Nine Marines' Shared Property: A Reverse Harem Romance (Love by Numbers Book 8)

by Nicole Casey

  “You always see in the movies,” said Santiago, “how a soldier, when he’s off fighting in a war, he’s got this old crumpled photo of his girl back home.” There was something about late at night, after dinner, before we turned in, that would bring out this strange mix of honesty and silliness.

  “He unfolds it every night,” said Nolan, “and talks about how he misses his girl back home.”

  “Yeah,” said Santiago. “I need a photo like that.”

  I laughed. But I knew what he meant.

  “You have to get a girl first,” said Manny.

  “And then you take a picture,” said Nolan.

  “But not with your phone,” said Manny. “With one of those old-timey cameras.”

  “You’re missing the point,” said Santiago.

  “Which is?” asked Manny.

  Santiago didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled himself off the couch with a sigh and said, “I’m going to bed. See you guys tomorrow.”

  “I know what you mean,” I blurted out.

  Santiago stopped halfway out of the room.

  “I’d really like to have one of those pictures, too.” I turned to Manny. “I’d like to have a girl at home, something, someone waiting for me when I got back.”

  “I hear you,” said Manny.

  “I think we all feel the same way,” said Taylor. He looked at his brother, Tristan, but Tristan was staring at the floor, seemingly lost in a memory.

  “I can just picture us,” said J.P., “overseas, in our bunks, all staring at a photo of a girl waiting for us when our tour was over.”

  “Except,” said Elijah, “my girl would be the hottest.”

  Santiago walked over to him. He stood over him and stuck out his chest. “Man, why’s everything with you got to be some sort of competition?”

  Elijah put his hand up, open palm out. “My bad. You’re right. My girl would be hot, and all our girls would be hot.”

  I thought of Gwen, thought of being away on tour, staring at a picture of her with her dimples and crooked smile, a lock of hair falling loosely past her mouth and curling up to touch her chin.

  “I know what picture I’d bring with me,” said J.P.

  “Who?” asked Santiago.

  “You don’t know her,” said J.P. “She works at a cafe by the beach, The Bean Counter.”

  “Not Gwen?” I said, a bit louder than I’d wanted to.

  J.P. shrugged. “I don’t know her name. Blond, smoking body, athletic.”

  “Hair tied back in a loose ponytail?” I said. “Always has hair bands around her wrist.”

  “Maybe,” said J.P..

  “Five eight,” said Travis. “Fair skin, big blue eyes, dimples.”

  “Sounds right,” said J.P..

  “Sounds like Gwen,” I said.

  “Uh, oh,” said Elijah. “Who’s in competition now?”

  “Maybe she’s got a twin,” said Taylor.

  “Or a triplet,” said Nolan.

  Santiago went back to the couch and took a seat. “Maybe she’s got eight sisters. Maybe she’s part of a nine-uplet.”

  “It’s called a nonuplet,” said Tristan.

  I chuckled. It wasn’t the first time Tristan seemed to be lost in thought but he still managed to prove that he was following what we were saying. But it was still funny every time.

  “They don’t need to be a nonuplet,” said Elijah. “They don’t even need to be sisters. We’re a tight group but not that tight.”

  This earned a round of laughs. I thought of Alexa, my sister, and I couldn’t help myself. “I knew this girl once,” I said. “She had eight boyfriends.”

  “Damn,” said Elijah. “How long was she able to keep it a secret?”

  “That’s just the point,” I said, “it wasn’t a secret. Never. It was an open kind of thing.”

  “What?” said Santiago. “They didn’t care that she was seeing other guys?”

  I shook my head. “She wasn’t seeing other guys.”

  “You’re not making any sense,” said Taylor.

  I chuckled. “I don’t know how to explain it. But she wasn’t seeing other guys. She was seeing them, all eight of them. They were like a couple, her and her eight boyfriends.”

  “You’re right,” said Santiago, “you don’t know how to explain it.”

  “I think I get where you’re coming from,” said Travis. “Imagine if we all had the same girl. She wouldn’t see other guys; she would just see us; and we wouldn’t see another girl, just her. She would be our girl.”

  “We all share one girl?” said Elijah, clearly dubious.

  “That’s not possible,” said Tristan.

  “He’s not being serious,” said Travis. “Just talking.”

  “I am serious,” I said, perhaps more defensively than I’d intended. “I mean, like I said, I know this girl. She has eight boyfriends. It’s not a secret. They all share her. And they seem to make it work.”

  None of us said anything for a while. We were probably each thinking the same thing: ‘Is that possible?’ ‘Could we share the same girl?’

  I thought of Gwen. Then I thought of Gwen in the arms of the other members of the squad.

  “You’re right, Travis,” I said. “I was only talking.”

  I had planted a seed, though. Later that night, when I was lying in my bed unable to fall asleep, I thought of what Santiago and Nolan had said, about lying in a bunk overseas, staring at a picture of a girl waiting at home for me to return. It wouldn’t be strange that we each had a girl waiting for us to return. But it would be strange if it were the same girl. On the other hand, if Alexa and her crew could do it, why couldn’t we?

  The subject came up again the following night. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who had thought it over during a sleepless night. It was all fantasy, of course, nothing serious—at least none of us expressed any serious intention outwardly. But it was fun to dream.

  I laughed. I had been so shocked when Alexa first told me about her unorthodox relationship. And here I was, a few months later, contemplating the same thing, albeit from a slightly different perspective.

  “Hey, Axel,” said J.P. “You want to go down to The Bean Counter with me after morning exercises?”

  “To see Gwen?”

  He smiled and nodded.

  “Great minds think alike,” I said.

  “So, you’re in?” he asked. “We’ll jog down there straight after morning exercises.”

  “I wish I could, but I’ve got detail.”

  “Tough break.”

  I got up and headed toward the kitchen, but I could tell J.P. still had something on his mind. I walked slowly in case he’d come out with it. When I reached the threshold of the living room, I turned to him. “She’s pretty, isn’t she?”

  J.P. nodded. “Gorgeous.”

  “With an infectious smile,” I added.

  “And a fun, almost chaotic kind of energy to her.”

  I chuckled. I knew what he meant. “Yeah, I bet she’d be a lot of fun to be with.”

  J.P. looked at his hands and pulled at his fingers.

  “Something on your mind, J.P.?”

  He looked up at me. “Yeah, I was thinking of asking her out.”

  “Good luck.” I gave him a thumbs up and turned to head into the kitchen.

  “You wouldn’t mind, would you?” he called out.

  I stopped and considered it. Contrary to my expectations, though I was attracted to Gwen and I would love to go out with her, when I said ‘good luck’, I genuinely meant it. I turned to J.P. “no, I wouldn’t mind. Would you?”

  He seemed confused by my question. “Mind what?”

  “Sharing her?”

  3

  J.P

  Manny, Santiago, Nolan and I all went to The Bean Counter after morning exercises. It should have been a twenty-minute jog, but we’d decided the first one there would get to ask out Gwen. That pretty much guaranteed that Manny would get the honor. The last one there, howe
ver, would have to pick up the tab.

  I came in last.

  Manny beat us there by quite a margin. So much so that he was able to wait for us outside, and his breathing had returned to normal by the time we arrived.

  “Oh, hi guys,” he said in an overly casual tone. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”

  “Give us a minute,” I said between breaths.

  “Order me a lemonade,” said Nolan, “and some cake; expensive cake, since J.P.’s buying.”

  “I’ll have the same,” said Santiago.

  Manny looked at me.

  I smiled. “It appears that we all have the same tastes.”

  “We all want the same thing,” said Nolan. “How appropriate.”

  Manny returned my smile. “That bodes well.” He went inside.

  We sat at the only empty table on the terrace, looking out on the street and farther still to the sea with the pier and the beach to the right. After five minutes, we had recovered from the run but Manny hadn’t returned. We stood from the table in unison and went inside.

  Manny was at the counter chatting and laughing with one of the girls. We nodded to him and took a table in the corner where we could get a good look at the action.

  “She’s cute,” said Nolan.

  “That’s not Gwen,” I said.

  After a few minutes, Manny and the waitress came to our table with drinks and cakes. “The bill’s for J.P.,” he said.

  I thanked her and handed her two twenties.

  “I’ll be back with your change.”

  When she’d left, I looked at Manny and extended my hands, open palms up. “What gives?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, we’re here to see Gwen. You were going to ask her out, right?”

  “Relax,” said Manny. “All in due time.”

  As if on cue, Gwen stepped out of the kitchen. I elbowed Santiago. “There she is.”

  “Damn,” he said. “I’m afraid she might be out of your league, Manny.”

  “There’s no such thing,” said Manny. But I saw a flash of nervousness sweep across his face.

  “Maybe, you’d better let me handle this,” said Santiago, and he stood from the table.

  Manny, too, stood. “Woah, not so fast. A deal’s a deal”

  Santiago motioned with a wave of his hand. “By all means. Be my guest.”

  Manny strutted across the dining room. He stopped mid-way, turned around, and hurried back to the table. “What am I supposed to say?”

  We all laughed.

  “Try honesty,” said Nolan. “I hear girls like that sort of thing.”

  “Honesty?” said Manny. “You mean like, ‘hi, I’m Manny. My friends and I, we made a bet: the first one here gets to ask you out. And I won the bet.”

  Nolan nodded. “That’s as good a line as any. Good luck.”

  Before I’d had the chance to say anything, Manny turned and headed back to the counter towards Gwen. I got very nervous, because I knew Manny. Manny was crazy enough to say exactly what Nolan had suggested.

  Gwen greeted him with a smile. Her whole face lit up, and I felt a tingling sensation course through my body. She brushed a lock of hair from her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. I felt an erection coming on, and I shifted in my seat.

  Santiago said something to me, but I wasn’t paying attention. I had zoomed in on Gwen’s lips. I thought I could read them, guess what she was saying. I soon abandoned that effort and lost myself in a daydream: my lips exploring the contour of hers, nipping at the corners of her mouth, my tongue sliding into her mouth to taste her.

  Manny motioned to us. Gwen looked over, and I snapped out of my reverie.

  Gwen looked back at Manny. She giggled and covered her mouth.

  They both headed over to us.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and wiped the sweat from my hands.

  “Gwen, I’d like you to meet my friends.” Manny motioned to Santiago. “This is Santiago. Don’t worry, he’s not as mean as he looks.”

  Santiago stood and offered Gwen a devious smile. “I’ll be as mean as you want me to be.”

  Gwen looked surprised. She opened her mouth to speak but said nothing.

  Santiago bowed slightly then sat back down.

  “And this here’s Nolan,” said Manny. “Don’t let those soft emerald eyes fool you. There’s nothing precious about him.”

  Nolan stood and extended his hand.

  “Hello, Nolan.”

  Gwen offered her hand, which Nolan took, turned over and gave it a kiss.

  “If Manny here gives you a problem,” he said, “I’d be happy to take him outside and teach him some manners.”

  “Thank you,” said Gwen. “But I think I can handle him.”

  I cleared my throat and tried unsuccessfully to relax.

  “This is J.P., as in Jean Phillipe. So nice they named him twice.”

  “Nice to meet you, J.P.,” said Gwen. “I’ve seen you around.”

  I smiled. She recognized me!

  “I’m a fan,” I said. “I mean: of your cooking. I mean: of the place.”

  “Thank you,” said Gwen. “Manny tells me you’re in the Marines. Thank you for your service.”

  “We haven’t served you yet,” said Santiago.

  I jerked my head at him. “Santiago!”

  “What?”

  “I apologize for him,” I said to Gwen. “He doesn’t get out often.”

  Gwen frowned. “That’s a shame.” And she winked at Santiago.

  I felt a hot flash of jealousy course through me, which I quickly suppressed. It could have been jealousy or it could have been arousal. I was confronted with both, simultaneously, and it was confusing.

  “I offered to take Gwen to the Waterfront Grill tonight,” said Manny. “But she says she’s not dating. So instead I suggested we make it a group thing.”

  “It’s true I’m not dating,” said Gwen, “but I do have single friends, very attractive single friends.”

  “Why aren’t you dating?” I asked. “If it’s not too personal.”

  “It’s the very definition of too personal,” said Manny.

  I didn’t acknowledge his remark. I was feeling proud of myself for being this forward.

  Gwen curled her lips and tilted her head. “It’s a long story.”

  “Maybe you’ll tell me it tonight,” I said, “at the Waterfront Grill.”

  “Maybe.”

  We chatted some more. Gwen told us about her friends she was going to set us up with. I pretended to be interested. But I didn’t want to be set up with anyone. I had fallen for her. She was the one I wanted; no one else.

  We walked back to the base. Manny was gloating, feeling like a rock star for having scored a date with Gwen—even though it wasn’t really a date. We didn’t discourage him. Frankly, I was impressed. Also, I was excited. In my mind, I was the one who had a date with Gwen later that night.

  “We have to invite the others,” said Santiago.

  “Especially Axel,” I said.

  Manny chuckled. “She thinks she’s going to meet three Marines and we show up with nine.”

  “You should have got her number,” said Santiago.

  “No worries,” said Manny. “All in due time.”

  I was excited for the date—even if it wasn’t technically a date. But I was also nervous. I wasn’t nervous about how it would go, if Gwen and I would get along or anything like that. I was nervous about how Axel would react. I knew he was on duty tonight and he wouldn’t be able to go with us. He was definitely going to feel bad for missing out. And even though he’d wished me good luck, he suggested he would be OK sharing, somehow I didn’t believe him.

  “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” I said under my breath.

  Manny punched me on the arm. “Why would you say that? Tonight’s going to be great.”

  “We’ll see,” I said.

  Manny pointed to me and addressed Santiago. “Can you believe thi
s guy?”

  “It’ll be fine,” Santiago said to me. “Girls don’t bite, unless you’re into that sort of thing.” He and Manny laughed.

  “But girls do get in between friends,” I said.

  The mood quickly turned somber.

  “Not these friends,” said Santiago. He put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed.

  I looked him in the eye. I believed him. But still, I was worried about Axel.

  I found Axel at the mess hall later that evening. I was dressed for my date—our date that wasn’t a date.

  “Care to join me?” said Axel.

  I shook my head. “I can’t stay.”

  “Going to the Marina with Gwen and her friends?” he said.

  “So, you’ve heard?”

  He nodded. “Too bad I can’t go. Maybe next time.”

  He didn’t look or sound upset. “Yeah, maybe,” I said.

  He looked at me and smiled. “Have a good time.”

  Either Axel was a much better actor than I’d suspected, or he truly wasn’t bothered by the fact that we were going out with Gwen and he wasn’t. I was impressed. I tried to think how I would have reacted if I were in his shoes. I told myself that I, too, wouldn’t have been bothered. But it was easy enough for me to think that. Harder to know if it was true.

  Though we’d invited the others, ultimately it was just Santiago, Manny and I who went to the Waterfront Grill. Gwen brought two friends: her roommate Holly and a girl I recognized from The Bean Counter, Christy.

  Santiago was in rare form. Everything he said and did was hilarious. Manny played the straight man opposite him quite well. Together they made a great team. I was left a bit off to the side, but that suited me just fine. Unfortunately, for much of the evening, Gwen kept her distance. She sat between her two friends. I sat between Christy and Santiago.

  The table next to ours were celebrating an engagement. It didn’t take long for us to be absorbed in their celebration, and our party of six turned into a party of eighteen.