We walked back to the hockey house together, nobody knowing quite how to navigate this new reality. But as I caught Mira's eye in the darkness, I saw my own confusion and exhilaration reflected back.
Chapter 9: Mira
I made it approximately forty-five seconds back in my room before my phone was already dialing Kate.
She answered on the second ring, her face filling the screen with entirely too much amusement for someone who was supposed to be my best friend. "Let me guess. The hot hockey players finally made their move?"
"How did you—"
"Mira. Sweetie. I've been waiting for this call since you sent me that first picture of the house and said, quote, 'living with three guys, totally professional, nothing to worry about.'"
I flopped backward onto my bed, staring at my ceiling like it held answers. "They cornered me in the gymnasium. All three of them. At the same time."
Kate's squeal was so loud I nearly dropped my phone. "Shut up. Like an intervention? Was there dramatic lighting? Please tell me there was dramatic lighting."
"Kate."
"Right, right, serious friend mode activated." She sat up straighter, but her eyes were still dancing. "What did they say?"
"That they all want me. That they've been driving each other crazy trying not to—" I gestured vaguely at the air. "You know."
"Jump your bones?"
"Kate!"
"Sorry, sorry. Go on."
I covered my face with my hand. "I don't know what to do. I've never... I mean, Sam never made me feel like..." I trailed off, unable to articulate the difference between Sam's calculated touches and the way Logan looked at me like I was something precious, or Blake's barely restrained intensity, or Nolan's careful consideration that made me feel seen.
"Like you wanted to climb them like a tree?" Kate supplied helpfully.
"Oh my god!"
"Mira, listen to me." Kate's voice softened, taking on that serious tone she only used when it really mattered. "What you're experiencing? It's called attraction. Normal, healthy, sexual attraction. And I know that's a foreign concept because you spent your entire life with Sam treating you like a prop in his performance."
"That's not—"
"It absolutely is, and we both know it. But these guys? They see you. The actual you. And your body is responding to that, probably for the first time ever, and it's freaking you out."
I sat up, pulling my knees to my chest. "What if I mess it up? What if I choose wrong?"
"Who says you have to choose?"
I blinked. "What?"
Kate's grin was absolutely wicked. "Babe. You're twenty-three years old, you just escaped from the world's worst partnership, and you havethreegorgeous men who are apparently willing to share. Why are you treating this like it's the Olympic selection committee?"
"Because I don't know how to be... casual. Or fun. Or anything other than focused on the next jump, the next performance."
"Exactly." Kate leaned closer to the camera. "You have spent your entire life denying yourself pleasure for the sake of perfection. Sam made sure of that. But you're not competing anymore, Mira. You're allowed to want things just because they feel good."
"But three guys?"
"Are three guys too many? Or are you just worried about what people will think?" Kate raised an eyebrow. "Because from where I'm sitting, it sounds like a pretty sweet setup. They've already proven they can coexist without murdering each other. They clearly respect you enough to put the decision in your hands. And unless I'm reading this totally wrong, you're attracted to all of them."
"Yes, but—"
"No buts. Well, except for their butts, which I assume are spectacular given the whole professional athlete situation."
