Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
I don’t want Dawn to become one of the people who passes in and out and I need to know how my friends feel about her, too.
When the food is all eaten, Dawn returns to her room, and I take my opportunity.
"I really like her," I say, scanning the faces of each of my friends for their reactions. There are nods of agreement all around, which only confirms the rightness of what I want to say. "I know this isn’t a regular situation…all of us with one girl. But I think it could work. We all get on great and run this business without any issues. Everyone warned us at the start that financial commitments can ruin friendships, but we didn’t listen. We were confident that we could work together, and I’m confident we can handle this too."
"I am too," Bryce says, running his hand over his chin. "If the rest are, the main issue I think we’re going to find is with Dawn."
"Yeah," Logan says. "I don’t think it’s in Dawn’s plans to settle down. She’s here temporarily, and she lives her life one day at a time. I think she’d run at the first hint that we’re thinking about this thing between us as anything other than a short-term fling."
"Logan’s right," Mitchell says. "She’s a butterfly. Her presence here is only temporary. We just have to make the most of whatever time we get."
"That isn’t good enough for me," I say, frustrated. It’s not that I don’t agree with my friends. They’re reinforcing my existing doubts. I’m not the kind of man to give up before I've even tried. Love is important to me. It’s the reason for existing. If I have to fight for it, I will. If I have to work to convince Dawn that this is where she’s meant to be and we are who she’s meant to be with, I will.
If I have to do it on my own, I’ll do that too.
But I’d rather have my friends with me. I want us to do this together.
"She knows it can work," I say, when no one responds. "Her friend is already in a poly relationship."
"Yeah, but knowing it can work for someone else and believing it can work for you is something totally different," Thomas says. He leans forward in his chair, tearing pieces off a napkin and piling them neatly in front of him. "If she doesn’t want it, we’re not going to be able to make her. She’s too stubborn for that."
"She is," I smile. "It’s one of the things I love about her."
I don’t miss the surprise in the eyes of some of the men gathered around me. Love is a big word and not one that any of us has spoken for a long time, if ever. "We won’t have a chance if we’re not firmly united in trying," I say. "She has to know that we’re rock solid. Even a hint of uncertainty will only reinforce her reasons for moving on."
"I want her to stay," Lachlan says, in a surprising outburst of emotion. "It was good before her but it’s better with her here."
"Are you sure you think this can work?" Bradley asks. "I mean, I can see it being something good in the short term. But can you see it long term? If she agrees to stay, and that’s a big if, she’ll want kids at some point. She'll want to get married because that’s what people do. What will happen then?"
"Not everyone wants to get married," I say. "And kids won’t be a problem. At least one of us will be up to the job."
There are snorts of laughter from around the group as we all remember the other night and what it was like for all of us to be with Dawn at the same time. Without latex barriers and oral contraception she’d get pregnant in a flash.
"What if she misses home too much?" Bradley asks.
"You miss home," I say. He nods, running his hand over his chin. "But you choose to stay because you love it here more."
"It’s not an easy choice," he says. "It’s not easy to accept that you're going to feel torn your whole life."
"It’s not easy to leave something great behind either," I say. "And this thing between us is great. Better than I ever could have imagined."
Bradley nods, and settles back in his chair, tipping his face to the sky and inhaling a deep breath. I guess I didn’t realize how much him choosing to stay here has been a challenge. In a way, that’s what will make this relationship between us all so much stronger. Having lots of different perspectives will mean we’re always able to focus on what’s important and proactively face off any issues before they become serious.