Page 44 of Puck Me Thrice
"Wasn't it?" Mira challenged. "What were you going to do? Draw straws? Establish a schedule? Decide which one of you 'gets me' while the others step back?"
The three of us exchanged guilty looks.
"We hadn't gotten that far," I admitted.
"Well, thank god I interrupted, then." Mira sat down in the remaining chair, her posture straight and defensive. "If we're having this conversation, I'm part of it."
She was right. Of course she was right. I'd been trying to protect everyone by controlling the situation, and in doing so, I'd fallen into the exact pattern of behavior she'd just escaped with Sam.
"You're right," I said. "I'm sorry. This conversation should include you."
"Thank you." Some of the tension left Mira's shoulders. "Now. What exactly were you discussing?"
"How to handle the fact that we all have feelings for you," Logan said bluntly. "And we all kissed you. And we all want—" He gestured vaguely. "More."
"More," Mira repeated.
"Yes," Blake confirmed.
They all looked at me. Because of course they did. Captain handles everything, including romantic disasters.
"The traditional solution would be for you to choose," I said carefully. "To decide which one of us you want to pursue a relationship with, while the others step back."
"And if I can't choose?" Mira asked quietly.
My heart stopped. "What?"
"I've never been allowed to choose anything before," she said, her voice carrying a vulnerability that made my chest ache. "Every decision in my life has been made by someone else or dictated by circumstance. And now you're asking me to choosebetween three people who—" She stopped herself. "I don't know how to choose. I don't know what the right answer is. I don't even know if there is a right answer."
The three of us moved simultaneously, some coordinated instinct to comfort her kicking in. We ended up in an awkward pile of limbs around her chair—me crouched beside her, Logan sitting at her feet, Blake leaning over the back of the chair. Creating a protective circle that was probably smothering but felt right.
"Okay, this is ridiculous," Mira said, but she was smiling through her tears. "You all rushed to comfort me like concerned golden retrievers."
"I prefer 'majestic wolves,'" Logan said.
"You're a golden retriever, Logan. Accept it."
"Harsh but fair."
The tension broke with unexpected laughter, all four of us realizing how absurd we looked—tangled together in a failed group hug around a chair.
"Can I ask a question?" Mira said once we'd extracted ourselves and resumed normal sitting positions. "Have any of you ever... shared someone before?"
The question caused shocked silence.
Logan recovered first. "Define 'shared.'"
"You know what I mean."
Logan and Blake exchanged a look I couldn't quite interpret.
"Blake and I had a threesome freshman year," Logan admitted. "One night, very drunk, someone we both foundattractive. It was purely physical. No emotional components. We never talked about it again."
I stared at them. "You what?"
"It was college experimentation," Blake said defensively, his ears turning red. "It happened once. It was fine."
"How was I not aware of this?" I demanded.
