Unbroken

Chapter 21: The Talk

A/N: I'm on a roll this week, so I figure, why not share my enthusiasm with y'all as well... which means... UPDATE TIME!

Now, let's not be too hasty and go expecting regular updates, but this story is sort of speaking to me again. 

Rook:

I leaned against my truck, waiting for Nix. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long, because I was starving and my meter was beeping at me, as if I couldn't tell I was low.

Nix had his bag slung over his shoulder and his dark hair was a mess. "'Sup?"

"Nadda." My hand shook slightly as I tossed the keys to my truck to him.

Without missing a beat, he reached out and snatched them from the air. "So, what do we need to talk about?"

"Food first." As badly as I wanted to discuss what was on my mind, I knew I should get something inside me first. I grabbed my spare glucose from the glovebox and popped a couple in my mouth.

Nix tossed his bag in the back, then hopped in the driver's seat while I climbed into the passenger side. "Are you at least going to give me a hint?" he asked as the truck roared to life.

"Nope," I replied as I relaxed against my seat. Either way, it would drive him insane until we could have an honest to god conversation about it, so why make things worse by teasing him with half-answers?

I pulled my phone from my pocket and texted Kacen to let him know we were on the way. "So, your dad...?" I didn't look at him, knowing he'd be more likely to answer my question if I acted like it was no big deal.

Nix snorted. "Old man came home falling down drunk. Only smart thing he did last night was call an Uber. Lucky me, I had to go pick up his car, or he would have made life hell this morning."

Sympathy welled in my gut. He spent a lot of nights over at Kacen's, but I knew he worried his dad would hit his mom while he was out, and now that Emma lived next door, he seemed even less inclined to have sleepovers.

"I'm sorry your dad is such a douche, man."

When I stole a glance at him, a small smile tugged at his lips. "You and me both."

I yawned as we pulled into Kacen's driveway a few minutes later. Sleep had eluded me for half the night as Emma had cuddled against me. I'd spent half the night wishing we could have sleepovers often, and the other half of the night battling a hard on as she'd nestled her ass against my groin.

Nix pulled to a stop and we both hopped out, meeting Kacen in the kitchen doorway. "B-breakf-f-fast is n-nearly r-r-ready," he said, not bothering with a greeting.

Nix ran his fingers through his hair, brushing it out of his eyes. "Why no Emma? And I thought we were going horseback riding."

I shook my head and grimaced. "Emma's grounded for some reason."

Kacen's eyes widened as he went back to stirring the eggs. "Emma?"

"She's grounded?" Nix questioned as he dropped into a chair.

"Apparently." I stole a piece of bacon from a plate, then sat down as I munched on it.

"What ab-bout l-l-last n-night?" Kacen asked. He turned the stove knobs to low as he grabbed the plates and silverware.

I shoved the bacon into my mouth, using it as an excuse to compose my thoughts before speaking. "I admit to breaking the speed limit as I drove over there. Found her on the floor in the middle of a panic attack because her fucking sister decided her boyfriend could climb into the house through that tree between your guys' houses." I gestured to Nix.

We all grabbed a plate of food and sat back around the table. Shoveling a forkful of food in my mouth, I was relieved to finally be eating something.

Nix crumbled his bacon and mixed it into his scrambled eggs. "Anything else happen last night?"

I felt my face flush. "I stayed the night with her. I was afraid he'd come back."

Kacen's gaze fell on me. "What aren't you saying?"

Instead of answering directly, I asked a question of my own. "How do you feel about her?"

They shared a look. "I think it's obvious that we both like her," Nix replied.

"Why d-do you ask?" Kacen added.

I smirked. "Because a certain blonde told me you'd kissed her." I wasn't sure how I felt about that, to be honest, but after I'd left her house this morning, I'd taken some time to do some research, along with grab a shower. I just wished I could have remembered to grab something to eat to avoid feeling a bit sick when I came to pick Nix up.

Kacen paled as his gaze darted between me and Nix. "Why w-would she, um, she t-tell you ab-b-bout that?"

I grimaced. "Because I kissed her as well."

Kacen got to his feet, nearly dumping his glass of milk over. "You what?"

"Kissed her," I muttered. I wasn't sure how to bring up what I'd read about, but I didn't want to either alienate my best friends over a girl, or make her unhappy because we all wanted her.

Kacen's jaw clenched, and I could see the anger radiating through his body. I waited in silence to see what he'd do next. A moment later, he slumped back into his chair. "Shit."

"I have a proposal," I announced. Nix quirked his brow with interest and continued eating while Kacen's gaze flew to mine in confusion, so I continued, "Either none of us attempt to have a romantic relationship with her, or we all do."

Nix scowled. "And eventually she'd have to choose."

"But what if she didn't?" I countered. Yeah, I'd read up on poly relationships. I wouldn't normally consider it, but to be honest, if I thought about how I felt, I wasn't upset that Emma and Kacen had kissed. If anything, I was a little turned on by it. Not that I wanted Emma to go around kissing any guy with a pair of lips... but I'd be okay with a set up like this.

Of course, I had no idea what Emma wanted. She might want nothing to do with being in a relationship with us. But I figured we would all need to get on the same page before we ruined our relationship with her.

Kacen chewed thoughtfully on his toast. "If th-this re-relationship was ag-greed upon... it w-would j-j-just be us, r-right?"

I nodded. "Not an open relationship, if that's what you're asking." I broke off a piece of the crispy bacon and tossed it into the air to catch it. When I did, I fist pumped the air and Nix held up his hand for a fist bump.

"H-how w-w-would it w-work?" Kacen asked. At least he seemed like he was contemplating it.

Nix ran his palms over his eyes. "How do we know she'd even go for it?"

"We don't. And there's a chance she wouldn't be comfortable with the whole dating three guys at once thing. But if I'm not mistaken, all three of us like her as more than a friend." I met their gazes.

Nix slowly nodded. "Can we think on this before we agree?"

"Of course." I didn't want to push them into something they didn't want. I just knew I didn't want to feel guilty for wanting her in the same way my best friends did. It felt like I was jumping the gun, but I didn't want this to be a Mary Beth all over again. She played us against each other and seventh grade was hell because of her.

Not that I thought Emma would ever play us against each other.

I shoved the last of my toast in my mouth as I took my dishes to the sink. "I'll send you guys some links to check out and we can talk about it later."

The stood as well, both of them looking thoughtful as they traipsed through the kitchen. "Sounds good," Nix remarked.

I only hoped I was doing the right thing and not about to completely fuck up our relationship.