By the time I set off into the night, my head is spinning, my eyes are heavy, and the stiffness in my limbs is killing me. Under normal circumstances, I would search for a hotel. It wouldn’t have to be anything extravagant: a bed and a bath would do just fine. I need to rest my aching bones. Unfortunately, however, these are not normal circumstances. Ray’s proposal has made my heart race in my chest, for more reasons than I can count. I feel flattered; three, hunky men want to keep on dating me, even though I hadn’t been completely honest with them. On the contrary, I had lied to them, over and over again. On the night I went out with Dean, I lost count of all the lies I fed him. It’s incredible, but they are all prepared to put them behind and have some more fun with me.

Or are they? Michael, Ray, and Dean are young men. Their blood is boiling. Their testosterone often takes charge, and it’s safe to assume that they sometimes think with their dicks. And this is what complicates things, making me doubt whether I could handle this situation or not. What if one of them gets jealous? What happens if I accept this crazy proposal, and somewhere along the way, one of them changes his mind? Well, the answer is easy. The trio would turn on one another, and I would be in the middle of it. I don’t know if such an argument would actually break them apart, but I don’t want to find out. They have given me some amazing memories, moments that I will remember for years to come. Is coming between them a proper way of saying “thank you”? No. It’s probably the worst thing I can do to them.

Five minutes before I drive back into Falasarna, my cell phone buzzes with an incoming text from Emily.

“We’ve lit a fire at the main beach. You can’t miss it. We’re waiting for you.”

My friend’s message gives me a reason to smile. I’m not in the mood to go anywhere loud or crowded for that matter. I need someplace quiet, where I can collect my thoughts, and talk to her and Karlie. And, once I gaze out at the horizon, it dawns on me that the night is ideal for just that. The half-moon casts its lush light down on the sea, the broad, glimmering patch of water sending a feeling of tranquility into my heart. A mild breeze sends ripples across the surface as a seagull’s call shatters the silence. With my gaze on the sea, I stroll onto the beach. My flip-flops brush pebbles and stones alike while I recall the feeling I had when Emily and I set foot on Crete. It was a mixture of excitement and anticipation of what might lie ahead. And although I can’t complain about my adventures so far, I wasn’t prepared for the mess they have resulted in at the present time.

The bonfire that Emily mentioned quickly draws my attention. Short flames are flickering in the distance, the surf audible over my friend’s hearty laughter. This sound intrigues me. She has been rather moody these past few days, mostly because she disagreed with my choices. Still, when I close in, I discover that the grumpy Emily is nothing more than a bad memory. She is talking to Karlie, gesturing towards the sea, with a grin painted on her face.

“Hey, girls,” I wave at them, moving around Karlie. “I’m glad to see one of us is in a good mood.”

“Hey, look who’s here!” Emily cheers, gesturing towards me this time. “It’s our best friend, fresh back from her trip to the south, where she probably got laid, too!”

“No such luck,” I sigh, seating myself on the sand. “Things almost got out of hand down there.”

“Go on,” Emily encourages, resting her elbows on her knees.

“You go first,” I say, curious about the change in her attitude. “My story’s a little more complicated than you might think.”

“Karlie, do the honors, please,” Emily requests, her smile narrowing, her tone much more serious.

“Right after you left, Emily and I went for a swim,” Karlie begins, crossing her arms over her chest. “Everything was just wonderful. The water was warm; there wasn’t too much noise on the beach. But, at some point, our friend here got carried away by the current. At first, I thought it was one of her bad jokes, but she started screaming. I tried to swim over to her, but I couldn’t. The current was too strong. I’d lost all hope up until someone swam past me.”

“Actually, he whooshed past you,” Emily corrects her, her smile widening once more.

“Indeed,” Karlie affirms. “He was very fast. She was about a hundred yards away from me, and he got to her in seconds. She was, uh…” She draws in a sharp breath. “Unconscious when he pulled her out of the water. However, our stranger was much more than a fast swimmer. You see, he knew CPR.”

“Thank God,” Emily sighs, averting her gaze from her to look at me. “He’s pretty hot, too. I just got back from a date with him.”

“So, that’s why you’re in a good mood,” I conclude, a big smile bursting upon my lips. “You had sex.”

“Nope,” she announces with smugness. “We just kissed. That’s it. Unlike some people I know, I don’t put out on the first date. It was pretty damn hard, though. Darryl is just gorgeous.”

“He’s American?” I squint down at her, somewhat surprised.

“Born and raised in L.A.” Emily replies, putting some force in her voice. “He’s a water polo player. I’m seeing him again tomorrow night. He’s bringing a friend over for Karlie, too.”

“Good for you,” I comment, shaking my head in satisfaction. “Well, my night didn’t turn out as I’d hoped. I swum around with Ray, we kissed a bit because we knew she was watching, but his plan didn’t work. His ex didn’t take the bait. She tried to smack him across the face and even threatened him. Then, she got into her…” I pause. “Huge Mercedes and took off.”

“She threatened him?” Karlie’s surprise sends her voice up an octave. “What’s her name again?”

“Laura Harrison,” I groan, the scene of our meeting replaying in my mind. “She runs ‘Webstar,’ a software development company.”

“I read an article about ‘Webstar’ in ‘Forbes’ last week,” Karlie adds, the leaping flames reflecting in her big, hazel eyes. “They’re the third fastest-growing company in the field.”

“Yeah, I got a taste of how rich she is tonight,” I mutter under my breath, bringing my legs to my chest. “She owns a two-hundred thousand dollar Benz. I’d kill to get my hands on that baby.”

“What happened next?” Emily asks, tossing a small twig into the fire.

“Oh, my God…” I breathe a deep sigh, peering skyward. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but…” I press my lips together. “Ray said they want to keep on dating me.”

“Excuse me?” Emily squeals, her gaze shooting up to meet mine.

“That’s…” Karlie gives a snort of mockery. “That’s very peculiar, to say the least.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” I reply, speaking my mind and clenching my jaw. “He gave me twenty-four hours to decide.”

“You’re considering this?” Emily inquires, a scowl spreading over her face. I keep my silence, shifting my gaze away from her and back to the sea. Still, this only aggravates her more. “Are you out of your freaking mind?” she yells, her eyes widening. “Okay, screw the moral part. We don’t know anything about them. How do you know this isn’t some sort of trick to hurt you somehow?”

“I beg to differ,” Karlie disagrees, maintaining the usual calmness in her voice. “I did a little research on them this morning. Michael is the head of the IT department in a small-time security company. Ray runs his own real estate agency. It isn’t that big yet, but it shows a lot of potential. Dean is a chef at ‘Carlo’s,’ an Italian restaurant in Manhattan. He even won the ‘Chef of the Month’ award in March.”

“Thanks a lot for the info,” I nod in appreciation. “It’s not that useful, though. We’re talking about men here, you guys: men and their huge egos. I have no problem dating them, but can you imagine what’s going to happen if they get jealous of one another?”

“I’d say ‘a catastrophe,’ but those three aren’t exactly ordinary men, are they?” Karlie wonders. “You said it yourself the other day. They’re very tight. When I saw them approaching you yesterday, I thought they would be covered in bruises. I mean, they had just discovered they had all had sex with the same woman. Did you see anything like that? Because: I didn’t.”

“Neither did I,” I whisper, running my hand through my hair. “You have no idea how much I want to believe you, Karlie.”

“Then do it,” she suggests, winking at me.

“Tell me I didn’t see that,” Emily urges her in a voice riddle with anger. “The computer geek just told Stacy to go wild with three guys? Am I having a bad dream here?”

“The computer geek realized how short life is after her breakup with Tom,” Karlie’s voice becoming firmer in tone, turning her attention to Emily. “Those three seem like good people to me, so, why not?”

I have a very good idea where this debate is going. Two or three more statements later, an argument is going to follow. Therefore, I choose not to fuel it any further. After all, I know where my friends stand. There’s no point in repeating anything that has been said already. And I have to admit that Karlie’s point sounds much more appealing than Emily’s take on the situation. It makes perfect sense. I’m not dealing with criminals of any sort. I’m dealing with everyday people. Mainly though, I like it better because it allows me to savor Michael, Ray, and Dean, the most scrumptious men I have ever met.