by Krista Wolf
I saw the waiter coming our way so I drained my glass. By the time he arrived, I’d recomposed myself.
“Appetizers?” the waiter asked hesitantly.
I looked back at my ex, trying not to be glum. But also not trying to be too eager, either. “Yes. That’d be great.”
Garrett’s chest swelled. He smiled his best smile.
“And another round of drinks,” I told the waiter. “Please.”
Thirty-Nine
CLAUDIA
As difficult as it was, I slow-played it. The hardest part was keeping a straight face the whole time.
Garrett ordered us coconut shrimp and calamari, the same things we ate the night we got engaged. As much as I wanted to punch him in the face, I had to admit he was really trying. Of course all the trying in the world wouldn’t get him anywhere. But he didn’t know that.
I made him talk a lot, and that part was easy. I asked him a bunch of questions, tentatively, about how things would be if I came back. His growing optimism was palpable. I could feel it swelling from across the table, like a physical presence.
Two beers in, when his defenses were lowered, I changed direction.
“And you’ll delete all those filthy pictures?”
Rather than answer, he took a long pull from his beer. When he set the glass back down he stared at me harshly.
“Eventually,” he said.
I pretended to cry again, though it was getting a little harder. Garrett waited a moment or two before trying to appease me.
“Look,” he said, “this is tough for me too. You think I wanted to see this?” He tapped his phone again. “This broke my heart, Claudia. I had no idea you were even capable of this.”
Neither did I, I thought smartly.
“It’s going to take a while,” he said, “to forgive you.”
I nearly spat out my drink. It took everything in the world just to keep it in.
“F—Forgive me?”
Garrett frowned. It was more of a scowl.
“Forgive ME?” I repeated.
I called for another round of drinks. He didn’t stop me. The momentary distraction calmed us both down a bit.
“Look, I know I did things too,” he said. “Bad things. But three guys, Claudia?” He looked hurt. Anxious. “Three guys at once?”
Our entrees arrived. Garrett went right to eating, eager to change the subject. I pushed the food around my plate like I used to do as a child, trying to make it look like I ate something.
“I’ll delete the photos,” he said, and I was suddenly hopeful. “But only after you come back, and after things have… settled down again between us.”
I let out a shuddering sigh. Picked at some vegetables.
“Oh, and after you quit that stupid side job you’re doing at that house, of course.”
Again, I almost choked on my anger. The nerve of him! I wanted to go off… wanted to say a thousand things about loyalty and fidelity and control. Again, I swallowed it. But it was getting harder and harder.
“Let’s eat,” I said, not wanting to fight him on the subject. I knew in my heart he’d never delete the photos. That he’d always hold onto them no matter what, just to have that power over me.
We ate, this time mostly in silence. Garrett made small talk, telling me what he’d been doing since I’d been gone. He talked about work. His friends. His family…
Like always, he never asked me about anything.
Halfway through our entree he started fidgeting. I could see it was about to happen. I reached into my bag, and pulled out my phone. I pressed ‘send’ on something already there, then checked the few messages I had.
“You talking to the guys?” Garrett asked snidely from his side of the table.
“No,” I countered. “Work.”
“Whatever.”
He fidgeted some more. Stopped drinking his third beer. Finally, he put down his knife and fork.
“Gotta hit the men’s room,” he said at last. “Be right back.”
I nodded, staring down at my plate. Not wanting him to see my face. I kept my eyes on his phone though, which was right next to his napkin. Kept staring at it through the tops of my eyes…
I heard Garrett chuckle loudly. “You’re crazy if you think I’m leaving this here.”
With one quick motion he swept up his phone and slipped it into his front pocket. My expression was all manufactured disappointment.
“Sorry, baby.”
He took a step, leaned over… and kissed me right on the forehead. It took every ounce of will not to spit in his face.
Then he turned, and I let out a long sigh of relief as he finally made his way toward the restroom.
Forty
HUNTER
He was a little shorter than I pictured him. Still cocky, still walking with an obnoxious strut, looking like the epitome of a self-centered asshole as he primped himself in the mirror.
Another text came through. Three simple words:
FRONT LEFT POCKET
I waited until he was at the urinal. A dirty trick, but everything this asshole had done so far had been dirty.
“Hey dipshit…”
His head whipped around, just as I stepped to his other side. I grabbed him by the back of his belt with one hand and snatched the phone from his pocket with the other.
“What the—”
He saw me, but recognition didn’t dawn until a few seconds later. As soon as it did, his whole expression changed.
“Oh, it’s one of you assholes,” he smirked. “That fucking figures.” Garrett finished urinating and zipped up before turning around. “If you think taking my phone is gonna stop me from spreading those photos,” he laughed, “you’re pretty much—”
There was a sharp metal ‘CLACK’, and then a stall door opened. Brandon stepped out. He had one hand balled into a fist. His eyes were murderous.
Garrett tried stepping toward the door, but I was already there. I flipped the lock on it.
“You morons,” he laughed. There was a nervous edge to his laugher though. “She must be really be giving it to you good if you’ve been waiting here in this bathroom for me all this time.”
Brandon snarled and stepped forward. I placed a constraining hand on his chest.
“You took the photos,” I replied. “You were there. If anyone was giving it good to anybody, it was us.”
Garrett glanced at the door again. Probably trying to figure out if he could make it.
“The first mistake you made,” I said, “was fucking with Claudia.”
He sized up Brandon for the first time and I saw his confidence waver a little. But only slightly.
“Fuck Claudia.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. Apparently he still thought he had the upper hand.
“The second mistake—”
Brandon moved so fast I barely saw more than a blur. He shoved Garrett into the wall with terrifying force, rattling the electronic hand dryer so hard it almost fell down.
“The second mistake you made was fucking with us,” he growled into Garrett’s face.
I saw the panic in his eyes, but it faded quickly. Either he really was brave, or he was putting on a good show.
“What are you gonna do?” Garrett’s lips curled into a wry smile. “Beat me up?”
Brandon’s forearm went across the man’s chest. He leaned forward, pressing down so hard I could her the air hissing its way out of Garrett’s lungs.
“Easy…” I murmured, stepping in.
“I could scream right now,” choked Garrett. “Get the manager to call to the police. Have you both arrested for assault, and for stealing my phone, and—”
Three small knocks at the door interrupted him. I unlocked it, opened it quickly, and let in Colin… and Claudia.
Garrett shook his head when he saw his ex. “And here I thought you really wanted to come back,” he snarled. “I should’ve known better. I should’ve figured it out the moment you—”
“
SHUT UP.”
Claudia’s voice was loud and clear and full of venom. “You don’t get to tell me anything anymore, you fucking stalker.”
She took the phone from me, and punched in his old passcode. It must’ve worked, because she nodded.
“She’s right,” said Colin. “You don’t get to talk. You get to listen.”
Brandon eased up, but only slightly. Just enough for Garrett to breathe again.
“We’re wiping your phone,” said Colin. “And you won’t get it back. Report it lost, stolen, do whatever you want. Those pictures are ours now.”
Garrett rubbed at his chest and laughed. “You don’t think I transferred them first?” he grunted. “Onto my computer?”
“Sure you did,” said Claudia. “You always do. You keep detailed folders,” she went on. “When it comes to your phone, you’re meticulous like that.”
Colin nodded. “Conveniently enough, Claudia knew where to find those folders,” he said. “And there were lots of folders, too, Garrett. Some of them containing some very interesting stuff…”
Garrett froze. I could see the look in his eyes change. He still didn’t believe us, though. Still didn’t know for sure.
“I didn’t see everything,” Colin added casually, “but I got a long enough look. Especially at your emails. The ones where you’re talking with Rick and Michael about that thing at work.”
Garrett’s mouth opened, then closed again slowly. He didn’t say anything, so Colin reached out and poked him.
“You know what I’m talking about, right? The little project you’ve been doing with all the boss’s materials? Charging things on your boss’s card? That project?”
Garret’s gaze dropped. He stared at the bathroom floor.
“Not to mention the email and text conversations you’ve had about you boss. Any of which would get you fired on the spot. No pension, no severance, no—”
“You searched my computer?” Garret finally exclaimed. “You broke into my HOUSE?”
Colin shrugged. “It’s not really breaking in if you have the key,” he said, looking around. “Is it?”
“Pretty sure it isn’t,” I smiled.
“Fuck no,” agreed Brandon.
Garret’s gaze shot to Claudia, who only smiled and shrugged. “You really should’ve changed the locks…”
“That’s breakup 101,” Brandon chimed in. He smacked our antagonist in the chest with the back of his hand. “You fuckhead.”
“Anywayyyy,” Colin said, “back to the folders. Not only did I find and delete your little photo-shoot from our backyard, I also found some other… stuff.”
Colin looked him straight in the eye as he said that last word. Something passed between them that was dark. Very ominous. I watched as Garrett went stark white.
“Y—You took files from my computer?”
“Oh no,” said Colin simply.
Garrett’s shoulders slumped in relief. But only until—
“I took your whole computer.”
The room went dead silent — so much that you could hear a pin drop. At that exact moment, someone knocked on the door, probably to use the bathroom. We all just about jumped out of our skin.
“CLOSED FOR CLEANING!” Brandon yelled.
Garrett’s face was ashen grey. His posture was slumped and low. He looked tiny, now. Insignificant.
Best of all he looked terrified.
“So what’s it gonna be, Garrett?” I asked. “Do you leave Claudia the hell alone for, oh I don’t know… the rest of her fucking life?”
He nodded quickly. Immediately.
“Or do we take what’s on this computer and… well… Colin?”
Colin smiled broadly. I could tell he was thoroughly enjoying this.
“Oh I can think of three or four different places we could bring the computer to,” Colin said merrily. “Your phone too. There’s probably enough on there to—”
“Alright!” Garrett exclaimed. “Alright! I get it. I— I’m done. Claudia and I are totally finished.”
We’d broken him, it was obvious.
And it was a huge relief.
“She won’t hear from me again, I promise. You guys…” He swallowed, hard. “You guys…”
We stood there, eyebrows raised. Silently waiting.
“You guys win,” he said gloomily.
I scratched the stubble on my chin. “That’s good to hear…” I said. “But there’s just still one thing missing from this whole equation.”
He looked up from his misery for a moment. “W—What’s that?”
“An apology.”
Brandon coughed. “A BIG fucking apology.”
“To us,” said Colin, “but especially to Claudia.”
Garrett nodded slowly. He walked over to the sink, turned it on, and splashed cold water over his face. We folded our arms and waited until he was finished. The silence made it especially awkward for him.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “To all of you.”
“And?”
He turned to Claudia. “And to you,” he said. “What I did was… well, it was…”
“Reprehensible?” Colin suggested.
Garrett nodded. “Yeah. That.”
I unlocked the door again. One by one we filed out, putting Claudia before us. I waited until Colin and Brandon took her out of the restaurant. Then I stopped to turn on Garrett one last time.
“Lose her number,” I said. “Forever. And lose our address.”
He shifted from one foot to the other, uncomfortably. I waited until he nodded.
“You lose everything for good, and we don’t ever see you again?” I shrugged noncommittally. “Then maybe nothing has to come of your computer.”
Garrett glared up at me with bloodshot eyes. He looked like someone had just shot his dog.
“Do I, uh… ever get my computer back?” he asked hesitantly.
I smiled and dropped a brotherly hand on his shoulder. “Oh Garrett,” I laughed before walking away. “That’s funny…”
Forty-One
CLAUDIA
Having Garrett out of the picture was like breaking free of the rainclouds and sailing into an endless blue sky. My spirits were lifted. I had renewed energy and ambition and focus.
The semester ended, and the campus got quiet. Not so in our house though. That’s when things got really loud.
Without the pressures or responsibilities of school, there were only two things to do: work on finishing the house, and screwing our tails off. And whether for bad or good, I have to say we worked more on the latter than the former.
Not that I was complaining one single bit.
Christmas came, and it was the best holiday yet. We exchanged gifts early, but my best memories involved a few bottles of red wine, a roaring fire, and decorating the tree with my three beautiful boyfriends. And of course, it should go without saying, making love to them under that tree, when all was said and done.
Colin went home to visit family, and so did Brandon. They were only gone for a few days, but Hunter and I made the most of them. We stayed naked most of the time, walking around the house in our underwear and taking each other whenever the mood struck. And it struck often. Sex can be addictive like that sometimes; the more you got, the more you just had to have.
The two of us spent New Year’s Eve together, taking a cab to a local bar to celebrate… and then coming home to celebrate again in his bed. I let him paint me nude again too, this time stretched out on my back, smiling and flirting with him as he ordered me to stop shifting positions. Laughing defiantly every time I wanted to grab a drink or change a song.
But there were times when Hunter was gone too, working long hours with his uncle and doing things he just didn’t share with me. I never pushed him though. One day, if things continued working out, we’d each have to explain to our families about our arrangement. Polyandry sounded like such a strange word, and couldn’t come close to describing the bond we formed. The three of us were happy, and well tak
en care of. Always thrilled to be around one another, as we formed our own little family.
It was the happiest time in my life, and I wanted to remember every shining moment. Brandon’s marathon sex sessions, that always left me breathless and sore. The night Hunter and Colin took me dancing… and then afterward to a very seedy hotel. The morning I took a shower but didn’t realize I’d put the bathroom doorknob on backwards the night before. Locked naked inside, I’d had to wait almost an hour for the three of them to get home and ‘rescue’ me…
All of it was amazing. All of it, I imprinted into my brain. It was greedy, but I didn’t care. And that’s because with all the sex came an equal if not greater amount of love, and respect, and loyalty in looking out for each other.
As the old Victorian got closer to being finished, I began to worry. What would happen afterward? The University would eventually take possession of the house again. They’d probably use it as an administration building or something. And when that happened… where would we go?
I wanted to bring these things up. Wanted to talk about them with the guys. At the same time though, I didn’t want to spoil our time together. As the happiest time in my life, I wanted to ride it out for a long as possible. Remember every moment, just in case one or more of them ended up wanting something different than I did.
School started up, and things got busy again. We left early and were out most of the day. We came home later each night, but things were no less amazing though. No less happy… until the University’s deadline of finishing by April was finally given to me.
They were making the place a fraternity house again. Occupants to be announced.
“So where are we going?” Brandon finally asked. “We could rent a place, maybe. It would have to be close, but I guess—”
“We’re not renting anything,” said Hunter.
We stared at him that night, across the dinner table. Waiting for him to elaborate.