Page 47 of Silent Desires

“Idon’t know what to do.” The room goes quiet at Dom’s statement. He always knows what to do. It’s instinctual; he always knows the best course of action. This girl has us all experiencing emotions we haven’t felt in a long time.

I’m not the leader of our team, Dom is. But the fact remains that wearea team. That means we help each other out, and when one of us is floundering, the others help him get back in the game. I can see Dom starting to panic, and it falls to me to keep him, and this team, together.

Being brought up by strict British parents gives me the ability to compartmentalize my emotions so I can focus on the task in front of us. I’m not going to let my emotions get the best of me, not again.

“Okay, I have a suggestion,” I tell them. “Why don’t we keep a team on the house twenty-four-seven, while we all keep trying to get closer to her over text or in person, however we can? See if you can naturally work in questions that will help the case. The second she tells you something, send it to the group chat so we don’t all ask her the same thing and cause her to get suspicious. Let’s give it a week and reassess next weekend.”

Dom gives me a grateful smile. “Yeah, I like it. Good plan, Gideon.” I nod, and everyone agrees.

“At least we know she’s okay right now, since she texted us,” Ben adds. I nod. We were all pleased to get her texts, which came through within five minutes of Dom and Atlas leaving her house.

It’s getting late, but I can’t help but look back over our conversation from earlier tonight.

Me:Are you alright? I haven’t heard from you all day.

Mina:Hi. Sorry, I was busy today. Not ignoring you.

Me:Are you alright?

Mina:Yes. Eating chips and talking with you ??

Me:Almost sounds like a date.

Mina:Is that what you normally feed your dates? Chips? Or do you call them crisps?

Me:Would you prefer cookies?

Mina:Always. Cookies are the superior snack.

Me:I’ll keep that in mind for our next date.

Mina:I don’t think you’re allowed to date your students.

Me:What’s your favorite flower?

Mina:I have no idea.

After that, it turns into me sending her pictures of flowers so she can tell me which she likes best. Which turns out to be tulips. I’m not sure if she even realizes she’s flirting with me. I think it’s just something that comes naturally to her through texting.

Since the day I met her, I’ve been telling myself to back off, but it’s becoming harder each day. She feels… important, special. Like I’m supposed to be helping her, take care of her. And being stuck as her guidance counselor is getting really old. Being a student is an issue, but the age of consent in Montana is sixteen. I just have to bide my time until we are done with this case. Although, I’m not willing to take a complete backseat and let the twins have all the fun anymore. I don’t want her to forget about me.

Nobody has said it, but the pact we made a few years ago is all I can think about these days. Could she be the one? We made that agreement but have never actually found someone that we all wanted to try dating. It wasn’t something I’d ever heard of other people doing, so I wasn’t exactly surprised we hadn’t found someone. It would take a very special woman to be okay with this situation. Sure, she would get seven men doting on her, but she would also have to fit with each of us individually and care for us equally, or it would never work. I’ve seen the way Mina is with my brothers, and I know there’s a connection there, a spark, I’m just not sure if it’s enough. But I hope it is.

I need to figure out how to learn more about her, with it sounding like a natural part of our conversation. We really need more info on Jeff and what she knows about all the moving around they’ve done. I pull out my notebook and start writing a list of potential questions and how to work them into a conversation. This is going to be harder than I thought.

Chapter thirty-three

Thankfully, Simon doesn’t return over the weekend. I laid in my bed, anxiously waiting for him to return, but he never did. It did give me a bit of time to let my wounds try to heal. And I took the opportunity to use my phone, researching stuff and sending texts.

When I’m convinced some of the texts seem to take on more than friendly tones, I decide I need to do some research. There is no way that multiple guys would be interested in me and actively flirting with me. I’m convinced it’s just their personalities, but am hopeful my new friend Google can help me out.

I search: ‘how do you know if a guy is interested in you,’ as well as ‘how to flirt.’ I also look up ‘what to do if you like more than one guy.’

Basically, all my research leads me to believe that I’m not doing anything wrong unless I’m hiding any of my relationships from the others. I’m supposed to be honest and open with them. It suggests that I get to know them all better until I can pick one. After searching, ‘do I have to choose one guy?’ I found some interesting information on something called poly relationships and reverse harems. They seem to exist more in literature than in real life, though. What’s really interesting to me are the flirting tips for girls. It suggests that how a guy responds to your flirting will indicate if he’s interested in being friends or something more.

I read over the list as I walk to school Monday morning on how to flirt:

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