Page 35 of My Brother's Best Friends

I don’t look back to see my brothers’ faces, but I’m sure they’re laughing. They can see my resolve crumbling and they are doing what comes naturally to them, setting up an excuse for me to spend time alone with the woman we all desperately and ardently want to be with.

“Holy cow, we’re high up,” Makayla gasps as we continue to climb.

She scoots closer, wrapping her arm around mine for safety. I feel a surge of pride, welcoming her warmth and need for protection. It’s almost silly but genuinely endearing. It’s nice to be her knight in shining armor. It causes deep cracks in said armor, though. I am not going to last much longer.

“I was serious before,” Makayla says after a long and heavy silence.

“About what?”

“About us. You, me, your brothers. I want it. And so do you. Don’t lie to me.”

I offer a slight shrug. “It’s not my intention to lie to you, Kay. But I need to make sure you understand what you’re getting yourself into.”

“I’m aware.”

“Do you really want to go through with this?” I ask her.

The time for subtleties has passed. I need to know that she’s aware of the risks, and that she is choosing to be with all of us, no matter what the cost.

“Yes,” she says firmly. “When we were growing up, I always had a crush on you. All three of you. I’m almost embarrassed to say this, but when I fantasize, it’s never about you or Alex or Kellan. It’s about all of you at once.”

She’s just confirmed what I suspected, but I’m still not convinced that she’s making the right choice. “And you’re okay with that?”

“Yes!” she says, then gives me a slight nudge. “I know it’s not the same as being with a different partner and… whoa.”

The motion makes the bench shake and she clings to me until the motion subsides.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“Yes,” Makayla exhales sharply. “As I was saying… I know it’ll be my first rodeo, but I want to do it. With you. No one else. You.”

I now understand that this is going to be a good day, after all. Not only are we going to have fun on the slopes, but we’re going to get messy afterward.

“I understand. In that case, I need to tell you something, Kay.”

“All ears.”

I nod slowly. “The first time we shared a woman was back in college,” I admit. “We were drinking and hanging out. Having fun. It felt natural. It progressed almost effortlessly. Entirely consensual, might I add. Our lady friend and Alex started making out first, oblivious to our presence and our attention.

“I figured, what the hell? So, I went over and kissed her too,” I add. “She was into it, and pretty soon we were all fooling around together, figuring out who went where and did what. It was clumsy and sloppy as hell, but my brothers and I realized in that moment that we liked it. A lot. We wanted more of that.”

I pause to appreciate the scenery. The memory is a particularly tantalizing one, but there have also been others. I can’t allow myself to relive the past, especially since something so monumental is on the horizon.

“What happened with your lady friend?” she asks.

“Oh, it was a one-time deal for her. She just wanted to get her freak on. We wanted something more. It felt like it could lead to something more. We tried a few times afterward with other women, but none wanted to stick around.”

“For a relationship, you mean.”

I nod once. “Yes. The act of sharing a woman… it’s deeply intimate for us,” I explain to Makayla. “It’s not just about the physical sex part. There’s more to it. We’ve yet to find someone who syncs with us at that level, which is why we ultimately let the whole thing remain a sport. For fun, and nothing else. Were you anyone else, I wouldn’t have batted an eye. I would’ve joined you and my brothers earlier, without hesitation.”

“That’s… That’s actually really sweet of you to say, Oscar…”

“I just want you to have all the facts before we proceed.”

“I’ve never done anything like this,” Makayla says. “The craziest thing I did was have sex in a bathroom.”

I shake my head. “That hardly qualifies as crazy.”

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