I checked my math a third time on the final problem of my exam and found no mistakes. Done. I took the exam to the front and turned it in to my professor.

For the first time since starting here, I actually I felt confident. It felt like I knew what I was doing, for once.

I went outside, happy that it was Friday. I'd promised Red that I would go watch his football practice with Viggo, so I hurried to the quad where we had arranged to meet. Viggo was there, standing underneath the shade of the tree we'd laid under just a few days ago. I ran to him, and he wrapped me up in a tight hug.

"Hey," he said. He sounded like he was trying to play it cool, but from the way he held me I could tell he was as glad to see me as I was to see him. I'd locked myself away yesterday to study for my exam without getting distracted by the guys, and so I hadn't seen any of them in a day. It was funny how much I missed them, even though it was just a single day, but it was the first day without seeing them since we met, and it made it feel a lot longer. Maybe I was just lovesick. This was all so new to me.

"Hey," I said, smiling up at him.

"So? You kill it?"

"I sure hope so."

We started walking through the quad in the direction of the stadium located on the west side of campus. I was bursting with joy to see Viggo, and it felt like every part of my body wanted to be closer to him. I wanted to reach out and hold him, but I wasn't sure it'd be okay to or not. Public displays of affection wasn’t something the four of us had talked about.

As we walked, my pinky brushed against his. Just that little touch made my head buzz with excitement. I couldn't wait to see Red and Dane, too. I wanted to hold all of them again and give them all kisses and more.

To my surprise, Viggo reached over and took my hand. My heart leapt. He was trying to play it cool, his gaze held straight ahead like this was no big deal, but it was still obvious that he was just as excited as I was.

"Do you like holding hands?" I asked him.

"Sure," he said. "I like holding your hand."

I felt myself blush. "What about Red and Dane? Or... is that something I need to ask them?"

He smirked. "I think you'll find out pretty soon."

In the stadium, we sat down in the seats that were right at the edge of the field and watched as the team ran drills. It was easy to pick Red out, with his size. I tried to catch his eye, but it was impossible to know if he could see us with his helmet on. We watched as he ran and slammed against one of those football tackle dummies and did sprints up and down the field with his teammates.

"Watching him makes me feel fat," said Viggo. "I need to work out again."

"Oh please," I said, reaching over to touch his stomach. It was anything but fat.

But Viggo was right; Red was extraordinarily fit. I felt tired just watching the things he was doing out there.

Red turned towards the stands. "Oh!" I said, standing. "Can he see us?" I waved my hand in the air excitedly, hoping he'd notice. One of his teammates nudged him and pointed towards us. Red pulled off his helmet and tucked it under his arm, a wide smile pulling across his lips. He gave me a small wave back and jogged over. The seats were elevated above the field so that his head and shoulders stood just above the guard rail. He reached his arms over and I bent down to give him a hug.

"Thanks for making it, guys," he said. "Sorry, Brendan. I'm really sweaty."

"I don't care."

His face was dripping with sweat, and he wiped himself with a towel and drank from a water bottle. I really didn't care, I thought it was a good look for him. Plus, as I'd hugged him I'd caught a breath of this delicious scent from him, one that I couldn't really pinpoint other than that it made me think one thing: alpha. I loved it.

"How's practice?" I asked. "You guys better win on Monday."

"We'll do our best," he said.

I wanted to lean over and give him a kiss but held off so not to out him or embarrass him in front of his teammates. But the moment I got him out of practice, I was going to be all over him.

"I gotta get back. We'll be finishing up here in a bit. Sit tight?"

"We'll be here," Viggo said, slapping Red's palm.

Red nodded, gave us a little two fingered salute, and then jogged back to the middle of the field.

It was actually pretty exciting to watch them practice. I had no idea what they were doing, but I liked seeing Red running around, smashing into things and generally showing off how much of an alpha he was. I never thought I'd be impressed by something like that, but here I was. Then again, he could've been doing any activity and I probably would've been really into it, just because it was him doing it.

"Red really is an amazing player," Viggo said. "That dude was the star of our team in high school." He casually draped his arm around my shoulder and I leaned into him, enjoying the feeling of his body against mine.

"I love watching him," I said.

"Yeah? You're gonna love seeing the game on Monday, then."

"I'm not going to know anything about what's going on," I said. "But if it means seeing Red do more of this stuff, then yeah, I imagine I will."

"Red better leave some attention for Dane and me, jeez."

I chuckled and tickled Viggo's side. "What happened to no jealousy, huh?"

He laughed and squeezed me tighter. "Jealous? Who said I'm jealous?"

"Good," I said. "Because there's plenty of me to go around." I rested my hand on Viggo's thigh and gave him a gentle squeeze. He smirked and turned his attention back to the field. Always playing it cool.

The practice went on for another half hour, and afterwards we met Red out in the front of the stadium. He'd showered and dressed down to his Keystone Wolves hoodie and school gym shorts, and the three of us walked across campus towards the library, with Viggo and Red on either side of me. I slipped my arms around theirs. At first, I was hesitant to do so, because I was self-conscious about judgement, but then I realized that it really didn't matter. Why should I care?

I pulled them closer and then pushed my hands into theirs. It was kind of exciting, actually, to walk like this with them. I noticed glances from passing omegas and betas, little curious and sometimes jealous looks. That's right, I thought. These two are mine. Both of them. I wished that Dane was here too.

It made me wonder how the four of us would walk together, and I started imagining various configurations of PDA. Me holding hands with two of them while the third shuffles along behind me, holding me around the waist? Me in the center, with them surrounding me like body guards while I take turns holding each of their hands? Us all holding hands in a line? I could imagine Dane and Red holding hands with each other, but I couldn't see Viggo being okay with that. Or maybe them all walking in a line, carrying me in their arms? I laughed quietly to myself. So silly.

We went up to room 303, and as soon as the door shut behind us I threw my arm around Red's neck and pulled him into a kiss. He seemed to be taken by surprise by it at first, but then eased into it and placed his hands on my waist. The arm that wasn't slung around Red's neck was occupied by Viggo, whose hand I was still holding. I turned and kissed him, too. "I really missed you guys," I said.

Yeah," said Red. "We all felt sort of lost yesterday. Like, we were all sitting around in here waiting for something to happen."

So cute. I imagined the three of them silently twiddling their fingers while thinking about me.

"Hopefully your test went well."

"I think it did. I felt really good about it, for once."

Our phones vibrated in succession. "Dane just got out of class," I said, checking our group chat. "He says, 'Teacher dropped a ridiculous amount of work on us. I need a coffee.' I can run down to the cafe and grab one for him."

"You want us to come with you?" Red asked.

"No, I'll just be a moment. You guys want anything?"

"Vegetable juice, please," said Red.

Viggo raised his hand. "Strawberry milkshake."

"Vegetable juice and a strawberry milkshake," I repeated. "Strawberry milkshake. Really?"

"What?" Viggo said. "What's wrong with that?"

"I just figured you'd be more of a black coffee type of guy," I said, and he shrugged.

I rode the elevator down the bottom floor of the library where the cafe was located and got in line. It was busy today, and the line was moving slowly, so I took the time to people-watch. Couples were drawing my attention today, and I watched an alpha and omega sitting next to one another at one of the cafe's tables. The omega was leaning close to the alpha, looking at something funny he had up on his cell phone. Their shoulders were nearly touching, and their knees were close. I noticed they were wearing the same type of shoes—Converse, with a checkered pattern. Shoes were the one part of our uniform that could be altered to preference. They both laughed at whatever was on the cell phone, exchanging a quick glance. Their thighs touched, and neither of them seemed concerned with moving away too quickly.

Watching a couple's subtle affection like this would've normally made me feel indifferent at best, or mildly irritated at worst. Today, it made me feel happy. I'd joined the ranks of the love-smitten, and seeing other people enjoying their romance excited me for what I now had. Except, what I had was different. We didn't have the same kind of contract that regular couples had, at least that was how it felt.

There's no word for what we are.

We were special. It had to be true, because I doubted that anyone else in this entire school shared what we did. How many people in the world shared what we did? To be able to feel that kind of connection to three people, especially after knowing them for such a short time? But what was really significant to me was just how comfortable I felt with them. I wasn't worried about all the things that'd made me hesitant about relationships before. I was well aware that I'd put up a lot of walls in my life because of the fears I had about being vulnerable. I'd told myself that I didn't have many friends because my obsessive drive to get into Keystone had pushed people away, and that was true... but the part that I hadn't really acknowledged was that I'd relied on that as an excuse on account of my anxieties.

So what was so different about these three? Why were they able to so easily break through my walls?

Was it because this place had destroyed my defenses and left me raw and open and vulnerable? Was it because they were exactly what I needed to survive?

I didn't really know. What I did know was that it felt like I'd entered an alternate universe. I was floating, still unsure if what had happened two nights ago was real. I mean, I knew it was real. The kisses I'd shared with Viggo and Red today were proof of that. But the memories of my birthday felt like the hazy remnants of a really good dream. I'd played them over and over in my mind so much they threatened to lose their impact, like a videotape that'd been worn down.

I made it to the front and ordered our drinks, and then walked off to the side to wait for them to be made.

I sighed and smiled, thinking about the three of them. Amazing. Truly amazing. I had to be the luckiest omega in the world. "It's real," I whispered to myself. I must've looked like a lovesick idiot.

A tap on my shoulder knocked me out of my thoughts. I turned around, expecting to see Dane, and was quite shocked by who it actually was—Andrew, Viggo's ex. He had his arms squeezed tightly across his chest, like he was doing everything he could to hold himself together. I tensed.

"Um, hi," I said. His lips were pursed and trembled slightly. Was he about to explode on me? I'd never been in a fight in my life. I hated confrontation. His silent glare was piercing. What was his problem? "Andrew?" I didn't know what to say to him.

"What's so special about you?" he said in a low voice. I wasn't sure if he was actually talking to me or to himself. "Seriously. I don't get it."

I glanced around awkwardly, just wanting to get away. I noticed that a couple people were looking over; they'd probably sensed the tension.

"Um..." I was trying to think of a response I could give when the unexpected happened. He started to cry, and he started to cry hard.

"I really love him, don't you get it?" he bawled, his shoulders shaking. "Why did he just leave?"

What the hell?

I felt like I had a crying baby in a movie theater. Everyone was staring at us now, and I didn't know what to do. I wanted to just run away, but I was waiting for my drinks. A big part of me wanted to feel sorry for him, but I remembered what the guys had told me about him and knew that even though his tears might be genuine, he didn't deserve Viggo at all. Still, it was really hard for me to just ignore the fact that he was crying his face off right in front of me. I realized that he'd probably done this to Viggo, acting out just to get attention. I sighed and yanked some napkins from the dispenser and pushed them into his hand.

"Cut that out," I said. "You're embarrassing yourself. What are you crying for? I think you're well aware that you and Viggo weren't meant for each other."

He blew his nose, unable to make eye contact with me. "I don't want to hear that from you. You can say that because he wants you."

"First off... Stop spying on us, that's weird. Second... I know it isn't fair how he treated you. I don't know you, but I don't think anyone deserves to put their feelings out there and be treated like an afterthought. But you've gotta admit that if you're suffering that much, it can't be good, right?"

"Suffering is part of love," he said, defiantly. "You come out stronger. We were supposed to come out stronger." He sniffled and started to cry again.

"I don't think that's how it works," I said. "I mean... not like that. Isn't it true that he wasn't paying attention to you? And isn't it true that you cheated on him because of that?"

"Only to prove a point to him!"

Everyone was staring now. Andrew seemed unaffected by it, but I was actually sweating. I wanted to get out of here.

"What kind of twisted sense of love do you have?" I asked. "What did you think that would do?"

He glared at me, and I could see that now that he was feeling ashamed of it, now that he was actually confronted with what he'd done.

The barista placed my drinks on the counter, and I sighed, relieved I could finally escape from this situation. "Listen, it's over between you and Viggo. I'm sorry, but it is."

Andrew cried silent, angry tears, and I got the feeling that my words had actually gotten through to him. Maybe he was finally seeing the truth. Now I did feel sorry for him. I hated that was the case, but it was just how I was. I took my drink and held it out to him. "Here," I said. "It’s a peach smoothie. Go and take care of yourself, okay?"

He grunted and batted the cup right out of my hand. It smashed on the ground, smattering smoothie everywhere. There was a gasp and groan from the surrounding onlookers. He stormed off.

"I'm sorry," I said to the barista, grabbing some napkins.

"No, no, it's not your fault. I'll make you another one. Don't worry, I'll clean it."

I crouched down and started to wipe up the mess. A few other people in the crowd also bent down to help. "That guy was insane," a girl said. "Are you okay?"

I was fine. I actually felt good because I hadn't backed down. After he'd confronted me the first time, I'd been nervous about seeing him again, but now I knew that I could handle him and be the bigger person. It was a small thing, but I felt proud of myself.  

Another barista came out with a mop, and I moved aside to let him clean up the rest of the spilled drink.

"Hey." It was Dane, jogging over. "Everything alright? I saw what he did. Did he hurt you?"

"No," I said. "I'm good." I looked over Dane's shoulder towards the library's front doors, but Andrew was already gone. "I think he's the one who's hurting right now."

Dane helped me carry the drinks, and we walked upstairs to go back to the room. "Viggo ought to say something to him," he said. "It's not cool that Andrew keeps bothering you."

"Viggo doesn't need to. I think he's probably already said everything he can. He doesn't even need to know."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I have a feeling that Andrew isn't going to come around again."

"Oh? Did you talk some sense into him?"

"No, but I think he realized that Viggo isn't going to take him back."

I wasn't even sure why I felt that way, but there was just something about the way he'd looked at me when he'd knocked the cup out of my hand. It was that entire action, actually. It felt like he'd done it because he knew that I was right, and that it was the only thing he could do that was in his control. It'd been like a last move of desperation. I did feel sorry for him.

"Viggo really feels strongly about you," Dane said. "In case this whole Andrew thing has you wondering. All the stuff he said the other day was genuine. I've never heard him talk that way before, so that's how I know."

"I know," I said. "Thanks, Dane."

We went back into the room. Red was shirtless and straddling a chair with Viggo sitting behind him, kneading his elbow into Red's muscles. They both glanced over their shoulders to look at us.

"Yo," they both said, like what they were doing was the most normal thing in the world.

Dane laughed. "What the hell? Are you giving him a massage?"

"Obviously," said Viggo. He pulled Red's shoulder back as he pushed his elbow deeper. Red dropped his head and groaned.

"There, there. Ahh, fuck."

"Why haven't you ever given me a massage?" Dane asked, pulling the drinks out from the carrier. "Vegetable juice. Guessing this is yours, Red." Red stuck out his hand for the drink, his head still hanging in relaxation. "And... strawberry milkshake. Obviously Viggo's."

"Just put it on the table," Viggo said. "Thanks. I haven't give you a massage because you've never asked for one." He switched from his elbow to his palm. Red let out another groan.

"I am so fucking sore," he muttered. "Practice destroyed me."

"Smoothie," said Dane, handing me my drink. "Thanks for picking these up." He leaned in quickly and stole a little kiss from me. I smiled, blushed, went back in for another longer one.

"You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to that," Dane said. He sat down and pulled out his notebook and textbooks. "And how much I'm not looking forward to this."

"Want a massage, baby?" Viggo asked, and he jokingly caressed Dane's neck for a moment before leaving to grab his milkshake.

"Wait, don't stop," Dane said. "That actually felt really good."

"Viggo is surprisingly good at it," said Red, buttoning up his uniform shirt.

Viggo scowled. "Surprisingly? Why surprisingly? You think I don't know what I'm doing with these hands?"

"I want one," I said. "My neck and back are dead from all that studying."

"Say no more," said Viggo, coming over to me.

Dane made a hurt face. "What about me?"

"Yeah, yeah. Priorities. You didn't get me a milkshake."

"I can give you a massage while Viggo gives me one," I offered. "I can't promise mine will be any good, though."

"No way am I going to turn that down," said Dane.

He turned his chair around to sit on it reverse-saddle, and I pulled one up behind him. Viggo stood behind me and patted my shoulders.

"Shirt off," he said.

I removed my uniform jacket and set it on the table before unbuttoning and taking off my shirt. Dane did the same, and as he leaned forward to put his shirt onto the table, the muscles surrounding his shoulder blades contracted and rippled. Viggo laid his hands on my shoulders, and a warm tickle of pleasure rushed through me. Every time any of them touched me, it felt amazing. I copied Viggo and put my hands onto Dane's back and he drew in a long, satisfied breath. Red stood to the side and watched our little massage train as he sipped on his juice.

Viggo began to squeeze my shoulders at the base of my neck, kneading at the tense muscles with his fingers. "Let me know if it's too hard," he said.

"That's perfect," I said. It really was. Neither too strong or too weak, I felt no discomfort or pain and he seemed to know exactly where I was the tensest. I felt my body instantly begin to relax. "Is this okay?" I asked Dane. I definitely was not experienced with massages so all I could do was imitate Viggo and hope for the best.

Dane nodded and groaned in approval. Red laughed.

"You should see his face," he said.

Viggo moved down my shoulders, releasing knots I had no idea were there. It was hard to stay focused on what I was doing. He gripped my shoulder and used his other hand to knead the going down the length of my back, like how he'd done it with Red. My eyelids fluttered when he hit a particularly tense spot in just the right way.

"You should see your face," Red said.

"It feels so good," I said. "I'm sorry, Dane. I'll have to give you an IOU." I leaned forward and rested my face against him, using him as a support as Viggo massaged me.

"This is fine too," he said.

I closed my eyes and took in his scent with every breath, enjoying the warmth of his bare back against my skin. It felt so good to be like this. I slipped my hands around Dane's waist and held them in his lap, and then he wrapped one of his hands around mine.

Then I felt something. At first, I thought it was just the way his pants fabric was folded, but then I quickly realized that it was something else. Feeling his growing excitement against my hand sent a shock of arousal down between my legs, and I felt myself getting hard too. Now, instead of relaxation, my mind was going other places.

"You're all tense," Viggo said.

"I'm horny," I replied, flatly. Viggo stopped massaging me. I felt Dane's hand squeeze mine. Red set his juice down. "Can we?" I asked. "I want to give massages to you guys."

"You don't need to ask," said Dane, and he guided my hand down to his bulge. I slid my hand around the cusp of it and squeezed him. The fabric of our uniform slacks was soft, and I could feel the shape of his thickness through it.

"Does the door have a lock?" I asked.

"No, but nobody will come," said Viggo. He was pulling off his jacket.

I rubbed Dane, and then used both hands to unbuckle his belt and unzip him. Then I eagerly slipped my fingers down the front of his underwear. His cock was big and hot, and I wrapped my fingers around it for the first time. He let out a groan. I was throbbing hard, so turned on by the idea of messing around at school. I felt my entrance growing wet. I didn't think I was ready to go that far quite yet, but my body sure wanted to.

I heard the tinkle of a belt behind me, and then the crumple of fabric as Viggo took off his pants. I pulled Dane's cock out from his underwear and stroked it. With my face against his back, I couldn't see him. I wanted to see him. I slid out of the chair and kneeled on the floor. Dane didn't need instructions. He got up from the chair and kicked off his pants and underwear, turning around to face me. His cock bounced up, tall and thick. Viggo approached on the other side, his underwear tented vigorously. I reached out and touched him, my heart pounding hard against my chest. I could feel the heat of him radiating through the fabric of his underwear.

Red came up in front of me, unbuckling his pants. His hands made the belt look small. He drew down his fly, and his erection pushed up his underwear, too. First, I drew down Viggo's, popping his cock free, and then Red's. I looked up at the three of them, their cocks bobbing close to my face. I was eager to pay them back for their birthday gift, and I only hoped that I could make them feel as good as they'd made me.

"I've only done this a couple times before," I said. "So if I suck, then that's why."

"We want you to suck," said Viggo, smirking smartly. "That's the whole idea."

"Very funny," I said. I squeezed my hand around his cock and felt it throb gratefully in my grasp. Then I gave him a little tug to pull him in closer and took him into my mouth. The smirk vanished from his face and was replaced with a look of bliss.

I reached over with my left hand and I grasped Red's cock, which was so big I wondered if I would even be able to fit into my mouth—or anywhere else, for that matter. I stroked him as I sucked on Viggo, and then switched to take Red's cock into my mouth and Dane's into my hand. I jerked both Dane and Viggo as I managed to take all of Red into my mouth. Saliva dribbled down my chin as he pushed all the way to my throat.

It was a bit of work making sure all three of my alphas were being pleased. I took Dane's cock into my mouth next, sucking him deep as I stroked the other two.

"Oh, that feels good," he groaned, putting his hands on his hips. "You're doing fantastic, Brendan."

The three of them then lined up directly in front of me, their cocks all in a row to make my job a little easier. I bobbed my head on them, switching between them with my mouth and hands as I looked up at the expressions of pleasure that were locked on their faces.

"I feel like I'm playing a really complicated instrument," I said, grinning. As they laughed, their cocks bounced up and down and I fought to catch one in my mouth. I nabbed Viggo's and gulped him down.

"Yeah, the skin flute," said Dane.

"Oh my god," I said, laughing. I grabbed Red and massaged him with both hands, and then took Dane into my mouth. Viggo stroked himself as he watched, a big smile on his face.

"Fuck, it's so hot watching you do that," he said.

I switched back to his cock. I'd been paying close attention to how each of them responded to how I sucked them and had already gotten pretty attuned to what made each of them tick. Red seemed to like it more when I used my hands, probably because it was pretty difficult to do anything with my mouth just due to his size. Dane liked it deep. He moaned loudly every time I swallowed him into my throat, so I made sure to do that as much as I could handle. Viggo liked a little of both my mouth and my hand, but he what he really seemed to enjoy the most was touching himself and watching as I gave love to Dane and Red.

"I want you to throat fuck Dane," Viggo told me. "Can you take him all the way? All the way to the back?"

"I'll try," I said as I switched to Dane's cock. Dane moaned and grabbed my hair as he thrust in forward. My eyes watered and I did my best not to gag on him.

"Brendan, I'm gonna come," Dane murmured. "Oh fuck..."

I felt his cock throb in my mouth, and I pulled back just as he came. His come spurted into my mouth and onto my lips, and I tasted his bitter flavor.

"Oh, shit," Viggo murmured as he rubbed himself. "That's so hot. I'm gonna come. Let me come on your face."

"Okay," I said, licking Dane's finish off my lips. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back to take Viggo's, and as he groaned I felt his warm alpha seed hit my cheek. I opened my mouth for him, and his taste mixed with Dane’s. My hands were still working Red's cock, and I opened my eyes and looked up at him, waiting for him to finish too. I felt his cock going soft.

"Shit," he muttered. "I don't think I can finish."

Viggo brought me a napkin, and I wiped my face. "Do you want me to do it differently?" I asked Red.

He shook his head. "No. I'm sorry, I just got a little nervous."

I kissed the tip of his cock. "That's okay," I said, and stood up and gave him a hug. I wasn't sure if he'd want to kiss me, since I'd just had Viggo and Dean's come all over my face, but to my surprise he drew me in for a kiss.

"It happens, man," said Viggo.

Both Dane and Viggo also gave me kisses. "That felt so good," said Dane.

"Agreed," Viggo said, dropping into a chair. "Ah, shit. My milkshake melted."

"My coffee is cold," said Dane.

My smoothie was melted too. I took a sip, and the peach washed away the last of the bitter flavor of Dane and Viggo's come.

I went to the bathroom and passed by a librarian who was walking in the hallway. I nodded to them, and then immediately double checked my shirt to make sure I wasn't still sporting any tell-tale stains. But would anyone question it, even if I was? I felt a little thrill of excitement. So naughty.

As I splashed water on my face, the door opened and Red came inside.

"Hey," I said. I was a little worried that maybe he didn't like what we'd done, or maybe I wasn't doing it right for him. Being such a non-verbal communicator, it was sometimes difficult for me to tell how he felt and just had to trust that he would say if something was wrong. But I wasn't quite used to that yet. I touched his arm. "How you doing?"

"I'm fine," he said, smiling to reassure me. "Don't worry, Brendan. You were amazing. I think I've just got a lot on my mind with the game coming up. It's happened before, Viggo and Dane know."

"Okay," I said. I slid close to him and then pulled him into a kiss. "If there's anything that's ever on your mind, you can talk to me about it. Anything, okay?"

"Yeah. You too."

I kissed him again, leaning up on the tips of my toes to reach his lips.

"It's so funny. My mom would always bother me about finding an alpha. I think she was concerned about me in high school, I was such a loner. I wonder what she'd think if she found out that I had three alphas."

"What would she think?"

"I have no idea. I don't know if I want to find out. It's not really something I could just tell her about."

"No, you're right," Red said. "That would be awkward."

"Would you tell your parents? What would they think about our situation?"

He thought about it for a moment. "I think my parents wouldn't care. I could be a single hermit, as long as I'm there for Vert Fitness and doing my part in the family business. That's their main concern."

I touched Red's arm. "You told me that you didn't really want to take over the business. Do you really have no idea what you'd rather do?"

"What can I do?" he said. "It's pointless to dream about a reality that can't come true. I'm going to work for my family after I graduate."

"I think it's impossible to determine what might or might not happen," I said. "I could've never imagined being with the three of you. I never even dreamed that would happen to me. Anyway, I think you do have a choice, even if it is difficult to make. Tell me, what do you want to do?"

"No, it's nothing."

"So there is something! You can tell me, Red." I squeezed his arm, trying to be encouraging.

He shook his head. "It's nothing, really."

"I think it probably means a lot more to you than your family's business. You shouldn't keep it to yourself, then. Have you told the guys?"

"Not outright, no. I might've mentioned it before, maybe."

"I'd like to know." I slipped my hand into his. I got the feeling that if he were to talk about it, it might feel a little more real to him.

"Well... The idea of traveling the world has always really captured my mind."

"You want to travel?"

"I'd love to travel and teach English to people in other countries. I wouldn't have to make much money. It wouldn't be for money at all. Seeing new cultures, meeting new people, I think that would be wonderful."

I hadn't expected that answer from him, but then again, any answer would've been a surprise considering he hadn't spoken about any of this before. It made me happy to learn this about him. It felt like a new side of Red had unveiled to me, and I understood who he was just a little better than before. And it was obvious how much he wanted to do this. I could hear it in his voice and the way he talked about it.

"If you think it's what you should be doing, you should do it," I said.

"I couldn't. Unfortunately, the only travel I have set out for me will be to fly out to our corporate headquarters. But maybe in the future, when I retire."

"I think you have more of a choice than you believe," I told him. "Maybe not an easy one, but still a choice."

He nodded slowly. I couldn't tell if he was thinking it over, or if he was just trying to seem agreeable because he didn't want to talk about the subject anymore. I understood, so I didn't press it. It made me sad to know that Red felt like he couldn't walk his own path, and I realized that even people who seemed to have everything didn't always have what they wanted in life. I'd been very lucky. Even though my family was no longer well off, I still had a cushy upbringing. I was going to one of the most prestigious schools in the world. And to top it all off, I could pick my own path.