Again, she tilted her head. “What’s there to be sorry about?”
I got defensive. I felt, unsurprisingly, like I’d said the wrong thing. “I just meant, I heard there might have been some embarrassment with the confusion.”
She shook her head. “No embarrassment on my part. It’s all good fun.”
Her reaction put me at ease. “Yeah. It’s all good fun. I’m glad to hear you say that.”
She smiled.
I enjoyed a moment of silence, looking out at the beach with Gwen standing beside me.
Finally, she said, “We’re doing some redecorating. We’re going to be bringing in some of the tables from the terrace.”
“Oh.”
“But you’re fine there. Stay as long as you want.”
I took a sip of my coffee. “Thank you. I didn’t come by for a quickie. I, too, want to take my time.”
Though I was looking straight ahead, I caught a glimpse of Gwen out of the corners of my eyes. She looked confused if not troubled. I turned to her. “Did I say something wrong?”
She looked away from me and bit down on the inside of her cheek. She exhaled through her nose then shook her head. “No. It’s my fault.” She turned and walked back inside.
“Wait. Gwen.” I jumped out of my seat and followed her in. “Wait. Gwen.”
She stopped and turned to me.
“I don’t get it,” I said. “What’s wrong?”
She dismissed my question with a swat of the hand. “I thought I was having a private conversation with Travis. I guess I was wrong.”
“Oh.” She was visibly upset. It was because of what I’d said, and I hated myself for it. “Please, don’t be upset, Gwen.”
“No?” She went from visibly upset to visibly angry.
“I mean, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“It kind of is,” I said.
“How so?”
“I’m the one who told the guys about you and about this place.”
“Are you the one who told Manny, Santiago and Nolan to make a bet to see who should ask me out?”
I shook my head.
“Are you the one who told the triplets to have a little fun at my expense?”
I shook my head and put up my hands, palms out. “No. That was a mistake. An accident. They just wanted to meet you. Bad timing, I guess.”
She smiled, but it was a forced smile. “It’s OK, Axel. Like I said, it’s all good fun.”
She started to turn. She was going to walk away from me again.
“Gwen.”
She stopped and looked at me.
“That’s how we are, you see. We don’t keep secrets. We share everything.”
She exhaled through her nose and nodded. “So, I’ve been told.”
“I mean, not like that.” I paused. Am I suggesting there are limits to what we’ll share? “Well, maybe like that,” I continued awkwardly. “I mean..”
“What are you trying to say, Axel?”
“I’m trying to say I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.”
“You don’t feel like Travis sharing the text was a breach of trust?”
She shrugged. “I guess I should be used to it by now.”
There was hurt in her voice. I stepped up to her. I put my hand softly on her arm. “Gwen, we will never betray your trust. But, we share everything.”
She tilted her head to the side and a small smile started to form on her face. “Everything?”
I nodded. “Everything.”
She bit down on her lower lip. Her eyes searched the upper corners, as if she were considering something.
I hoped against hope she was considering the same thing I was, the same thing we all were.
“Gwen, we have a rare leave next weekend.”
“What does that mean?”
“That means we have the night off next Saturday and Sunday. Why don’t you come out with us, get to know us better?”
“All nine of you?”
I smiled and motioned to her. “All ten of us.”
Her lips twisted into a half smile, half frown. “Hmm. I’ll think about it.”
“Please do,” I said. And I knew that for the following days, I’d be able to do that and nothing else: think about it.
6
Travis
I was surprised none of the guys asked me for Gwen’s number. It would have been difficult for me to deny them; we shared everything, and we weren’t about to let that change, not for a girl, not for anything, not even Gwen. I put it down to guy code: If you want a girl’s number, you have to ask her for it; by any other means, and it’s dishonorable—triplets excluded, of course. And since Gwen texted me and not my brothers, that meant that they could treat me a bit like their secretary: ‘send Gwen a text from me; tell her I’m thinking about her.’ ‘Send Gwen a text for me. Tell her I’m dreaming of tasting a delicious muffin, and that I’d like to try one of her baked goods, too.’
I was happy to oblige. All the texts came from me, though they started with, from Nolan, or from Elijah. And of course all replies came to me. I read them, but I didn’t filter them. That’s not what we were about.
From Santiago: ‘please say you’re going to come with us this Saturday. We won’t be able to come if you don’t.’
Response from Gwen: ‘If there are nine of you, I expect to come at least nine times!’
From Manny: ‘I know you’re not dating. So, this Saturday, we won’t consider it a date. No pressure, but you have to say yes.’
Response from Gwen: ‘I love it when a man tells me what I have to say. Will you tell me what I have to wear, too?’
From Manny: ‘As little as possible.’
From Taylor: ‘I wonder if you’ll be able to tell me and my brothers apart. I’ll be the sexy one, the one you can’t keep your hands off of. Don’t worry, though. I won’t mind.’
Response from Gwen: ‘I know it will be difficult to tell you guys apart. Which one of you is the cocky one? I can’t remember.’
From Axel: ‘I’m looking forward to seeing you this Saturday.’
Response from Gwen: ‘I haven’t said yes yet. Or are you guys not into the whole consent thing?’
From Axel: ‘You said ‘yes’ to me with your eyes. But, also, please actually say ‘yes’ with your voice. We are very big into the consent thing.’
From Travis: ‘The last time I saw you, you offered me your muffin. I’m hungry again!’
Response from Gwen: ‘The last time I saw you, you took your nut and left. Let’s not have a repeat performance of that.’
From Nolan. ‘You’re all we’ve been talking about. This Saturday is going to be great. We’ll be on our best behavior.’
Response from Gwen: ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
“Is it possible,” said Nolan, “that this girl is actually into all of us?”
“She’s just having fun,” said Elijah.