Chapter 15

Krista

“So, are you really saying we can’t research today?”

I’m trying not to fucking panic, but as I look into the guys’ eyes, I know they sure as hell are not bluffing.

At all.

Nope, they are dead fucking serious.

Well, this is just fucking perfection.

What the hell am I supposed to do now? I can’t afford to get behind on my research. Because if I do, then the inevitable train wreck begins, and everything collapses.

I promise I’m not being a drama queen. It’s just…well…maybe I am slightly overreacting. I better calm down before the guys think I’m a total fucking basket case.

I take some deep breaths to calm the hell down. There’s no sense in panicking and winding up the fraying ball of nerves I already have to deal with internally.

“How exactly did this happen again?” I ask the guys.

“Well…” Dylan begins and then shrugs, looking to the guys for obvious search and rescue.

“We don’t know exactly,” Simon interjects, bouncing on his heels with his hands in his pockets.

He chuckles slightly as if this whole situation is fucking comical.

“So now, what?”

I want to scream and throw a tantrum, all the while jumping up and down and shaking my fists. Of course, I can’t really do any of these, so I scream internally and plant a believable grin on my face.

“We need to get to the root of the problem,” King states as if that’s not the obvious answer.

I use all the willpower I have inside of me to not shout out ‘Duh’ or ‘Tell me something I don’t already know.’

“We need to go to the management or the maintenance,” Simon adds, looking charming and sexy as hell in his glasses.

“That sounds good to me. We need to get lit in here!” Dylan exclaims, and we all stare at him.

“What?” he states defensively. “That’s funny, right?”

When none of us retorts with a positive response, he rolls his eyes and dismisses us with a wave. “Whatever. Excuse me for trying to put a lighthearted response on a shitty situation.”

“I think it’s funny,” I whisper to him, appeasing his ego.

“Next time, maybe admit it to the peanut gallery,” he winks at me with a little nudge.

The four of us walk down to the maintenance office, which is tucked away in a basement that smells like mildew and a grandmother’s mothball infested closet.

“Knock, knock,” King raps on the door and lets himself in, so we all decide to file in behind him.

“Can I help you?” the middle-aged man asks. He has balding hair, and he wears a gray jumpsuit with the nametag ‘Ronny’ sprawling on a label interwoven into his shirt.

“Yes, Ronny,” King chimes with friendly enthusiasm. “You are just the man we need to see. One might say, you are our hero.”

“Excuse me?” Ronny looks equal parts irritated as confused.

Wow, the comedy club in our group is taking a serious hit today.

“Our research facility has no lights,” Simon cuts to the chase as if Ronny is beneath him and he’s trying to explain the alphabet to a five-year-old.

“Okay…” Ronny looks between us.

“So, can you help?” Dylan pleads.

“I can take a look with some of my guys.” Ronny shifts his weight. “I can have an answer for you by the morning.”

“By the morning!” I shout instinctively, then immediately recoil. “I mean…um…thanks.” I end on a slightly sheepish note.

“Thanks, man. We really appreciate it.” King moves in to give Ronny a solid handshake, and we leave the area.

All the while, I try not to harbor an infestation of a nervous breakdown and hope for the best.

* * *

The next morning, I wake up bright-eyed and bushy tailed, ready to conquer the day.

Okay, that’s an enormous fucking lie, but I want to make myself look good sometimes.

In reality, I climb out of bed as every muscle in my body protests. I walk to the bathroom to pee and yawn while stretching.

I rub my groggy, sleepy eyes and stare at my reflection in the mirror. My hair is in complete disarray, and I look like I’ve been mugged by a herd of wild street cats in my sleep.

I grab my coffee, because for one, it’s essential for my life to proceed from here on out, and two, yeah…what I just said. I need the damn coffee for survival.

I get dressed and meet the guys back at the research facility where Ronny and his crew promised to be waiting with the news in the morning.

When I scurry in, racing to beat the clock, I find everyone already there, and the expressions I see are sullen, disappointed, and overall gloomy.

“Don’t everybody look so delighted to see me at once,” I joke, but Dylan merely gives me a warm smile.

“We have the reason for the blackout,” Simon begins.

“Please tell me it’s just a few blown out light bulbs,” I extend the playfulness, but it’s no use. The news isn’t good, and that much is obvious.

“It looks like some rats have chewed a few of the cables,” Ronny states affirmatively.

“Shit,” I mumble under my breath and look at the guys. They shrug and appear as frustrated as I am.

“So what’s the damage?” I ask. “How long will it take to fix everything back to normal?”

Ronny sighs and props a no-nonsense elbow against the wall as his tool belt rattles with his movements. “It’s looking like two days, ma’am. We’re really sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Well, that’s not good,” I whine, but it’s no use complaining about something I can’t control. For whatever reason, I decide to have a change of heart with good ol’ Ronny.

If I’m not nice to him, he’s going to make the situation worse and deliberately delay the work. “Thanks for your help, Ronny,” I give him a warm, genuine smile. “We are at your mercy now.”

It’s the fucking truth.

Ronny leaves and tells us he’ll be in touch when we’re up and running again.

King takes a deep breath and places his hands on his hips while glancing at us. “Well, that’s the way the cookie crumbles.”

I roll my eyes. “I need to get to class now. I’ll catch up with you guys later, okay?”

King reaches over to plant a soft kiss on my forehead. “Try to keep your chin up. Two days is a drop in the bucket.”

“If you say so,” I call out behind me.

* * *

After my last class of the day, like clockwork and as if on cue, all three guys are waiting for me outside the engineering building.

“Do you guys have a tracker on me or something?” I tease them, all in good fun.

“That depends. Do you want a tracker?” Dylan grins slyly as the guys playfully punch his arm.

“Ow!” he yells and rubs the wound. “Fuck you, guys.”

I laugh, shaking my head at them. “So, what’s up?”

“Well, we are wondering what your dinner plans are,” Simon beams at me.

I take a deep breath. “Let’s see. I have huge dinner plans,” I begin. “I’m going to be sitting in front of my couch watching reruns of Friends while eating Chinese takeout directly out of the box. I know, I know. Don’t be jealous. It’s a red carpet kind of life.”

The guys erupt into laughter, and I feel a twinge between my legs.

Fuck. They are all so damn gorgeous.

“Why don’t you join us for dinner?” King gives me his million-dollar, pussy-creaming smile.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” My heart races at the thought of anyone seeing us out together.

“We can’t do any research,” Dylan shrugs.

Damn, he makes a valid point.

“I guess that’s true…” I chuckle and trail off, biting my lip flirtatiously.

“We love your company.” Simon grins, and he looks positively adorable.

“It’s not a bad idea,” I state as a thought comes to me. “If we are all together, nobody will suspect anything is going on because we will all be going,” I enforce again.

“You nailed it right on the head,” King grins.

“A group date,” I grin. “Yeah, why not.”

Dylan jumps up in the air and shouts “Woohoo!” before we all depart together.

When we arrive at the restaurant a few minutes later, I sigh with relief that the guys already have a reservation, which means we won’t have to wait an eternity to get a table.

One thing I have learned about living in the great city of Manhattan is that if you want to have dinner in a restaurant before ten o’clock at night, then you have to make a reservation at fancy, upper-class types of places at least a week in advance.

We chat through dinner, just getting to know each other a little better while we enjoy a delicious, savory meal.

I order the shrimp scampi and secretly admit to myself that I can probably eat my body weight in this stuff. It’s literally my favorite pasta dish.

“This is our treat to you, so enjoy tonight because we want you to relax and not stress about the research,” Dylan says as he pours more chardonnay into my glass.

“Thanks, guys,” I admit with gratitude.

“That’s not all,” King adds. “We want you to always be treated like a princess.”

“Really?” I act surprised as I take a refreshing sip of the wine.

“We have a proposition for you,” Dylan offers.

“Another one?” I tease and grin.

“We are full of tricks up our sleeves.” King winks, flashing his baby blue electric eyes at me, and the penetration gives me chills of pleasure.

“Hear us out,” Simon leans across the round table, and I take notice of his expensive watch. “We think that the best way to approach our little situation and budding relationship is if you date all three of us.”

He pauses for a reaction, and my first instinct is to, unfortunately, burst into laughter. When I can see the guys are taking offense, I quickly wrap up my cackling.

“Oh, are you guys serious?” I whisper.

“Think about it,” Simon licks his lips and dives in to plead his case. “It’s the perfect crime.”

“Dude, don’t refer to it as a crime,” Dylan comments.

“Fine, whatever,” Simon continues. “We just think if you date all three of us, then nobody will catch on because no one will ever suspect you’re actually dating three guys at once.”

I take a moment to reflect on this proposal and digest it along with the noodles in my belly.

“Hmm,” I say after a few seconds, “it’s not a totally terrible plan.”

The guys exchange proud glances as if they are puppies getting praised.

“The chance of getting caught decreases significantly,” Simon lays out all the facts.

“Can I think about it?” I ask, needing to weigh the options, along with the pros and cons.

“Sure, of course,” they all say in unison.

In my mind, I’m nearly one hundred percent on board with it, but for now, I need to sleep on it.

I glance down at the phone in my lap, blowing up with calls and texts from Brandon that I’m deliberately trying to ignore.

It’s going to be a rough night, but at least, I can think about the guys in my dreams.