44. A Vow

Briar

I'm on the edge of my seat. "What's your condition?"

I cycle through possibilities at lightning speed. He doesn't want to have sex with me? He just wants to watch? He doesn't want to romance me after all?

I steel myself. I like the way I feel with all these guys—all three. There's something about us that just clicks as a foursome. A temporary foursome, but a damn good one.

Gavin licks his lips nervously. His eyes are wide, tone hopeful as he says, "I want us to stay friends. On the other side." He turns to the guys. "You're my closest friends. You're like family."

My heart thunders. My eyes shine with the threat of tears. I didn't expect that, but I love the sentiment. It makes me sad too.

Yesterday morning on the deck, he talked about his aunt and uncle. I don't think they were good to him. But these guys are. They're like his home.

Rhys stretches out an arm, pats Gavin on the back. Hollis offers a fist for knocking. "We're fucking family. That's not going to change," Hollis assures him.

"Even if the team trades me," Rhys adds.

"They won't, man," Gavin says, reassuring him too.

I swallow past a knot in my throat. The fondness between the three of them has me reaching for a tissue and dabbing my eyes. I don't like showing too many emotions. But I have no choice right now. Discreetly, I tuck the tissue in my pocket.

Gavin shifts his focus to me, that same serious look in his hazel eyes. "My friends are everything to me. I never had a family I could count on. My parents died when I was five. I don't remember them."

I can't hold back the emotions now. Twin tears slip down my cheeks. "I'm so sorry."

"Thank you," he says quietly, then he rolls his lips and seems to shake off the hurt. "And I kind of think of you as a friend now too, Briar."

It's only been a few short days, but I think of myself that way too. "We'll stay friends," I say, reaching out to squeeze his hand.

This is a promise that feels vital for all of us to keep. It's one that's so important that we put our hands together in the middle of the table—the guys on the bottom, me on top.

"Friends," we say as we make our vow.

We might be rivals to the world, but here in this cottage we're unconventional lovers, and we've all become friends.

When we let go, Rhys glances toward the clock on the wall. "Since we're all free this afternoon, maybe we could go to the festival just for fun." Then he adds, sealing the deal, "As friends."

Sounds like a perfect day.

That afternoon as we wander past a booth offering kits for making your own pickled radishes, my phone pings. I check it, and there's a text from Ivy.

Ivy: My old apartment is available!!!! My friend Jackson just moved out. (I bought it a while ago and I've been subleasing it. You can have it for free though.)

I beam, writing back immediately to the great news.

Briar: I won't take it for free. But I will take it.

Ivy: You can pay me in yoga and playlists.

Briar: I will pay you in money! Yoga, playlists, and my awesome company are just a bonus.

Ivy: I love my bonuses. But there's only one issue. There's no furniture.

Briar: I don't even care. I'll sleep on the floor.

When I put the phone away, I tell the guys the good news, and they high-five me.

Like friends.

We spend the rest of the afternoon goofing off. We test out kites. Try hummus and chips. Nibble on crepes. Listen to music. Then we hit the rides. In the fun house, when the four of us stop in front of the warped mirror, I point to Rhys's shoes. "You do have clown feet."

"Told you so," he says.

It feels like we are a new friend group, one that can last beyond this week. I'm buoyed by the possibilities of these kinds of days when we're back in San Francisco, and I even say as much as we trot down the steps of the fun house as the sun dips lower in the late afternoon sky. "We have to do this in the city," I say to them, and I barely notice the woman walking toward me.

Until I smack right into Nova.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I say, taken aback, my breath knocked out of me.

"My bad," she says, then eyes my companions. One, two, three. "I didn't realize you were all?—"

Before she can say anything more, I jump in with, "Friends. We're friends. We're all friends."

Do I sound like I'm covering something up or what? My stomach churns.

"Hey, Nova," Hollis says easily, stepping in perhaps to save me. "Good to see you."

I don't know how they know each other, but Hollis is the type of person who knows everyone.

"Good to see you, Hollis," she says, but her eyes are shrewd, curious still as she studies us, like we're a math problem she's determined to figure out.

"Can't wait to see you at the big cross-town rival game in a couple weeks," Hollis says. "We do plan to beat the Sea Dogs."

Nova scoffs. "We'll see about that." Then to me, she says, "And we have lots to work on when you get back."

Like I'm on a vacation when we're all here. "I'll be ready," I say, upbeat, and so damn eager to impress her.

"Have fun with your friends," she says, but her tone is a touch skeptical.

It's one thing to be friends with your rivals. It's entirely another to sleep with them. Three of them.

My neck prickles with worry. But that doesn't mean I want to pursue a…foursome relationship.

I have enough on my plate, and I need to do what my father always taught me. Focus on what's reliable—business and family. Not romance. Never romance.

When she's out of earshot, Rhys is the first to turn to me. "Are you okay?"

"That was a very close call," I say.

But for what? I don't even know. I just feel off. Weird. Like I've done something wrong.

I really need to get my mind off it. I glance around, spotting the Tilt-A-Whirl at the edge of the festival grounds. "I haven't ridden one of those in forever."

"Let's do it," Gavin says, and we head over, then climb the steps and onto the ride, where I try to put that odd encounter behind me.

But three minutes later, when I step off the ride, I'm so dizzy I can barely walk. I can barely see straight. My skin is both cold and sweaty, my stomach churning. I don't know which way is up.

I'm stumbling, and Rhys sets a hand on my shoulder. Gavin takes my other arm while Hollis leads us away from the crowds to a quiet bench on the outskirts of the festival where I sit and try to catch my breath.

It's not working though. The world is still upside down. My head aches and I feel like I'm going to throw up, but nothing happens—nothing except this cold, clammy feeling that won't leave me.

It looks like Gavin is tapping on his phone, but I can't focus as he rattles off some instructions.

In seconds, Rhys is scooping me up and carrying me away from the festival.