Page 26

25

Oliver

After much convincing and promising things that I would probably regret, Hayes and Hudson finally let me reconnect with Josh. They originally wanted him to come to the house for the visit, but I felt like that gave them a little too much opportunity to kill or maim my friend.

Reluctantly, they agreed to let me go to the coffee shop; accompanying me was non-negotiable.

I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to explain to Josh that I was dating the twins and living with them. The last time he’d seen them, I’d told him I thought they were creepy. Also, Josh had been under the impression that I’d spent the past few weeks in New Jersey handling a family emergency. Luckily, we hadn’t yet gotten to the part in our friendship where daddy and mommy issues were discussed, so he wasn’t aware that I had no family to have a family emergency.

I wished that Hayes and Hudson would’ve consulted me before pretending to be me and texting Josh that lie, but it was too late now.

We pulled up to the coffee shop a few minutes before closing. He was wiping down the counter when we walked in—me first, the twins following behind me like shadows.

Josh’s face lit up when he saw me, but when his gaze moved past me and found them, he frowned a little, confusion written across his features.

“Hey, stranger,” he said with a nervous laugh. “I thought the family emergency might’ve come with a restraining order or something.”

I smiled, but it felt brittle. “Long story. I’m sorry.”

Josh looked at me, then at Hayes and Hudson, who had posted up at a corner table, then back at me. He leaned in slightly. “You’re okay, right? Are they bothering you? I can kick them out.”

“Oh, no, um…. they’re actually with me. And yes, I’m okay.” I dropped onto a barstool and picked at the edge of a napkin.

He raised a brow. “Okay…”

Josh nodded slowly, processing. He poured me a cup of coffee, nudging the little container of sugar closer to me.

“So,” he said, setting the coffee in front of me, “how’s the emergency?”

I looked into the cup like it held answers. “Resolved.”

“That’s vague.”

“I just don’t want to get into it right now. Maybe another time.”

Josh leaned on the counter, elbows resting near mine. “You just up and left. I was really worried, Oliver… And then I saw a For Sale sign on your store’s front door. Your replies to my texts were all one or two-word answers. I just…” He glanced over at the twins, lowering his voice. “This may sound paranoid and crazy, but did they do something?”

I flinched at how quickly he’d hit the nail on the head. The truth was tangled in my throat. I couldn’t come out and tell them that they’d kidnapped me and now I was dating them. He’d call the police.

“No, I just… hit it off with them?”

“So you had time to keep in touch with them, but not me?” He looked wounded. He just looked at me quietly for a bit, eyes reflecting his hurt feelings. It didn’t take long until his expression morphed into one of confusion again. “Are you poly? Also, isn’t it weird dating brothers?”

I shrugged, taking a sip of my coffee so that I had a moment to regroup. As I set the cup back down, I said, “I haven’t really thought about a label. I don’t think so? I mean… I have feelings for both of them, so maybe? It just sorta happened. They both pursued me, like there was never an option for me to choose just one. And weirdly enough, not really. It feels weirder that my best friend is dating their brother.”

Josh drummed his fingers briefly before rounding the counter and sitting on the stool beside mine. His eyes kept flickering behind me, presumably watching Hayes and Hudson. “So it’s a closed relationship then?”

I coughed to hide my surprise at his question. After clearing my throat, I answered, “Yes, that’s not something they’d even let me consider.” I bit back a laugh as I imagined how that conversation would go.

“Let?” Josh asked, his eyes widening. I was confused momentarily before realizing he was concerned about them possibly being controlling.

“I promise it’s not what you’re thinking,” I placated.

“Are you sure? I can help you if they’re hurting you,” he whispered.

“I’m sure, Josh. It’s just that we have a different relationship dynamic than most people. I promise I’m okay.”

Josh hesitated before blurting out, “Is that why you have a dog collar on?”

I thanked him silently for not saying that when I had coffee in my mouth, because I definitely would have done a spit-take.

“Well, um…”

“It’s okay, I know about that sort of thing,” he said confidently.

I choked out a laugh. “You know about that sort of thing , do you?” I grinned at his resulting blush.

“Not like—I don’t have experience with it,” he swore, avoiding my eye contact.

“Don’t have experience with what?” Hudson asked from behind me, practically making me jump out of my seat.

Josh vehemently shook his head at me, a pleading expression on his face.

I turned to face my men, who were now towering over me, glaring at Josh. “It’s okay, he was just curious about our relationship.”

“And why is he curious?” Hayes coldly asked.

I opened my mouth to respond, but Josh beat me to it, word-vomiting out an explanation. “I-It’s not that I don’t trust you two or anything, but I was worried about Oliver and wanted to make sure he’s alright. He said you guys have a weird relationship dynamic, so I asked about the collar and was just telling Oliver I knew about that kind of thing but I didn’t mean that I was into it or did it or—”

I chuckled, “Josh, it’s okay if you’re into kink.” He groaned, hiding his face in his hands.

“I don’t see how it’s appropriate to ask our boyfriend about his private relationships and sexual habits,” Hayes said.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean anything by it,” Josh insisted.

“Stop it,” I hissed at Hayes. I smiled gently at my friend, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. Hearing a growl, I pulled my hand back before it had reached Josh. “Don’t worry about them, okay? They were just returning to their table.”

Hudson leaned down, whispering harshly in my ear, “We’ll go, but you’ll be punished once we get home.” I ignored the urge to roll my eyes at him and waited quietly until they were back in their chairs.

Josh worried his lip. “They’re a little…”

I laughed, “Intense? Possessive? Domineering?”

“No—well, yeah, but I was going to say scary.”

“They’re all bark and no bite,” I said, knowing that was a huge lie. “How about you? How have you been?”

“Good, just bored without you here. I—” Josh was cut off by the sharp sound of his ringtone cutting through the air. He ignored it, his fingers twitching.

“Hey, it’s okay if you answer that.” He shook his head, letting out a small breath as the ringing ended.

“No, it’s probably nothing. Just spam,” he chirped, his cheerfulness not quite reaching his eyes. As he opened his mouth to continue talking, the ringing started up again.

“Doesn’t sound like it’s just spam. It might be something important,” I guessed.

“I’m sure they’ll leave a message if it’s important.”

“Okay, so—” Josh’s phone vibrated loudly, interrupting me.

“See! That’s probably a text from them now.” He smiled brightly and reached for his phone. As he unlocked it, his face fell.

I frowned. “Is everything alright?”

Josh continued staring at his phone screen, mumbling, “Yeah, all fine. Just spam.”

I watched as he held the power button on his phone, shutting it completely off. I tilted my head, brows furrowed. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”

“Yeah, sorry. I was the one concerned about you, and now you’re asking me if I’m alright,” he awkwardly chuckled. “I’m sorry, I think I’m going to call it a night. I’m sorry for cutting this short. Maybe we could do this again in a few days?”

“It’s okay. I promise not to ghost you again. Just uh… text or call me if you need to talk or anything.”

Josh sighed, and I saw what looked like tired acceptance behind his usually jovial self. It was gone in a flash, but I knew what I had seen. Something was bothering him, exhausting him.

Hopefully, it wasn’t anything too serious. I told myself I’d try to get whatever it was out of him next time. I strongly suspected that those calls and texts weren’t just spam.

As Hayes, Hudson, and I exited the cafe, I looked down the road and spotted my store in the distance. Well, my old store. It wasn’t mine anymore.

I didn’t feel sad, exactly. When they told me that they’d sold it, I was angry, but even then, not exactly sad. I think something inside me already accepted that it was a part of my old life and that it didn’t have a place in my new one. Maybe I should’ve been sad. I actually felt a little guilty sometimes because I wasn’t.

I’d spent years convincing myself that I was happy with my little life and my little store. I told myself over and over again that I didn’t want to go to college, even though I think I had wanted to. I told myself I loved what I did, when really, I was just so resigned to it that I never considered doing something differently with my life.

Leaving such a big piece of my life behind had honestly felt freeing. It felt like the end of a story. But not my story.

It was the end of Grammy’s.

My story was just beginning.