This went back and forth in my head for a couple of minutes. I really didn’t know what to do. Finally, I concluded there was only one thing to do, talk to the guys and figure this out. Even if this relationship wouldn’t work, they were still my friends. We shared a lot. If I talked to the guys, we would--- They would--- Something would work out.
I looked in the mirror, I had cried off my makeup again. I composed myself and fixed myself back up.
“You can do this, Belinda,” I said to myself. “You can cope with this. Whatever happens. You’re strong!”
For good or ill, I walked out of the bathroom prepared to face the music.
Chapter 17 – Miles
I went into the restaurant and got the four of us a good table. Nice view, away from the rest of the diners, but not too far from the wait staff. Theo and Franklin joined me almost immediately.
“Where’s Belinda?” asked Franklin.
“Fixing her makeup,” I said. “She wants to look perfect for us. Who won the game?”
“To tell you the truth,” said Franklin. “I kinda tuned out after her announcement. I don’t even know.”
“I know, right?” agreed Theo. “This girl’s in my head. Not like any other girl before.”
“How the hell am I going to get any work done?” wondered Franklin. “That look she gave me when she bit her lip? Holy shit, I thought I would lose it. If she told me to jump out a window, I think I would do it. I’ve just never been in love like this.”
“The interesting thing is,” I noted. “It seems like the more we get to know her and the more time we spend together, the more I want to be with her. That’s weird, right?”
“It is and it isn’t,” noted Franklin. “I mean, I know what you mean. Previously relationships, it always seem to fade right at the beginning, right? Nothing’s better than that first night. New person. You get to know them…”
“But it’s all downhill from there,” added Theo. “It’s funny. I always used to get bored, but with Belinda, it’s like peeling an onion. There are always other layers. New things to discover about her.”
“Plus the arrangement between the four of us,” agreed Franklin. “At first, I thought I’d be fighting over the time with her, ya know? Competing with you guys, but I’m actually glad to have you guys around. I’m sure the hot tub operation would’ve blown up in my face.”
“Oh, it was nothing a little champagne can’t fix,” assured Theo. “Speaking of.”
Theo flagged down a waiter and began ordering a bottle of champagne. He asked about the prices.
“Don’t worry about the prices,” I said.
“We got it, we got it,” Franklin assured. “Just order the best.”
“All right,” said Theo. “I’ve always wondered what ten thousand dollar champagne taste like.”
“Doesn’t even bother me,” said Franklin. “You know my ex-wife used to want things like that, but I hated giving them to her. I thought it was frivolous and stupid. But with Belinda, I just want to see the smile on her face.”
“I hope it’s a big smile,” muttered Theo.
“Speaking of being competitive,” I said. “I think it’s pretty clear who won the bet between us. I convinced her to give us a chance.”
“What about operation hot tub?” asked Franklin.
“C’mon, she was on board during the skydiving,” I assured him. “Plus in the elevator a few minutes ago.”
“Wait a minute,” said Franklin. “What did she say, exactly?”
“She said it was that first night when we all explained ourselves,” I said.
Theo looked confused.
“Which was my idea!” I reminded him.
“Technically, it was,” said Theo. “I guess you win the bet.”
“Yeah, but what did it have to do with skydiving,” asked Franklin.
“When you’re falling out of the sky, things become apparent,” I assured him. “That’s how I knew it was for real and she confirmed it in the elevator when she kissed me.”
Franklin shook his head.
“Look, I’m not following, but if I pay you can we end this conversation?” he asked.
“C’mon, fellas, give me some credit,” I said.
“I’m not following either,” said Theo. “Here’s your money.”
The guys got out their wallets and paid me.
“A pleasure doing business gents,” I said, making a big deal of it. “Anytime you want to bet about Belinda, just let me know.”
Unfortunately, as I finished that sentence I realized Belinda was walking up to the table looking very upset.
“What the hell is this?!” she demanded. “You guys had a bet on me?!”
“No-no, sweetie, it’s not like that,” I assured her. “It was a bet, but a good one---“
“What? That I’d have sex with you all or something?! What was I thinking? I must’ve lost my mind.” said Belinda, reeling.
“Please, Belinda, we would never---“
“You treated me like a plaything, Franklin. That’s what you bet on. Playthings.”
“No, honestly! You misunderstand! We’re all crazy about you! If you just let us explain,” begged Franklin.
“I can’t listen anymore.”
Belinda stormed off. We started to get up to run after her, when Theo’s sister suddenly confronted me.
“How dare you!” she yelled at me.
“I’m sorry. You are…?”
“This is my sister, Arianna,” explained Theo. “Arianna, these are my friends. What are you doing?”
“These aren’t your friends, Theo!” screaming Arianna, pointing at me. “This one was making out with Belinda in the lobby. I saw him. She’s cheating on your right under your nose.”
“No, sis, it’s not like that,” insisted Theo. “We’re her boyfriends. All of us.”
“What?” said Arianna bewildered. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Trust me, we are,” insisted Theo. “We love her. C’mon fellas!”
We rushed out of the restaurant and got to the elevators.
“God dammit,” cursed Franklin. “How did this happen? One minute, we were all happy and now this?”
“It’s uncharted territory for all of us,” said Theo. “That’s part of it.”
“Well, which one of us is good at calming down an angry woman?” asked Franklin.
“Not me,” said Miles. “They just get more pissed off when I talk to them.”
“And without the romance, I’m pretty defenseless,” admitted Theo.
“Dammit, we’re screwed,” said Franklin. “We’re just going to have to go up there and start apologizing. Apologize like our lives depend on it. We got into the elevator and hit the button.
“In a strange way,” said Theo. “Our lives do depend upon it. I can’t imagine my life without Belinda now.”
“I’ve never been good with this relationship stuff,” admitted Franklin. “But between the three of us, we have to make her come back.”
Chapter 18 – Franklin
Well this night had turned into a clusterfuck. There was no way I was letting Belinda slip out of my life. Between the three of us, we’d have to figure out a way of calming her down.
When we got back to the room, she wasn’t there. This is a disaster and it was quickly spiraling out of control.
“Dammit!” I said throwing a pillow across the room. “This is all your fault Miles!”
“Me?! Well who brought his sister into the mix?!”
“I didn’t bring my sister,” insisted Theo. “She just happened to be in the same hotel!”
“The hotel that you suggested,” reminded Miles.
“And that you booked,” reminded Theo. “She’s a woman, fellas. And a woman wants to feel loved. You watched sports. How do you think that made her feel, Franklin?”
“Don’t put this on me,” I snapped. “I don’t have to say I love you every ten seconds, Mr. Romance.”
“Arguing amongst oursel
ves isn’t going to get us anywhere,” said Miles. “We have to figure out a plan.”
“Well, the first thing we have to do,” I insisted. “If we’re going to do this relationship, we have to tell people so there are no more misunderstandings like this. No matter how embarrassing it is, we just have to be honest with the world and our families.”
“It’s not embarrassing to me,” insisted Theo.
“You didn’t tell your own sister,” reminded Miles.
“I didn’t want to get into it right then with her,” snapped Theo. “Everything’s moving so fast. I didn’t think this would happen.”
“Okay, okay, calm down,” I chastised. “We have to sort this out, Romeo. What’s our next move here? C’mon, we need options.”
“We have to find her first,” said Miles.
“Where else is she going to go, Miles?” I said a little sarcastically. “She probably called an Uber and went home.”
“All right, let’s assume that,” reasoned Theo. “She home. She’s upset. Probably calls a friend or her mother. Feels like we aren’t serious about the relationship and that we played a game.”
“Then we have to get more serious,” said Miles. “What’s the most serious thing we can do.”
“Only one thing,” I said. “We have to convince her that we’re an exclusive deal. That we’re coming at this relationship like men.”
“You mean, marry her?” asked Miles. “Could we even do that?”
“Not legally, I don’t think,” said Theo. “But that part doesn’t matter, what matters is the gesture. The trouble.”
“Okay, I’ll call a jeweler, I know a guy that can get us rings, quick,” I said, grabbing my phone.
“Hold up, hold up,” said Miles, unsure. “Are you both sure about this?”
“Dude, we have to prove our love to this woman or we’re going to lose her,” I insisted. “You saw how she reacted. The longer we wait…”
“She might cool down though,” offered up Theo. “Maybe we should wait.”
“Guys, it’s more than that,” said Miles. “This is a serious commitment we’re making here. We have to think in the long term. You’re so caught up in the moment, you’re not thinking.”
“Well, I can’t see being with anyone else, quite frankly,” offered Theo. “I’m ready to make that commitment. We could get a place. I mean, between the three of us, it would probably be an awesome place.”
“What about kids,” said Miles. “I’ve always wanted kids. Could we have kids in this situation?”
“Why not?” said Franklin. “Look, we got the money. Money gives us options. The question is, do you love Belinda or not?”
“I do love her,” said Miles. “I’ve never loved anyone like this. She’s just--- I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“Well, that’s the important thing, right? The rest is just logistics,” I assured him. “Gentlemen, Belinda is a catch. We can’t let her get away. And if she does get away, at least we have to put it all on the line to feel like we tried, right? I love this girl. I’m in. No matter what, I’m in.”
“I love her too,” said Miles. “I’m in. Let’s do this. Whatever it takes.”
“All for one and one for all,” agreed Theo. “Okay, you were saying about jewelers? Let me coordinate with you.”
“Beyond that, what’s the play, Captain Romance?” asked Miles.
“Extravagance, lads,” said Theo. “We need to dazzle her again. Miles, why don’t you drive past her place, see if she’s there. If so, park far enough away that she can’t see you and watch the house. Franklin and I will coordinate here.”
“Isn’t that kind of like stalking?” said Miles.
“I just want to make sure she’s home when the presents arrive,” assured Theo. “You’re not watching her get a shower, you’re just making sure she’s home to receive the gifts, okay?”
“Got it.”
“Before you go, put on the nicest clothes you have. You too, Franklin. We all have to look our best for this,” said Theo. “This is a proposal, so it has to be magical and it has to be all of us at the same time.”
Miles put on a suit and got spruced up. He headed for Belinda’s house. I coordinated with Theo and the jeweler, while putting on my best suit. There was going to have to be lots of changes in our lives, especially if we were going to live together. Working with the guys on this, I felt a camaraderie. We seemed to work well together, makes sense we’d work well in the relationship too.
After a few hours of prep, we were ready. Miles had confirmed Belinda was still at her place. We got into the limo, picked up the rings and headed over to meet him.
It was all or nothing now. Either Belinda would forgive us and stay with us forever or she’d rejected us. I don’t know what I’d do if she didn’t. I’d probably stay alone for the rest of my life.
Chapter 19 – Belinda
I got back to the house and I was furious. How could I have been so stupid? This was never about love. It never is with men. I’m just a stupid needy girl. I can’t believe I put myself out there like that. Making myself so vulnerable that I believed them.
For a while, I just sat on the couch crying. How could I continue to be a part of this community now? I’ve been so humiliated. I had to leave. Start some place fresh. But the thought of moving to a new city where I knew no one was daunting. And the entire process could take months. Why did this have to happen?
The doorbell rang, shaking me out of my daze. This had to be the guys. I could just pretend I wasn’t here. The bell rang again. Should I call the cops? That seems extreme. No. I would face them. I got up and opened the door, prepared to scream at them.
“Hello,” said the delivery guy sheepishly. “Are you Belinda? These roses are for you?”
The delivery guy was holding a massive bouquet of roses, obviously from the guys. I thought about rejected them, but they were very nice. Plus, I’m sure they were already paid for, so why waste them? I signed for them and brought them into the house. But there was no note.
“This is ridiculous,” I said to myself. “This has to be from the guys. Why would they send me this with no note. It’s dumb. I should call them.”
Then I realized, that was the plan.
“Ah, ha!” I said aloud. “Nice try, Theo!”
The doorbell rang a few minutes later. Pathetic. They were trying to buy me back with gifts. I marched to the door. This time, I’d refuse the gift. Let them waste their money.
When I opened the door, it wasn’t another delivery guy or a limo driver, it was the guys. They were all well-dressed. I went to slam the door in their face.
“Hold on, Belinda,” insisted Franklin. “Let us explain.”
“The bet was never about you being a thing,” said Miles. “We were just trying to challenge each other to win your heart.”
“Look at it from our perspective,” suggested Theo. “We didn’t honestly know if this could work. We’re in uncharted territory here.”
“I didn’t like it!” I said tearfully. “It made me feel like nothing to you!”
“We treasure you, Belinda,” assured Franklin. “We wouldn’t have done all this unless we did. Miles and I have money, Theo is a charmer--- We can have any women we want. This is about you.”
“We love you, Belinda,” said Miles. “We all fit. We compliment each other’s weaknesses, remember? It doesn’t mean we’re perfect.”
“My sister--- That’s my fault,” said Theo. “I didn’t stop to explain things to her. If I had, this never would’ve happened.”
“How can I trust that it won’t?” I cried. “You did this once, you could do it again.”
“We’re not perfect,” said Franklin. “But for us, you are. I love you. We all do.”
“It’s true,” agreed Theo. “We all love you.”
The boys all pulled out identical ring boxes and got down on one knee. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“Look, we know we haven’t been together
long,” smiled Franklin. “Aw, hell, I’m no good at this.”
“Things move fast, but as you know, I like that. We like that,” said Miles.
“Marry us, Belinda,” said Theo. “You’ll make us all very happy. There’s no one else in the world for us than you. Really. Would you do us the honor?”
They opened the boxes. Inside were three gorgeous rings.
“A jeweler friend of mine made this, custom just for you,” explained Franklin.
“You put them all on and they form one ring,” said Miles.
“It makes an eternity symbol across the bands,” said Theo. “Clever, huh?”
Suddenly, my heart was full again. All relationships had bumps in the road, but the guys were serious and in love. I knew that now. There was only one response.
“Yes!” I said excitedly. “Yes, of course!”
They put the rings on me one at a time. The eternity band was just as Theo said. It was also encrusted with a lot of diamonds! My God! It must’ve cost a fortune.
“This is quite a ring!” I exclaimed.
“You’re worth it, baby!” smiled Franklin.
I kissed Franklin, then Miles and then Theo. I wish I could kiss them all at the same time. I was so overwhelmed with emotion, I started to cry.
“Sorry,” I said. “I can’t believe what I was thinking just a few moments ago. I almost threw this all away over a stupid misunderstanding.”
“We’re all human,” said Theo. “We’ll probably have misunderstandings in the future.”
“True, but I know now to keep calm,” I said. “I know now that you three truly love me. And I love you. C’mon, let’s go inside. I think it’s time to celebrate.”
“What did you have in mind?” said Franklin impishly.
“Oh, I think you know,” I smiled.
Chapter 20 – Belinda
We went inside the house. I couldn’t stop kissing them. Franklin carried me to the bedroom and Theo and Miles rushed ahead.
“By the way, the roses were lovely,” I said. “I thought I was going to get more presents.”
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