Page 78 of Shared By my Ex's Best Friends
“How is this supposed to work?”
Ethan lifts his head slightly, his hand still resting in her hair. “What do you mean?”
His voice is calm, as always, but there’s a note of alertness beneath it. Like he’s bracing for the ache we all knew might follow this.
Maya pushes herself up on one elbow, just enough to look at all of us in turn. Her eyes are a little glassy. Not from tears, but fromworry.
“This. Us.” Her voice wavers. “I don’t want to lose any of you. But this isn’t exactly… normal. People don’t do this. Not really. So how do we even begin to make it work?”
Jake shifts beside her, pushing up on one elbow, and for once there’s no smirk, no offhand joke waiting behind his eyes. Just something serious and surprisingly vulnerable.
He studies her, then says, “We don’t have a damn clue.”
That makes her smile, barely. “That’s not comforting.”
He shrugs one shoulder. “It’s honest, but not knowing doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”
Ethan lets out a soft breath, brushing his thumb across her temple. “It’s not like we planned this. We didn’t set out to end up here, but I can’t pretend it’s not real.”
I sit up a little, propping myself against the headboard, and tug the blanket higher over Maya’s back as she shifts to glance at me next.
Her eyes are searching—like maybe I have the answer, or at least something that won’t make this all feel like it’s slipping away.
I don’t. Not really, but I know whatIfeel.
“I think,” I start slowly, choosing each word with care because it matters, now more than ever, “we figure it out one day at a time. One conversation at a time. One choice. We didn’t expect this, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make space for it.”
Maya’s brows draw together, her fingers tightening around mine just slightly. “But what if it’s not enough? What if we screw it up?”
I huff out a quiet laugh, shaking my head. “Wewillscrew it up. That’s a guarantee.”
Jake grunts in agreement. “Big screw-ups. Colossal.”
Ethan gives a faint smile. “But screwing up doesn’t mean ending. It just means trying again and figuring out a different way forward.”
Maya goes quiet for a moment, and in the hush, I reach out and brush a bit of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. My hand lingers a second longer than it needs to, fingers grazing her cheekbone.
“
Jake drops his arm from over his eyes and looks at her too, expression softer than I think I’ve ever seen it. “You think I’d let you go now? Not a chance.”
Ethan shifts, pulling her just a little closer into his side. “It’s not about what the world thinks is normal, Maya. It’s about what makes sense tous.”
She swallows, nodding slowly, like maybe that makes something click. Or maybe she’s just trying to let it settle in her chest the way it’s already settled in mine.
Because yeah, this is messy. It’s complicated. There’s no roadmap for four people trying to build something like this, but I’d rather stumble through the dark with them than walk a clear path alone.
Maya lies back down, pressing her cheek to Ethan’s chest, her fingers still tangled in mine, and her other hand reaching for Jake’s wrist.
“We’ll figure it out,” I whisper, more to myself than anyone else, but her answering hum tells me she heard.
Chapter thirty-two
MAYA
Idon’t know how to describe this without sounding like I’ve completely lost my mind, because on paper, it shouldn’t work. Not even close.
Three guys. One girl. No road map. No rules. Just a connection that defies logic.
