"Thanks." Sasha wiggles her feet, adjusting the blanket until she's covered. "Do you want to come back up here, Lionel?"
"I'm good," says Lionel.
We all watch in silence as the movie wedding begins, Helix holding me close. Even Miles leans closer, his hand resting on my knee.
As soon as the movie couple finally kisses, Helix moves me off his lap and says, "We'll let you ladies discuss whatever you need to, and we'll take care of these boxes."
"Oh, thank you." In all the time I've lived here, these men have never once jumped so fast to clean up after a meal. They usually say they'll get to it later, which historically meant tomorrow at best.
"No worries," says Miles, as they all collect boxes and plates and disappear up the stairs, leaving me and Sasha stretched out on the sofa.
"So, yeah, you're definitely sleeping with them," says Sasha with a little laugh.
"And then the inspiration flows," I joke. Partly because it's true and partly because if I can pretend it's not a big deal, I won't have to admit that I'm falling for them.
Because I can't deny it anymore. I am one hundred percent falling for all five of my boyfriends.
"Before we start analyzing, where is your bathroom?" asks Sasha.
"Up the stairs and on your right when you step out of the kitchen."
Without my boyfriends down here holding me, Sasha is right, it's a little chilly down here. I pad over to the basket to snag my own blanket so I can be cozy while we chat.
"Get the fuck off me!" The shout from upstairs raises alarm bells in me.
It's not like my boyfriends to fight. I drop the blanket and hurry up the stairs.
As soon as I step into the kitchen though, I'm even more confused. My boyfriends are scrambling around to one side of the kitchen table, keeping Sasha on the other in a weird game of tag.
"Someone yelled," I say, surveying the group. "Is everything okay?"
"No," thunders Miles. "I don't know what you've told your friend here, but we're not servicing her."
"She needs to leave," says Lionel, pointing at Sasha.
"Back up. Start over." We were all just hanging out together downstairs and everyone was fine. How did Sasha's coming upstairs to use the bathroom start … whatever this is?
"Tell your roommates to sleep with me." Sasha folds her arms and glares from me to my boyfriends.
"You tried to sleep with my boyfriends?" I take a step back, her words hitting me like a physical blow.
"It's not fair that you get five guys taking care of you while some of us are out here working hard for our success," says Sasha, anger radiating from her. "I deserve their help too."
"You don't think I'm working hard?" I'd thought Sasha could see all of the hours I've spent honing my writing craft. I've given up my apartment and changed everything about my life in order to pursue my dreams. Nothing about that was easy.
"All I'm saying is if you can use these gamers to improve your writing this much, imagine what they could do for someone who actually has talent."
I don't even know how to process that. I'd thought we were friends, that Sasha respected me, but she is quickly proving that none of that is true. "You think you're better than me so you're going to fuck my boyfriends to prove it?"
"Look, you know as well as I do that we need to do whatever we can to get ahead in life and follow our dreams, especially when it's something as high-stakes as publishing. You're doing it yourself, so you can't judge me for doing the same."
"I wouldn't sleep with someone else's boyfriend, and I specifically told you we're dating. So you've tried to hurt me deliberately," I say, my own rage building. "That's something I would never do."
"I've shared all of my methods to get ahead in this career with you, and now it's you that's hurting me by gatekeeping," argues Sasha.
"I'm not sharing them," I snap. "They're my boyfriends."
There. I've said it aloud, and I'm going to fully stand behind that statement. I don't want to share my boyfriends with anyone, even though they share me with each other. I like being with them, joking, working, fucking. Even the tough, annoying things in life are better when we're all together, and I don't want to break up this not-so-little family that we're forming.