31. Jace

31

JACE

M y body still thrums from the intense workout I just completed. I spent half the day at the gym, burning off the excess calories from the holidays—all the cookies and the other sweet treats I indulged in—and though I took a shower, I'm still pretty sore.

I toss my gym bag by the door and rub my hands together, eager to shake off the chill. It's been a long day, but working out always helps me clear my head, even if lately, no amount of effort seems to get her out of my thoughts.

As I walk toward the living room, I hear voices—Alec's low rumble, Devin's laugh, and…hers. Tessa's. My heart skips a beat, and I pick up my pace, rounding the corner. Sure enough, there she is, sitting on the couch between Alec and Devin.

For a second, I just stand there, watching them. She's laughing, her head thrown back at some dumb joke Devin just told, no doubt. She looks beautiful, her cheeks flush and her eyes full of life. "What's going on?" I ask, leaning against the archway.

Alec catches my eye and smiles. "Just chatting."

I slip into the room and sit on the armchair closest to Alec. Tessa's gaze flicks to mine and something tugs at my chest. "I didn't expect to see you here," I admit.

"Me neither," she says. "I guess maybe I couldn't stay away."

I glance over at Devin and there's a softness in his eyes as he looks at Tessa. "We couldn't either," I tell her. "Everything got so screwed up last semester. We should have never tried to keep hurting you."

"I'm sorry too," Tessa says, voice soft. "We both made mistakes."

"Maybe we can start fresh?" Devin offers, a hopeful look on his face. "A new semester, a new start?"

Alec chimes in. "Yeah. No more games, no more grudges. Just…starting over," he says, voice softer than usual, more vulnerable.

I can see the hesitation in her eyes, but there's a glimmer of something else too—maybe hope, or at least curiosity. I lean forward, my elbows on my knees. "What do you think?" I ask her quietly. "Can we start fresh?"

The silence stretches between us, but I hold her gaze, hoping like hell that we haven't blown it completely.

"I'd like that," she says. "As long as you guys promise we'll talk to each other if something happens instead of this constant retaliation cycle."

"We promise," Alec says, lifting his hand, his pinky held out to her. Tessa stares at it. "Pinky promise," he adds and Tessa reaches out, letting their pinkies interlock.

Tessa smiles and I feel my heart lift, lighter than it's felt in ages.

We sit together for a while, some silly horror movie about a summer camp playing in the background, but none of us are paying attention, too busy catching up and enjoying each other's company.

After a while though, Tessa gets an odd expression on her face.

"Everything good?" I ask, turning toward her.

"Things have been a bit stressful actually," she says slowly. "I wasn't sure how to bring this up but there's something I need to tell you guys."

"We're here to listen," Alec assures her. "Whatever is going on, whatever you're dealing with, we can help you. We'll handle it together."

Tessa relaxes a little, releasing some of the tension in her shoulders. "Thank you," she mumbles. "So…remember the party that I came to that one time when I suggested we all go upstairs and have fun together?"

It feels like ages ago that it happened, but I remember the night as clearly as if it were yesterday. The look on Tessa's face, the weight of the tension between us that threatened to break right there in the foyer—it was the first of many incredible encounters with her.

"Yeah," Devin says. "You were wearing that green dress that made you look like a starlet from old Hollywood."

Tessa smiles and opens her mouth to speak again but her phone rings, cutting her off. She glances down at it and her face goes pale.

"Hang on, I need to take this," she says, voice soft, a frown on her face. She steps outside to take the call, shutting the door so we can't hear what might be going on.

When she returns a few minutes later, she's visibly pale and shaking. "I have to go," she says. "I'm sorry, I have to go. I'll explain everything when I come back but it's an emergency."

I stand, reaching out for her. "Do you want one of us to come with you?"

"No, I need to take care of this on my own," Tessa insists. "I'll be back, I swear. Just…wait for me?"

"As long as you need us to," Devin tells her. "We'll be here when you get back."

She shakes her head, sadness in her eyes as she grabs her coat and bag and takes off.

The three of us sit back down, the atmosphere changed now that Tessa is gone. None of us feel like watching the movie anymore so Alec switches it off.

"I hope everything is okay," Devin says, staring at the door.

"I wish she'd have let one of us go with her," I mutter.

Alec leans back in his chair. "I mean, can you blame her? We haven't exactly been the biggest help for her so far. If something's going on now, and she doesn't feel like she can come to us for help…I wouldn't blame her."

Devin sits up, his hands on his knees. "We're trying to do better now, though. Maybe she'll come around. She did agree to a fresh start."

I nod, but something's gnawing at the back of my mind. "Okay, but what if…we're not just talking about helping her? What if we're talking about something more?"

Devin raises an eyebrow. "More?"

"I know what you mean," Alec says, shifting in his seat. "It's not like we've been ignoring the fact that we all…care about her. More than just wanting to make things right."

My pulse quickens at his words, and I find myself nodding. I'd been thinking the same thing for a while now, but saying it out loud felt risky. Too complicated. "Yeah, I've been thinking about that too."

Devin looks between us, and for a second, I think he's going to push back, but then he shrugs. "It's crossed my mind. It's Tessa. We all know there's something there."

Alec leans back against the couch, staring at the ceiling as he thinks it over. "So, what then? We're all into her, and we just…what? Fight over her? Try to get her to choose one of us?"

Devin shakes his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Fight over her? That sounds like a nightmare. Besides, if you guys were the jealous type, we wouldn't be sharing her in bed already."

Alec glances at me, and I feel my own lips twitch into a grin. "He's got a point," I say. "I'm not jealous of either of you. If anything, it'd make more sense to…share."

The room goes quiet, and we all just look at each other, the weight of the realization settling over us. It should feel weird, but instead, it's almost like something clicks into place.

Alec's the first to break the silence. "You're serious?"

I nod. "Think about it. We've all been with her, together and separately. And we all know she's got a connection with each of us. So why not? Why not make it work?"

Devin chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can't believe we're having this conversation, but…yeah, I don't hate the idea."

Alec smirks, finally relaxing a bit. "Hell, maybe it's the only way it makes sense."

There's a moment where we all just sit there, letting it sink in. It's crazy, but it also feels right, in a way.

The silence lasts for a beat, then Alec leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his face serious. "So, we're really doing this? We're gonna ask her to be with us, all three of us?"

Devin shrugs, but I see a spark of excitement in his eyes. "Why not?" he asks. "We'll ask her and see what she has to say about it. Put it all out there and let her decide."

I grin, standing up to stretch after sitting for a while. "I can't believe we're going to do this. It's crazy, right?"

"Nah," Devin says, eyes full of amusement. "Not the craziest thing we've ever done."

Alec snorts. "Yeah, the craziest thing we ever did was agreeing to step up and take on a failing fraternity and say we can definitely, for sure, turn things around in one school year."

His joke breaks some of the tension and I laugh, rolling my neck to work out the kinks. "Very funny. Let's play some Halo while we wait for Tessa to get back," I say, settling back down on the couch between Devin and Alec.

Devin grabs the controllers, tossing one to me and the other to Alec before powering up the game.

We're deep into a battle when Tessa comes back through the door, tears in her eyes. She rushes toward us, letting out a sob.

The three of us abandon the game immediately, tossing the controllers to the side to pull her into a big hug, trying to comfort her.

"What happened?" Alec asks, voice gentle.

"They fired me!" she cries out.