly it had worked a little too well, considering I’d actually ended up stuck on the floor unable to get up. But the idea behind the plan, which was to take the lead and be more assertive, had been a good one. Or at least I hoped so, because I was going to try it again.

“Can you help me?” I asked Raphael when he came out to gather more dishes.

“Sure.” He set the plates on the table and bent to pick me up.

“No, not that,” I said, laughing a little. “I’m supposed to be using the crutches now, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.” His crooked smile looked good on his tan face. “What can I help with?”

“I need help setting the mood.”

“Pardon?” His eyebrows rose almost to his hairline.

“For the meeting. I don’t want it to look like a committee meeting in a boardroom. I want it to be more… casual. More… well, more intimate actually. I tried to order wine from the store, but they don’t deliver alcohol.”

“We have some,” he said, and I could tell he was taking my request seriously. “Do you want to meet out here, or the living room, or the kitchen table?”

“Out here,” I decided. It would be dark, which might help me be brave enough to speak my piece. Plus, it was less likely to wake the twins.

“All right. Want me to get the firepit going by then?”

“Are there any candles?”

“I think that can be arranged.” He put his hand on my shoulder and gave me another smile. “You can count on me, but I’ve got to say… I’m really intrigued about this meeting of yours.”

Hopefully, he’d still be smiling after he heard me out.

It was different, being out on the deck after dark. The scent of greenery was stronger, along with an extra note that seemed to belong to the night itself.

Raphael had outdone himself. The strings of light that lined the railing were on, and several candles were grouped together in the middle of the table. Next to them were a bottle of wine and four glasses. Raphael had also somehow whipped up a tray of fancy looking hors d'oeuvres. That man was a genius in the kitchen.

One by one, the men joined me. Raphael first, then Spencer, then Flynn.

“Are you allowed to drink?” Spencer asked before I could say anything.

“I’m twenty-three,” I protested. Evidently, he didn’t know that Flynn had brought me beer the other night in the treehouse.

“No, I mean because of your medicine.”

“She’s good,” Raphael said.

Flynn looked up at that. “What are you, her doctor?” I’d kind of hoped that after that amazing evening between him, Raphael, and me that he’d be a bit friendlier, but he was back to his grumpy self.

“Kind of,” Raphael said, and he sent me a wink. I grinned back. It almost felt true, with all the help he’d given me since the beginning. He poured the wine and passed around the glasses. “To Alyssa and her continued recovery.” We clinked our glasses together.

That was sweet. I hadn’t expected that. Somehow, it made it harder to forge ahead, since I was pretty sure all three of them would soon think very differently of me. I took a sip of wine for support. It was good, a rich merlot.

Spencer got the ball rolling, since I wasn’t quite brave enough yet. “So what’s this about, Lyss?”

I’d rehearsed this in my head, but nothing came out as they stared at me. Abandoning the plan, since I couldn’t currently remember it anyway, I blurted out, “I like you guys.” My cheeks reddened, but I made sure to look at all three as I said it, first Raphael, then Spencer, then Flynn.

“You don’t even know me,” Flynn said when my gaze swept over him. Apparently, him biting my nipples and me tasting him didn’t count as us knowing each other. But I kept my answer light.

“True, for the most part, but I like you anyway.”

“She has strange taste in men,” Spencer said to Raphael, and I laughed, the pressure releasing for just a moment.

“I like you and Raphael too,” I told him.

“Her taste is getting better,” Raphael observed.

The fact that they were giving me the time I needed to gather my thoughts helped. “The thing is, I’m afraid I like you all a little too much.”

Spencer frowned. “In a Fatal Attraction way?”

“Definitely not,” I said with a little smile. “It’s more like… should more than one of you like me back—and I’m not saying you do—I wouldn’t be able to choose between you.”

“So you’d want us to choose?” Flynn asked, his head cocked to the side. “If more than one of us liked you?”

“Which I’d wager is the case,” Spencer said.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” I chewed on my bottom lip, not sure how to get into this without sounding like an egomaniac who thought the men of the world were dying to throw themselves at her feet. Or her cast.

“Try again,” Raphael said, putting his hand on mine. He and Flynn had to know what I was getting at, but Rafe was letting me do this my own way.

“Let me tell you a story.” I paused, wondering if I was about to betray people who were important to me. But their story was beautiful. It should be shared. “My brother Mason has been best friends with Jude for at least a decade. As close as brothers. Then a few years ago, Parker came along, and now all three of them are best friends. Then they met Kylie.”

“Your brother’s girlfriend, right?” Spencer clarified.

“No.” I took a deep breath. “She’s all three of their girlfriends. They each fell in love with her, and she fell in love with each of them.”

Silence met this statement, but I took courage in the fact that no one was scoffing or discounting my story as a joke.

Flynn spoke first. “So… they’re like a thruple? Or whatever you call it with four?”

“I guess.” I wasn’t very up-to-date on the terminology. “All I know is that they love her, and she loves them.”

“Is that the kind of relationship you’re looking for?” Raphael asked.

“No,” I said instantly. “I wasn’t looking for any relationship. I moved down here to launch my career. Guys—men—weren’t on my mind at all. And then I ended up here.”

Spencer took a long sip of wine. “So now that you’re living with men, we’re on your mind more?”

“Yes. No. Kind of?” I took a sip of my own drink, and Raphael tightened his grip on my hand as if in encouragement. “It’s true that if things had gone to plan and I was in my small, third-floor apartment and I hadn’t met any of you, yeah, sure, dating would be very low on my to-do list. But I did end up here, and… and…”

“You’ve had lots of time on your hands,” Raphael supplied.

“I was going to say that you three take your shirts off a lot, but what Raphael said is true, too.”

My quip made them laugh, but I had more to say.

“I admit, I have felt restless, and, um, more attuned to male bodies than I usually am.”

“It’s okay to use the word horny,” Flynn said.

My cheeks flamed, but I nodded my head. “Okay, maybe that’s a fair assessment. But it’s more than that. Spencer, those first few days, and especially in the hospital, you were amazing. And now I see you, day in and day out, being a wonderful father and doing all you can to help me. Is it really that surprising that I like you?”

I turned to my left. “Raphael, you’ve been incredible, too. You know when I need a sympathetic ear. You know when I need a gentle push. You know when I need to be alone, and when I’m desperate for company. Plus, if it weren’t for you, I would’ve flunked physical therapy by now. I’m so grateful for all you’ve done.”

“No, we’re grateful to you, cher.” His words weren’t unexpected, but I was pleased to see the understanding in his eyes. He knew what he meant to me.

Then I turned to Flynn.

“Let me guess. You’re grateful when I take my shirt off and throw bales of hay around,” he said before I could say anything. “I’ve seen you watching from your window.”

“You do that?” Spencer asked, looking at me, but I ignored him.

“You’re right, I don’t know you as well, Flynn. But you know what I do know? You give me what I need when I need it. The handrails in the shower. The sketchpad. A litter of adorable puppies.”

“Yeah, I really came through after ignoring you for a solid week.” Flynn’s voice held anger, but I knew it wasn’t me he was angry with.

“Let her continue,” Raphael said, and I shot him a smile.

“I don’t know you as well, but you know who does? Charlotte and Lucas. They talk about you all the time. I’ve learned quite a lot about you through their eyes—and I’d like to learn more.”

“You mean, if we’re up for this group thing you’re suggesting?”

God, he made me sound like a sex pervert when he put it like that. “I’m just saying that if I had a crush on a man, I’d like to think that I’d be brave enough to tell him, to see if he liked me back. That’s what I’m trying to do tonight, but it’s not just one man I have a crush on. It’s three.”

“And you don’t want to choose,” Spencer confirmed.

Raphael gave a quick shake of his head. “I think it’s more like she doesn’t want to have to choose. Right, cher?”

“Right.”

“Well, gentlemen, Alyssa’s put her cards on the table and has been extremely open and straightforward in the process. I’d say it’s time we do the same.” Raphael looked the other two men in the eye.

Spencer rose to his feet. “We might need more wine for this.”

I half expected him to disappear inside the house and never return, but he emerged from the kitchen with a dark bottle and an opener.

“I’ll go first,” he said after he’d topped off everyone’s glasses. His eyes met mine. “I’m in. I think about you while I’m at work. I look forward to coming home and seeing you. I’ve given it a lot of thought, too. It’s not just because you saved Lucas, though I’ll never forget that as long as I live. It’s just you. So I’m in.”

Moisture formed on my lower lashes as I reached my free hand across the table to squeeze his. “I’m so glad.”

It took me a moment to center myself. “Raphael?”

“I’m in,” he said simply. “I think you know that.”

I nodded, not quite trusting myself to speak, but there was something that had to be addressed. “Are you okay with Spencer being in?”

The smile slid from Raphael’s face. “I think so. I want to be.”

Flynn looked back and forth between the two men. “What’s that all about?”

Raphael sighed. “I, um… when I saw Spencer and Alyssa together, it brought back some feelings.”

“Like jealousy?” Flynn asked. Then his jaw dropped as he turned to his brother. “Wait, you slept with her?”

“No,” Spencer protested, then he hesitated. “Well, yes, but not like that. We slept next to each other.”

It had been a bit more than that, but I didn’t volunteer that information.

“It wasn’t jealousy,” Raphael clarified. “It’s just… the last time I saw Spencer look at a woman like that, it was my sister. It’s hard to see him with someone else, but I know that’s what’s best for him.” He turned to me. “And for the woman he’s interested in.” Oh. I realized that I’d misinterpreted Raphael’s feelings ever since he woke us up to say that Nana had fallen.

Spencer patted him on the back. “It’s bound to hurt, though. I get it. I can’t stop thinking about Corrine, either. But I have to think that she wouldn’t have wanted me to be alone the rest of my life, no matter how much I miss her.”

“No, she wouldn’t have.”

Unexpectedly, it was Flynn who spoke up next. “This would’ve happened a long time ago, Spence, if you’d ever gone on any dates. It’s been eight years, but it’s the first time you’ve had feelings like this. So hell yeah, it was bound to throw Rafe for a spin. It had to happen sooner or later.”

“It’s something I have to deal with on my own,” Raphael said.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” I said. “Deal with it on your own, I mean.”

Across the table, Spencer nodded and downed the rest of his wine. “So I guess that’s two men you don’t have to choose between.”

“Three,” Flynn said.

I looked at him in surprise. “Really? You’re in, just like that?”

“Yeah. Not sure exactly what I’m signing up for, but I’m in.”

Grinning, I pulled my hand out of Spencer’s and reached out to Flynn. I’d have to ask Kylie how she managed to connect with three men when she only had two hands. Flynn’s was warm and calloused, but I loved the way it engulfed mine.

Following Spencer’s lead, I finished my wine. “Whew,” I said, setting the glass down.

Raphael laughed. “Was it that scary, talking to us, cher?”

“Kind of,” I said. “I’m not usually this direct.”

“Few women are,” Flynn said.

“Few people are,” Raphael corrected. “But if you want something, why not go for it?”

“That’s what I thought… eventually.”

The others chuckled at that, and for a while, there was a companionable silence. I had no idea where to go from here. My plans hadn’t included this side of the big question. I’d pretty much convinced myself that they’d think I was crazy.

Spencer broke the silence this time. “How would something like this even work?” he asked. “I mean the four people part?”

“You really need to watch more porn,” Flynn said, and I bit back a laugh.

“I’m serious. Is it… is it supposed to be three men in a relationship with one woman, or is it more like the four people are all in a relationship with each other?” Spencer was clearly struggling with this concept, but the fact that he was trying to understand touched me.

“It’s the latter,” Flynn said. “Looks like it’s time for you and me to get it on, big brother.”

Ew.

“Quit it, Flynn,” Raphael said, and it was the sharpest I’d ever heard his tone. “This is important.”

“Thank you,” I said to him.

Spencer’s face was flushed. “I just mean, you said your brother and his friends had that super strong bond.”

“Yes,” I said. “So do you three.”

“We do,” Raphael nodded. “Even if it hasn’t been all that evident recently.” His eyes were on Flynn.

Flynn didn’t argue that point.

“I think it works best if the guys are friends to begin with,” I said and then my face flushed. “I’m not an expert, but I can’t imagine falling for men who didn’t even like each other.”

Spencer nodded in thought, and I couldn’t decide what to say after that.

“I guess it’s something we’ll figure out together,” Raphael said. “After all, when a relationship is just two people, they still need to figure out what works for them. Two likely very different people have to find their middle ground. Only with two people, the midpoint is between them. With us, it’ll have to be somewhere in the middle of the four of us.”

“We don’t even know if there’s going to be a relationship,” Flynn said.

Spencer’s head swung around. “We all just told her that we’re open to it.”

“Open to starting something,” Flynn said. “It’s like we’ve asked a girl on a date, but we haven’t even been on it yet. How do we know if we’re compatible with her and her with us?”

“We know,” Raphael.

“Well, I don’t,” Flynn said. “She barely knows me.”

“But I’d like to,” I said.

“Well, there’s a place to start,” Raphael said. “We figure things out as we go along, take it slow if we need to, and give Alyssa and Flynn a chance to get to know each other better.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said.

“Me too,” Flynn said.

But not all of us had weighed in on the issue. “Spencer?”

He took a moment, but then he said, “Me too.”