Page 24 of Heartbreak Kings
“Until the point where they withdraw her full ride and leave her with nothing,” Marcus pointed out.
“That means we need to connect with her and influence her into accepting our help in finding a new school, should that happen,” Nathaniel mused. “With the glacial way the wheels of bureaucracy turn on this campus, she may graduate before our efforts show any actual results, but if we want to be fair to her, we need to have a safety net ready for her.”
It was odd, talking about this, when not even two weeks ago, we had been plotting her downfall. But I could hardly complain, because now at least I could stomach the conversation without feeling like I was betraying some of my basic principles. I, too, was fascinated with Sabine. I had met her in some of the worst circumstances and was still captivated.
How could I turn around and let a man like Carmody dictate my response to her, when what he wanted went against my feelings on the matter?
Blake eyed us thoughtfully. “What? We charm the pants off her, make her fall in love, then influence her to accept a soft landing if the school reverses its decision?”
“Or maybe just make her fall in love,” I answered, startling myself as much as everyone else. I paused, steadying myself with a breath.“We all agree that we’d like to have her in our beds and that we’re not actually comfortable letting her get hurt in this conflict at all, let alone hurting her further. Tonight was a disaster, not because Jude overacted or because Blake discouraged her too quickly or because Nathaniel was…Nathaniel.” I watched him. He lifted an eyebrow, and I shrugged. “It was a disaster because our hearts weren’t in it to begin with.”
“Agreed,” Marcus responded. “I feel like shit—and not because of her recording us.”
“You feel like shit?” Jude scoffed. “Try acting like a fifteen-year-old edge lord antifeminist for an hour, I dare you.”
“I thought you used to talk just like that,” Marcus teased lightly, trying to ease the mood with a bit of humor. He was always the diplomat.
“Yeah, at fifteen!” Jude rubbed his face. “I grew out of it. I didn’t enjoy going back. Hell, I had to drop a bunch of friends because they never have grown out of it, so that shit I said to her gave me flashbacks.”
“I’m not happy with putting her through this either,” Nathaniel admitted after a long pause. “It is part of why I largely kept quiet.”
I set the mug on its coaster and stared over at the empty foyer. “This whole idea we had of making her leave by breaking her heart may have sounded good over beers before we ever even met her.But now, we have, and can any of us stomach continuing against a real woman with actual feelings whose future is on the line?”
Marcus’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah, that sucked. Say what you want about classism, I’d be doing the same damn thing in her shoes.”
“I don’t want to drive her away,” I admitted. “Especially when it will destroy her future prospects. I don’t care if this university goes co-ed, frankly, and left to myself, I would convince her to date me and not leave. Or, perhaps, date us.” I had been polyamorous my whole dating life, but I didn’t want to make assumptions about the others. I assessed them. All the others appeared thoughtful, and Marcus was nodding.
“I’d be down with that, bro, if you were cool with sharing,” Jude suggested. “And if she’s into it. Poly women aren’t super common.”
“No,” Blake mused. “They aren’t. We’ll really have to test the waters carefully with her. But I’m getting the impression that most of us at least would be okay with the idea.”
“I’m on the fence,” Marcus admitted. “I’ve shared women before, but it’s always been casual. Any relationship with Sabine probably won’t stay casual.”
“I can handle it if you can,” Blake blurted, never one to back down from a challenge.
Nathaniel sat back, pressing his lips together. “I’m not the jealous type. Nor am I one for traditional relationships. But Jude is correct. Even if each one of us could win her heart, that might just leave her unhappy because she is unable to decide between us. We have to consider her preferred relationship style before we try to convince her to wander off the beaten path.”
“We could just spoil the shit out of her,” Marcus pointed out. “That could sweeten the deal a lot.”
“I’m sure it would, but it won’t be enough by itself.” I took a swallow of my drink and sighed. “She’s anything but shallow, and I’m certain she can’t be bought.” I shook my head, chuckling, remembering her roasting us on the way out the door. “Either we offer her something genuine, or she’ll sniff it out and leave us in the dust. And we would deserve it.”
There were sighs and nods of agreement. I didn’t think there was a single man in the room who wasn’t physically and emotionally attracted to Sabine.
Blake just stood there, eyes narrowed as he processed what we were saying to him. “Just to clarify our plans. The alternate proposal is that we keep her? Share her? And shelter her from any fallout from this conflict with the administration?”
“Why the hell not?” Marcus brightened at the very prospect that Blake and the rest of us were taking this idea seriously. “Can any of us say we don’t want to?”
Nathaniel tilted his head thoughtfully.
“Not I,” Blake answered.
I nodded. “I want to.”
For the others, sharing a woman in a non-casual way might break new ground, but for me, it was comfortably familiar.
Jude looked worried. “How would we present this to the others so they would accept it? They might just see it as us betraying them for the sake of some pussy.”
“If she’s with us,” Blake intoned, “then she is under our control. The situation, framed correctly, would likely ease the concerns of those like Carmody. If we ‘tame’ her, we won’t allow her to be a threat to our way of life, especially if we’re talking about plans to help her move on from here. And no one on campus will dare harass her again if she belongs to us.”
