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She scoots closer, wrapping her arm around mine for safety. I feel a surge of pride, welcoming her warmth and need for protection. It’s almost silly but genuinely endearing. It’s nice to be her knight in shining armor. It causes deep cracks in said armor, though. I am not going to last much longer.

“I was serious before,” Makayla says after a long and heavy silence.

“About what?”

“About us. You, me, your brothers. I want it. And so do you. Don’t lie to me.”

I offer a slight shrug. “It’s not my intention to lie to you, Kay. But I need to make sure you understand what you’re getting yourself into.”

“I’m aware.”

“Do you really want to go through with this?” I ask her.

The time for subtleties has passed. I need to know that she’s aware of the risks, and that she is choosing to be with all of us, no matter what the cost.

“Yes,” she says firmly. “When we were growing up, I always had a crush on you. All three of you. I’m almost embarrassed to say this, but when I fantasize, it’s never about you or Alex or Kellan. It’s about all of you at once.”

She’s just confirmed what I suspected, but I’m still not convinced that she’s making the right choice. “And you’re okay with that?”

“Yes!” she says, then gives me a slight nudge. “I know it’s not the same as being with a different partner and… whoa.”

The motion makes the bench shake and she clings to me until the motion subsides.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“Yes,” Makayla exhales sharply. “As I was saying… I know it’ll be my first rodeo, but I want to do it. With you. No one else. You.”

I now understand that this is going to be a good day, after all. Not only are we going to have fun on the slopes, but we’re going to get messy afterward.

“I understand. In that case, I need to tell you something, Kay.”

“All ears.”

I nod slowly. “The first time we shared a woman was back in college,” I admit.

“We were drinking and hanging out. Having fun.

It felt natural. It progressed almost effortlessly.

Entirely consensual, might I add. Our lady friend and Alex started making out first, oblivious to our presence and our attention.

“I figured, what the hell? So, I went over and kissed her too,” I add.

“She was into it, and pretty soon we were all fooling around together, figuring out who went where and did what. It was clumsy and sloppy as hell, but my brothers and I realized in that moment that we liked it. A lot. We wanted more of that.”

I pause to appreciate the scenery. The memory is a particularly tantalizing one, but there have also been others. I can’t allow myself to relive the past, especially since something so monumental is on the horizon.

“What happened with your lady friend?” she asks.

“Oh, it was a one-time deal for her. She just wanted to get her freak on. We wanted something more. It felt like it could lead to something more. We tried a few times afterward with other women, but none wanted to stick around.”

“For a relationship, you mean.”

I nod once. “Yes. The act of sharing a woman… it’s deeply intimate for us,” I explain to Makayla.

“It’s not just about the physical sex part.

There’s more to it. We’ve yet to find someone who syncs with us at that level, which is why we ultimately let the whole thing remain a sport.

For fun, and nothing else. Were you anyone else, I wouldn’t have batted an eye.

I would’ve joined you and my brothers earlier, without hesitation. ”

“That’s… That’s actually really sweet of you to say, Oscar…”

“I just want you to have all the facts before we proceed.”

“I’ve never done anything like this,” Makayla says. “The craziest thing I did was have sex in a bathroom.”

I shake my head. “That hardly qualifies as crazy.”

“Tell me about it,” she replies. “But the guy thought it was so edgy. He oversold himself, I guess.”

I laugh. I want to hear more. Now that I’ve decided not to stand in her way, I want to learn who she is and what has given her the courage to take on something so erotic and transforming.

Because the Makayla sitting next to me, now, is not the Makayla that’s going to come out of the bedroom once we’re done with her.

“Makayla. What do you like to do when you’re not seducing childhood crushes?”

“Am I succeeding?”

“At what?”

“At seducing you,” she shoots back and wiggles her eyebrows at me.

“I’m afraid so. But if you’re not sure?—”

“No, I’m fully committed, and I think I’ve been considering this a lot longer than any of you,” she replies with a wink.

A heavy weight presses on my chest, stealing my breath. With one affirmation, she has wiped away my entire argument. I have no one to protect anymore except myself, and by standing in the way of Makayla’s long-held dream, I’m really only hurting her.

“Cue the awkward silence,” she says with a laugh as we both look ahead.

The end of the lift is coming up. It’s not at the peak of the mountain, but high enough that it will take us a while to ski back down.

“Not awkward at all. I’m just making a plan for later,” I say.

“What plan? For what?”

“For what we’re going to do once we go back to our suite,” I reply, my tone dropping by a few degrees. It’s enough to make her cheeks bloom red once more. I enjoy making her blush, more than I ever imagined I would.

I dismount and turn around to help her. She tumbles into my arms and we laugh it off. It feels good not to hold back anymore. It’s downright liberating.

“Look, you can see the hotel from here,” she says, pointing down at the valley. “It looks so small.”

“Everything looks small from up here,” I observe.

“Even our problems, right?”

“Especially those.”

W e wait until Kellan and Alex catch up and then glide over to the beginner’s trail. I’m anxious to see how Makayla does.

At the top of the bunny slope, we all take a moment to appreciate the drop. It’s gentle and wandering, with no trees or craggy rocks to interfere. I can imagine it still looks daunting to someone who’s never participated in the sport before.

“You’ve got this,” Kellan assures her.

She winks at us, putting on a most confident smile. “I know.”

Alex’s eyes flash wide, and he looks from me to her. I give him a slight shake of the head, just enough for him to understand that I’m done fighting this. He takes a deep breath, eager and struggling to contain his own relief.

“Don’t cut this short,” I warn him.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he swears, putting a hand on his heart.

“Here goes nothing,” Makayla whispers.

“Just turn your skis slightly inward,” Kellan says. “That way you’ll go slower.”

“I’ll go out in front,” I offer, slipping past all of them to descend in front in case Makayla needs a hand.

I pull up after only a few yards. Looking up at the three of them, I’m struck by their coordination.

Makayla may not be a proficient skier, but she follows my brothers’ lead.

She lets them guide her and she syncs her movements to theirs.

It speaks volumes to her character and femininity, interestingly enough.

Makayla leans on her poles and pushes off. She screams with delight as gravity takes over, pulling her toward me much quicker than she anticipated. I spring into action, easing over to meet her as she barrels past me. Kellan and Alex join us, bringing up the rear.

We make it about halfway down the slope before Makayla loses control.

I can see it happening in real time, but I can’t stop her from falling.

She face-plants into the powder, one ski popping loose and sliding down the trail.

Immediately, I swoop in to help her up while Alex and Kellan converge on us from above.

“Are you okay?” Alex asks.

“I’m fine,” Makayla insists, coming up on her hands and knees, struggling to right herself.

The position gives me a stunning view, her glimmering suit stretched tight across her backside. I almost reach out to touch it. My fingers tingle with anticipation, my mind cursing at the fabric.

“Come on, let’s get you back up and running,” I say, then stoop down and take her by the elbow, bearing her weight as she finally stands up straight.

Alex peels off to chase the missing ski, and we all rendezvous in the same place.

“This is harder than it looks,” Makayla quips.

“Here you go,” Alex says, plopping the ski back on the ground in front of her.

She shakes her head, her hat covered in snow.

“You’re ridiculously cute with snow in your hair.” I chuckle softly and brush the flakes away. Makayla gives me a sweet look.

“Help me out?” she asks. I gladly oblige.

Holding my hand, she steps back into the boot lock and we’re ready to try again.

This time, Kellan goes out front. I stay behind to make sure she doesn’t fall again. We start down again, but halfway through Makayla wobbles and lands square on her backside. Alex and I help her up, one on either side.

She’s not discouraged. We get down to the bottom and she looks at me with the kind of joy that’s infectious. I can’t help but laugh.

“Let’s go again!” she cries.

My brothers and I exchange a look that says everything. All of us are wondering how many times we have to come down the mountain before we’re tired of this. Most importantly, we want to move on to the main event.

But Makayla is calling the shots.

“We agreed,” I remind my brothers. “Kay leads the way.”

“Let’s go again, then,” Kellan laughs.