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“I can’t believe you guys are talking about food. All I want to eat is walking away right now,” Jimmy mutters. “People around her need to get their priorities straight.”
“I hear you, brother,” Theron says, turning to me. “So, you got an idea?”
“We draw straws. Ten straws cut from shorttolong. Longest goes first, then in order until the shortest.”
“Seems easy,” Stefan says.
“Seems fucking mercenary,” Russell grumbles.
“Allie asked for this, dude. But you don’t need to be a part of it if you don’t want to be. Just make sure you explain to her why you’re not interested.”
He rubs his chin, eyes shadowed by his cap. “She deserves more,” he says.
“More than what we can give?” I ask. “Doesn’t sound like you have much faith in our abilities to please her!”
“I mean love,” he says. “She deserves to be with someone who loves her and knows her value. Someone who’ll treat her like the princess she is.”
“I plan on treating her like a queen,” I say. “And I’m sure every other man has the same aim.”
“Unless she wants something different,” Theron says. “This is about her fantasies. I say we make it clear that she can ask for whatever she wants from us.”
“Exactly,” I say.
Gabe stretches his arms above his head, cracking his back and neck. “This is going to end with hurt feelings. I’d put good money on it.”
Tom and Russell both murmur their agreement.
“Why do you say that?” I ask. “Allie’s a big girl. She’s made her choice…it’s empowerment.”
“Except she’s going to get confused, and she's bound to catch feelings for some of us, and maybe we’ll catch feelings for her. That’s what happens with sex.”
I wish I could say I knew what he was talking about, but I don't. Not really. I’ve been with lots of women, and enjoyed most of those experiences just fine, but sex has never been something emotional for me. It’s always just been about giving and taking a physical release.
“We’re all adults, aren’t we?” Stefan shrugs like he’s not worried about any of that.
Oliver shakes his head. “This is a bad idea.”
“So, you’re out?” Theron asks quickly, like he wants to show Oliver isn’t being genuine.
Oliver slicks his tongue over his teeth, looking down to conceal the frustration that’s completely obvious. “I didn’t say that.”
Forget Allie being torn. Oliver is practically tearing himself in two.
“We should go back to the house and deal with this,” I say, glancing down at my fingers. “I’m turning into a prune here.”
No one seems to need convincing, and I lead the way back across the sand, finding my slides and carrying them toward the house. Music plays from inside: something jazzy and soft that fits with Allie. Clay makes himself a coffee and a few of the others follow suit, filling the kitchen with the scent of bitter roasted beans and creamy milk. I hunt in the drawers and cupboards for something suitable to make straws. There isn’t anything like that, but I find some string and a pair of kitchen scissors.
When I start cutting lengths, Jimmy watches across the island with Theron and Gabe.
“I still can’t believe Allie’s accepted this idea,” Gabe says.
“She could still change her mind.” Theron braces his big, work-roughened hands on the counter like the idea is too much for him to take. I know what he means. Now she’s said yes, hearing no would sting. It’s still her prerogative, though. At any point.
I just hope the men who go first really think about how they treat her and what kind of experiences they give her so that they don’t fuck it up for the ones going later.
When I have a bundle of different length strings, I put them into my fist with the ends protruding all roughly the same length. Their true size remains concealed.
“Alright, guys. Time to pick.”
