The Charlie Method (Campus Diaries #3)

Chapter Forty-Five Charlotte

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

CHARLOTTE

The supreme slut of the galaxy

B Y MIDWEEK , I’ VE BASICALLY MOVED INTO THE ENGINEERING LAB AND am considering purchasing a sleeping bag and hot plate. The prototype for my blood pressure device is fucking beautiful, though. Works like a dream. Even my advisor was impressed when she stopped by earlier to check in on me.

With spring break quickly approaching, I want to make some real progress on my capstone so I can actually—gasp—relax. Harrison texted last night, offering to fly out for a visit during break because I couldn’t make a trip out west happen, and I’d like to see him. It’s his birthday that weekend too, so it would be nice to spend it with him, especially now that he seems to have lost some of the chip on his shoulder. Our last few text exchanges have been great. Not a single jab or veiled remark about my family, and he hasn’t asked whether I’ve told them about him.

Which I still haven’t done. I think even Ava has given up on it. And to be honest, I’m both shocked and grateful that she’s managed to keep it to herself. I assumed she would’ve blabbed to our parents ages ago, but she’s respecting my wishes of wanting to tell them myself.

Which I’ll do.

Eventually.

It’s past ten o’clock when I leave the lab. There are a few messages in our group chat and one of Beckett’s signature notes in my purse, which I discover when I’m pulling out my phone.

No more all-nighters at the lab.

Please, baby. I miss your pussy so bad.

I bite my lip and smile. Boyfriend #2 has a way with words. I’m sort of obsessed with his notes. I have no clue how he manages to slip them in my bag without me noticing, but every few days, usually after I’ve spent the night at the boys’ house, I’ll find a new note, scrawled in his familiar handwriting.

In the group chat, the messages come from Will.

WILL:

How’s the project going?

Come over after if it’s not too late.

I check the time and decide it is indeed too late. I have an early class tomorrow, so I type a quick response telling them I’ll see them tomorrow night, then drive home to Greek Row.

Agatha is entering the foyer from the corridor at the same time as I walk through the front door. Her expression grows pinched at the sight of me, and she greets me with a tight nod. She’s been extra cool to me since the Presidents’ Gala. She claims she doesn’t believe my ex’s allegations that I’m the supreme slut of the galaxy, but I can tell she’s suspicious of me.

Faith pokes her head out of her room when I reach the second-floor hallway. “Hey, babe. You’re back so late.”

“I live at the lab now,” I say glumly.

“Make any progress at least?”

“Thankfully, yes.”

She follows me into my room, flopping on the mattress and watching me deposit my laptop bag and purse on the desk.

“You look stressed,” she remarks in amusement.

“I am stressed. Ugh. I sort of regret not going to the guys’ house tonight for some stress-busting sex, but I have to wake up so early tomorrow—” I stop when I notice her expression.

Bewilderment and deep, deep suspicion.

“What?” I ask warily.

“You just said the guys’ house? Like, plural guys.”

A queasy sensation tickles my stomach. “I mean Will’s house. He has a roommate, so I guess the plural just made sense in my head.”

Faith’s gaze pierces into me. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not lying,” I insist.

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I’m not.”

She hops to her feet, crossing her arms over the front of the oversize Patriots tee she likes to sleep in. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing.”

“We’ve been sharing a house for almost four years now, Charlotte Kingston. Do you think I’m a fool? A foolish fool who can’t tell when my best friend is being a filthy liar?”

A strangled laugh flies out. It’s my turn to flop onto the bed, burying my face in my hands.

“Fine. You win. I’ve found myself in a bit of a situation,” I confess into my palms.

“Okay?”

I peek out from between my fingers. “I did something stupid.”

“Define stupid.”

“I have two boyfriends, and I’m in love with them both.”

Silence crashes over the room.

Then Faith doubles over in laughter.

My head pops out from my hands. “Why are you laughing at me? This is serious!”

At that, my best friend’s mouth falls open. “Wait. That wasn’t a joke?”

“No! This is literally what is happening in my life right now.”

“Holy shit. All that stuff Mitch was saying at the gala? That was true ?”

“Yes and no.” My jaw hardens at the memory of Mitch’s cruel words. “I’m not going around sucking dicks left and right. I’m dating Will. As in genuinely dating him—it’s not only a physical thing.” I bite my lip. “But I’m also dating Beckett Dunne. Will’s teammate.”

She blinks in surprise. “At the same time?”

I nod.

“Oh my God.”

“I didn’t plan for this to happen,” I moan. “It just…did. And they know about each other, by the way. It’s, um, kind of their thing. But no one else knows. Not even their friends.”

“So you’re in a secret relationship with both of them, and nobody knows?”

“Well, you know now. But yes.”

Looking amazed, Faith collapses in my desk chair. “Wow. This is wild.” She wrinkles her forehead. “Are you happy with them?”

“It’s complicated, but…yes. They make me feel like, I don’t know, like I don’t have to choose between being one version of myself or the other. They just get me. Even if it’s messy.”

“Messy might be an understatement.” She laughs again, then dons a thoughtful expression, scrutinizing me.

I know exactly what she’s thinking.

“Just ask,” I sigh.

“Do you fuck them at the same time?” she demands.

“Yes and no.”

Humor dances in her eyes. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means sometimes I’m alone with Will, and sometimes I’m alone with Beckett, and sometimes…” I let out a breath. “Sometimes it’s all three of us.”

“One in each hole?”

“Faith!” I chide at her crudeness.

“What? It’s an honest question!”

“No,” I confess. “We haven’t done that.”

“Yet?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” I can’t deny the idea of taking them both at the same time is…appealing.

She goes quiet again, back to processing. Then she jumps out of the chair, her curls bouncing on her shoulders as she starts pacing back and forth in front of me.

I follow her quick movements, smiling wryly. “What?”

Without warning, she’s bombarding me with questions.

“How will this even work? Like, logistically?” Her hands and hair fly around as she paces and talks. “Is there a schedule? What happens when you want to go out in public? Do you guys all hang out together, or do you act like just friends in front of people? And what about holidays? What are you going to do if one of them gets jealous? Have you thought about marriage? Or kids? Who’s going to be the father? Or are they both going to be the father?”

She’s rapid-firing so many bullets I feel like my head might explode. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out right away. How am I supposed to answer all that when I barely have answers for myself?

“Slow down,” I plead. “I don’t know, okay? I don’t have all the answers.”

She quits pacing. “You don’t know? You’re telling me you’re in love with two guys , and you don’t know how any of this is going to work?”

I rub my temples, feeling a headache coming on. “I don’t know how to navigate this. It’s not like there’s a handbook for being in a relationship with two people.”

Faith plops down next to me, staring at me like she’s trying to solve a puzzle. “Okay, but what happens when it gets serious? You can’t just keep dating both of them forever, right? Eventually, someone’s going to want something more. What if one of them wants to get married?”

A knot forms in my stomach. I’ve thought about it, of course, but not too deeply. It’s been this distant, abstract thing. But now that she’s quizzing me about it, I can’t keep my head in the sand anymore.

She’s right. What happens if or when it gets serious?

“I don’t know. I really don’t. I don’t want to choose, and neither of them has asked me to. But yeah, I have no idea what happens down the line.”

“Okay, fine. Let’s say you don’t have to choose. You’re all fine with that. What happens if people start noticing? You can’t exactly keep this a secret forever.”

I stare at my hands, twisting my fingers together. “I don’t know,” I reiterate, all the unknowns pressing down on my chest. “I haven’t figured that part out yet. All I know is that I love them.”

“Love isn’t always enough, Charlotte. You need to think about the practical stuff too. You can’t just float along forever.”

I slump against her and rest my head on her shoulder. “I know. Trust me, I know. I’m trying to take things one step at a time, but then I get overwhelmed by all the stuff I don’t have answers for. What if one of them wants more and the other doesn’t? What if I want more, and I’m the one who messes everything up?”

“You’re not going to mess it up. But you do have to start thinking about this stuff. If you’re going to make this work— really make it work—you have to figure out what the future looks like for all three of you.”

I nod, but inside, I’m still spinning.

Because the truth is, I have absolutely no idea how to make this work.