43 Ryan
I write a short note to Frankie, because it feels wrong to leave a girl in bed alone after taking her virginity- even if her other two boyfriends are around- and head out.
I open the front door, coffee in one hand, keys dangling from my mouth, and find Christian on the porch, stretching.
“Morning,” he says, looking up at me. “Sleep well?”
There’s a beat where I get to decide how to play this. Be mature. Respect privacy. Pretend we’re all very well-adjusted adults.
Hell no. I pull the door shut and pull the keys out of my mouth.
“Well,” I say, taking a sip of coffee, “once the guys on the other side of the wall stopped loudly fucking, it was fine.”
“I-uh, sorry, we were-” he stumbles.
“I’m happy for you guys.”
“Thanks,” he breathes out on a small laugh.
“Did you, uh, hear us?”
I immediately regret asking. Is this weird? Is he going to be jealous? Territorial? How the hell does any of this actually work?
“No,” he says, an almost sheepish smile tugging at his mouth. “We were pretty preoccupied.”
“Right.”
“But I'm guessing you had a good night?” he says with a questioning glance.
My gaze drops to my coffee.
“Yeah.”
The smile that pulls at my mouth is impossible to stop.
“Yeah, we did. And, uh…I’m sure you know this, but it was her first time.”
He doesn’t look mad or jealous, but I still add quickly, “sorry if that’s weird. I don’t know what the rules are here yet, but… just be sweet to her today, okay? I hate leaving right now.”
For a second he just stares at me. Then he looks vaguely offended.
“Did you really just ask me to be good to Francesca?”
I exhale hard. “Right. Sorry. Just… take care of her.”
“Ryan,” he says, like I'm being ridiculous. “She's our girl too.”
The knot in my chest loosens.
“We've got her.”
~
Later, I have a break between classes and check my phone to find that a ridiculous conversation is well underway on the group chat.
Jamie: Happy Sex Day, everyone!
Frankie: ?
Jamie: We all got laid last night!
Christian: This is not what the text chain is for, Jamie.
Jamie: Says who? I think this is exactly what the text chain is for.
Frankie: Oh god. Why are we talking about this?
Jamie: bc apparently Chris and I are tasked with ‘taking care’ of you today. Ryan didn’t clarify if he meant take care or ‘take care’....
Frankie: OMG this is so weird. This is weird, right? Is anyone mad?
Christian: Francesca, no one is mad at you. Jamie, stop.
The conversation keeps going for most of the day. Jamie has a full slate of jobs to do for Christian, but is apparently not too busy for texting. The result is a near-constant stream of messages- often hilarious, sometimes inappropriate, but perfect, in his own way.
Jamie: Did you take a bath yet? I heard that helps.
Frankie: I had sex. I didn’t birth an elephant. I’m fine.
Jamie: If I had been first, you would have needed a bath.
Christian: Jamie…
Jamie: What? I’m just saying, we all bring different things to the table…
I finally have a chance to jump in- at the perfect moment.
Me: We had gym class together for years. I know what you are bringing to the table.
Jamie: right. And it’s pretty spectacular. Christian agrees, right?
Christian: I’m staying out of this.
Frankie: Wait- so I’m the only one who hasn’t seen Jamie’s dick? That seems really unfair.
Jamie: I’ll be home in ten.
Christian: did you finish the jobs yet?
Jamie: no, but my girl needs to see my dick and my boss won’t fire me cause he understands her needs.