^“Anything else I can get you, Sugar?” The middle-aged woman asks me as she gives me another cup of tea. I’ve had three since I got here and spent the whole time trying to calm down. Holy ducks, I must look like a hot mess. There’s a pile of tissues on the table where I’ve wiped my eyes from the tears. The woman has her blonde hair in a ponytail, a serious face, and a crinkle-free uniform. She reminds me of my mother, who is also blonde and always has everything under control.

“No, thank you,” I say, and she nods before she starts to walk away and stops.

“Are you okay? I mean, can I help you in any way?” she asks as she turns to look at me. Her look is caring, so she no longer reminds me of my mother.

“No, thank you, I’m just having a bad day, you know?” I ask her, and I’m glad when she nods.

“Well, I’m over here if you need someone to chat to, we’re pretty quiet today,” she says and walks off. I glance around the small restaurant, it’s a quirky, little place that I’ve never been to before. The walls and floors are covered in old, preserved newspapers, they’ve been made into tiles and wallpaper. The dates of the papers on the wall near me are from the 1950’s, and I’ve read all the papers near me while I’ve been trying to process everything.

“Ellie.”

I look up, following the voice, to see all the guys standing near the table. I was too busy daydreaming to see them all come in, but they are all standing in a line watching me. It was Dominic who spoke, and he is the first one to step forward.

“You guys must hate me. Holy ducks, I hate me for messing with you all. I never meant to kiss some of you,” I say to them, and they all stare at each other before they wordlessly step forward. Kaiden slides into the both next to me, Andre and Dominic sit opposite us, and Todd gets a spare chair to sit at the end of the table. The waitress’s eyes widen when she comes out of the kitchen and sees me stuck in the middle of a hot guy sandwich.

That’s the only way to explain what it feels like.

“Can I get you guys anything?” the waitress comes over and says.

“Yes, four coffees. Two with milk, and the other two black,” Dominic answers, and she writes it down before walking off. She looks back and gives me a worried look, I simply shake my head, and she nods.

“Why did you run?” Dominic is the first one to ask.

“I kissed you, and–” I stop talking when I notice them all looking at me. I sit back in my seat as I glance down at my hands, my cheeks feel bright red.

“What if I said we all like you and want to date you?” Kaiden says, and I look over at him.

“I can’t date all of you,” I say, shaking my head. There are so many reasons that could go wrong, the jealously it would cause for one.

“I know it’s not common, and it might not work, but I can’t walk away from you, Ellie,” Dominic says, shocking the hell out of me. I just sit, completely speechless as I lean back on my seat.

“It might be awkward at times, and maybe it won’t work,” Andre says, and I have to interrupt him.

“Maybe? I can’t see any of you being okay with sharing,” I say, shaking my head.

“The only other solution is you not being in our lives and never giving us a chance to see if we are good for each other,” Todd says, his eyes locking with mine. No one says anything for a while as I look at them all.

“Can you walk away from us?” Todd asks me. The words are gentle, but they mean so much.

“Here you go,” The waitress says, giving me a chance to look away and collect my thoughts. I glance at each of them as they take their drinks off the tray. Andre was the first one I met, and I know we could never really be distant from each other because of the baby, but there was always something between us. Kaiden and Todd I’ve had moments with, moments that were far more than just attraction. No, I felt something for them, and it would hurt to walk away. Dominic, well I think I fell for him when we kissed, and the idea of walking away from him hurts me, too. I know it’s very soon to be feeling this way for them, but I can’t help what I feel.

“Okay, how about a month’s trial?” I ask them, and their smiles encourage me to smile, too.

“Sounds good. How about the days the club isn’t open, we take turns spending the day together?” Kaiden asks. I have the feeling he has a lot of this planned out. The guys all nod, and Kaiden winks at me. I want to be happy, but the sight of Liz and Drew in bed is too fresh in my mind.

“I just walked in on Liz and my ex-husband,” I blurt out quickly, just wanting to tell them, and then I can’t stop the tears that follow. Kaiden wraps an arm around me and pulls me to his side.

“What an asshole,” Todd grumbles.

“I’m sorry, Ellie, she wasn’t a true friend if she could do that to you,” Andre says, his voice clipped and angry.

“They don’t deserve you in their lives, Ellie,” Dominic says, shaking his head, and I wipe my eyes.

“Here,” Andre offers me a tissue, and I sort myself out before pulling away from Kaiden.

“I’m sorry I got your top all wet,” I say, and he laughs.

“It’s cool, I always win the wet t-shirt contest,” he smirks, and the guys groan.

“Did you actually have a contest?” I ask, and they all nod.

“Yes, I came in second,” Todd says proudly, and I chuckle. I just imagine them all having a contest, and the women loving it. I don’t know how I’m going to get used to seeing them dancing in the club and not being jealous.

“Another question,” I say quickly.

“Sure,”

“Do you do private dances at the club?” I ask them all.

“Do you want one?” Kaiden answers me with a question that makes my cheeks go bright-red.

“I . . . I, well, yes,” I say, and Todd coughs on his drink.

“I didn’t expect you to say that, El,” he says while the others all stare at me.

“I didn’t ask for that reason, anyway. It’s just that I can be okay with the dances on stage, but private dances where other girls can touch you . . .” I let my words die off.

“We rarely do private dances, so it’s not a problem.” Andre says, and the others nod.

“So, are you ready to go home?” Dominic asks me, it feels like such a powerful question because I have the feeling the answer is important.

“Yes,” I say, locking my eyes with his.

“Good choice, Ellie,” he says with his own grin that matches mine.