AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You really like to talk things out, don’t you?” I’d noticed it early on, but after our chat on the windsurfing boards, with nothing but the calm sea and cry of gulls around us, I realized this was his thing. Healthy communication.
“Better that we’re all on the same page, right?”
“And what page is that? I’m pretty sure Soph is in a different book—hell, a different fucking library,” I corrected.
“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean we can’t fix it.”
“We?” I leveled a stare at him. “We both said we weren’t giving up a week ago, and look what we did. You slept with Kayla.”
He looked affronted. “Of course I didn’t sleep with Kayla,” he said with a scoff.
“But she was acting like…”
“She can act how she wants, but it doesn’t change the facts. Besides, you and Cheryl have been spending a lot of time together too.” He left the question unasked, waiting for me to confirm or deny it.
“Nothing happening there. She’s not my type. And by that, I mean she isn’t Sophie.”
“The point is, Sophie thinks we’ve moved on. The two of them divided and conquered, leaving Sophie vulnerable and at the mercy of their implications. I tried to distance myself, but I was giving Sophie space too. You know how they were avoiding each other, so Kayla kept popping up everywhere.”
“You don’t think Sophie thinks we would move on so quickly, do you?”
“Of course I do. You know what it’s like here. Every day feels like a week in this vacuum. Every exchange counts. And there’s a huge prize at the end. If you don’t think people are playing strategically, you’ve got your head in the sand.”
I paused as I mulled over Oliver’s words. “You think Cheryl and Kayla taunted Sophie for a better chance at the prize?” He looked at me like I was an idiot. Maybe I was, but I shook my head. “No, that’s too devious, even for them.”
“You really didn’t experience your school days the way I did.” Oliver sighed. “Look, everyone can be devious—men and women. The men just tend to be more overt about it.”
“But what can we do now? Soph and Aaron are… whatever.”
“Does that bother you?” Oliver asked seriously.
Part of me wanted to say yes. That she was mine and mine alone; fuck the rest. But, and I hated to admit it, I understood the draw they had for each other. They were both fun, and while I had initially thought Sophie was adventurous, it wasn’t in the same way I was.
Sophie was daring and brave in other ways. Her business and her life, moving so far from home, broadcasting her work all over social media, daring to be exactly who she was at all times. She was unafraid to admit fears and was upfront about what she expected and wanted from a relationship.
Aaron might fit that better than Oliver or I did. The man was outgoing and honest, even to a fault. Perhaps he was better suited for her than we were. But call it stubbornness or obsession—it didn’t matter what name I attributed to it—there was something inside of me telling me not to give up. I wanted her, and giving her space was slowly chipping away at my remaining sanity.
“If sharing her is the only way to have her, I can make peace with that,” I said, feeling bereft and wanting to close that chasm of distance.
“It doesn’t bother me either. Aaron is a good man, and despite his initial hiccup with Kayla, I don’t think he’s looking for someone to just pass the time with. With Sophie, he’s… softer, somehow. Less brash and impulsive.”
“You guys work out together every morning, right?”
Oliver nodded. “Yeah, and gradually, he’s lost some of the bravado he showed up here with.”
“Does it bother you? The sharing thing?” Acutely aware of the cameras probably pointed at us, I kept my words tame and non-bedroom related.
“It actually doesn’t. I know my first year of teaching and learning the ropes of the university will be hectic. I would rather the possibility of Sophie having someone reliable while I’m off in academia-land. If our relationship includes other people to give her what I can’t, well, how can I be mad at that?”
“People? So not just me.”
“If she wants Aaron too, who am I to deny her? I understand I’m different from other people sometimes; I get so fixated on things I forget to eat, sleep, or leave my office for days. That’s a big ask for someone to put up with and not offer support in other ways. Was this the way I envisioned my future relationship? Absolutely not. But I am humble enough to admit I can’t be everything to someone. I will inevitably get lost in my work, and I’d rather she has someone—orsomeones—she can lean on.”
“So we would all date her.” The words came out as more of a statement than a question, but that didn’t stop my mind from playing out every scenario. “If she’d have us, that is.”
I was sometimes called away for work if a plane I’d been working on needed extra attention when it landed across the country. It wasn’t often, but if there was a significant problem, I could be away for days or weeks at a time, depending on the severity of the mechanical issue and the testing that followed.
Was it selfish to think my future partner would just wait at home for me? I knew Sophie had her own business, which required a lot of time and management, but she mentioned she traveled for work or fun. Would my sporadic leaving impact that?
