R Y A N

             I SIT IN A big beige buzzing chair, with massage balls gliding over my back while my feet are submerged in warm water. I have not spent any alone time with Tori since I've been back and she thought it would be a good idea to get manicures and pedicures to pamper ourselves, then doing some shopping afterwards. Personally I could of done without the shopping part, I hate going shopping with other people. Matthew being the worse person to shop with because he drags you into every shop and your out all day while I wanted to go out get what I needed and go home, but Matthew always turned it into a sporting event. I desperately needed to buy new clothes for the office on Monday at Greyson Design's anyway, so I kind of had to say yes to the shopping part.

"Thanks for inviting me along, I'm sorry if I'm gatecrashing your day together," Sophie says in the chair to the right of me.

"Don't be silly, it gives me a chance to spend some time with the girl that's captured my sons heart," Tori says in a mature voice and I giggle when Sophie's face turns red.

The day was planned out a few days ago; Tori said she needed some alone sister time with me now that I'm back because she's only seen me when other people have been around and when she suggested we invite Sophie as well, I thought it was a great idea. Even though she's been my best friend for seven years now and Tori has known her the whole time, she wanted to get to know Sophie properly; not just as my best friend, but as Jackson's girlfriend and of course Soph has been a nervous wreck all day because of it.

"Tori," I whine.

I made her promise not to give Sophie a hard time because of how nervous she was about spending the day with us. It's one thing to have a girls day out with your friend and her sister, but when your dating the sisters teenage son, you obviously want to impress them. Even though Sophie had nothing to worry about.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I won't mention it again," Tori smiles with her hands raised.

"It's okay, I guess I just need to get use to everyone knowing about us now," Sophie's cheeks still blushed as she leans forward to look at Tori on my left.

"Well I'm glad you've both stoping fighting what you feel for each other, because you clearly do care about one another. Jack has never brought a girl home before and when he told me you two were dating I couldn't of been happier to have a nicer girl for him," she gushes.

"Thanks," I hear Sophie say softly and she sits back in her chair, smiling down at the lady painting her toes baby pink.

I look down at my own, the women painting mine a dark blue, almost black colour when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull the rectangle from my jeans, seeing Nico's name flash on the screen. He literally saw me less than two hours ago and he's messaging me already.

Nico❤️:
Princess? Is everything alright? xxx

Me:
Yeah
You not long saw me... you can't miss me already? 🥰

Nico❤️:
Where are you?

Me:
Out with Tori and Soph at the mall
Is everything okay?

Sophie and Tori chat on either side of me to each other, the bar in my messages tells me Nico is typing, but he stops, then he starts typing and stops again. The smile on my face from his first message is gone and now I'm worried because something feels off, something seems weird.

"Has something happened?"

Nico❤️:
Everything is fine princess
I was just checking in to see how my girl was xxx

Me:
Missed me that much huh? 😏

Nico❤️:
Always...
We'll both see you later
have fun with the girls xxx

Me:
😘😘

I smile at his words, especially 'my girl.' It's something I know I'll need to get use to them calling me because I am their girl and honestly I think I always was, but now those words mean more then just friendship. They mean I am their girl and no one else's, just like they are my boys- no. They're my men.

"What's got you smiling all goofy?" Tori says next to me and I quickly hide my phone, slipping it into the pocket of my jean jacket.

"Nothing," I say, but the smile on my face doesn't fade.

"Nothing huh?" She smiles and I hear Sophie giggling next to me, clearly knowing full well why I'm smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

"Nothing," I shrug. but it's no use. Tori can read me like a book and knows something is up, she's just like mum - I know she won't it let go. I don't even have dad to save me this time.

"Come on... tell me who it is?"

My eyes widen, of course she would think that first and obviously she's not wrong. As much as I would love to keep my relationship with both the Greyson brothers to myself and the few I've told, I know I could never keep anything from Tori. Even if I tried my hardest, she would eventually crack me. "Not here, I'll tell you later," I tell her smiling down at the lady doing my pedicure.

"Fine, but your spilling as soon as we get out of here," she smirks.

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          AN HOUR LATER we all walk out the parlour with freshly done manicures and pedicures, walking down to the food court to grab some food before shopping. I knew where I needed to go and what I had to buy, but I knew if I was shopping with Tori I'd need all the energy I could get to not only shop with her, but to tell her why I've been smiling to myself like a weirdo for the last hour.
   We sit in a booth, our trays filled with food from Subway and I pick up my coke to take a sip before my interrogation from my big sister begins. I feel like there's a spotlight on me, being shined in my eyes while Tori looks at me waiting for me to start. If only I knew where to start. If I was nervous telling my friends, I don't know what I am now because I'm beyond nervous.

"Come on, I'm waiting," she smirks.

Sophie places her hand on my leg under the table and gives me an encouraging squeeze, when I look at her she's winks at me, giving me that smile of hers that says I'm here. "Well," I gulp, now turning my gaze to Tori, "I just want to say firstly that it's still new and not official... we're seeing umm... how things go for now until I decide what us is."

"Okay, that's sensible of you. So is it a guy from college or..." she trails off, taking a bite of her sub.

"Not from college, no... a little closer to home," I say shrugging my shoulders hoping I don't have to say it and she'll just guess that I somehow have two guys in my life romantically.

"Does this have anything to do with Nathan sneaking out of your room yesterday morning?" She says, her brow raised playfully and I curse my mother's name for telling Tori. They always have been close, telling each other everything. Maybe because there's only twenty years between them, but sometimes I wish my mother didn't tell the world everything.

"Damn that woman!"

"Don't be mad at her Ryan, she's excited for you and the fact that your dating Nathan, well, it's just the cherry on top of the cake for her. You know how much she loves him," she smiles, but it's not just Nate. I'm with Nico too.

"Tori... what if I told you I am seeing Nate? Would you be happy for me?"

"Of course I would. He's a great guy Ryan and if there was anyone I knew who would treat my sister right it would be him. He's a gentlemen, has a great job and you both get on so well already, your perfect for one another," she says softly while grabbing my hand in hers and rubbing her thumb over my knuckles soothingly.

"But what if..." I hesitate, thinking about my words carefully. I'm scared, so scared what she'll think of me and I really shouldn't be. It was my choice to try, it was my choice to see where this went with them both and if people don't like it, even my own family, then that's just what I have to live with. "What if I'm not only seeing Nate?"

"You're not?" She questions.

I turn to Sophie looking for guidance, she just smiles at me with a nod and I carry on, looking back at Tori. "I'm not only seeing Nate, I'm also seeing-"

"Nicholas."

My eyes widen and my lungs stop working as I struggle to breath with the shock. My mouth opens, then closes and opens again as I try to speak, to ask her how she's knows. My first thought is Jackson, but I know he wouldn't betray my trust like that, he never has. Even with all the bullying in my teens I swore him to keep my secret and like the loyal man I know he is, he did. Then I look towards Sophie, trying to find some sort of answers to who may have hold her but again, just like Jackson - Sophie and Mathew would never break my trust.

"How did you know?" I say, finally finding the courage to speak.

Tori puts her sub down, taking a sip of her diet coke and leans forward, a small gentle smile on her face. "Ryan... when you left for New York they were broken, for weeks they were miserable without you and to be honest Noah and I didn't really understand why. Even their mum was worried about them. One Saturday night the boys decided to have some guy time round our house, I was suppose to be with the girls from work, but a few shifts got swapped around and we had to cancel last minute so I gatecrashed their night. After a few drinks they started acting like themselves again, both of them glued to their phones like it was their lifeline, texting someone all night, but they still spoke to us, even as distracted as they looked. Then Nathan slipped up," she smiles pausing.

"Go on," Sophie says, invested in the story a glint of excitement in her eye as she leans forward.

"He said "I miss her," waving his phone at Nic. Obviously this made Noah and I sit up straight, curious. We've never heard of either of them speak about anyone before, except when Nicholas was on and off with Melanie, but Noah always said it would never go anywhere. We were surprised to hear Nathan had his eye on someone, because just like Nic, he's always been private about his love life and then Nic answered him, "me too," so we just had to ask.
   They told us everything about the girl they were both in love with, the girl of their dreams and how they could never have her even if they wanted to. They said she was off limits because it would never be fair on her to choose between them. We asked who she was, but they refused to tell us, said it was their secret and they would never tell anyone, not even Noah. Once there were more drinks involved, all of us getting a little buzzed, Nathan eventually cracked," Tori smiles, her eyes fading over as she reminisces about that night.
   "He said, "I love her Tori... we both love Ryan... your sister is the most amazing person I've ever met, but no ones knows it, no one sees it but us. They don't see what me and Nic see, but we would show her everyday single day just how much she's means to us." Nicholas smiled at him then turned to us and slowly nodded his head, he said the same thing, "I love her... we love Ryan." I was so shocked," Tori chuckles, her smile still there as she speaks. "Even Noah was confused, but then he said it made sense. He's never seen them both so calm around anyone, especially Nicholas. Ryan..." she says grabbing my hand in both of hers, "I'm so lucky to have Noah in my life, but you have no idea how lucky you are to have two men who are so in love with you as much as they are."

"Love?" I say with a squeak. It was no secret, I knew how they felt about me. Their emotions for me were so much stronger than mine because they had feelings for me longer than I knew, but I didn't know they were as deep to say that they loved me. Of course they loved me and I loved them, but saying you love someone and saying you are in love with someone is completely different. "They said they loved me?" I had to ask again.

"Yeah," Tori chuckles with a nod.

"How long?"

"You'll have to ask them, I've already said too much," she says, holding her hands up and sitting back in her chair.

"Oh c'mon Tori, I'm your sister," I pout.

"You need to ask them Ry."

"Fine," I whine with a pout and pick up my sub again to start eating. "So... your fine with it? With me, Nate and Nico?" I ask wearily.

"Honestly? No," she says and my eyes widen, fear setting in that not everyone will as excepting like my friends have.

Everyone has been by my side through this so far. Sophie, Mathew and Jackson all said they were happy for me and it's slowly made me more excepting to the fact that I'm with two men, but hearing Tori say 'no' makes me wonder if it's the best decision for me. To have two boyfriends is not classed as "normal" but in all honesty what is classed as normal these days?

All the muscles in my body are tense with worry, of all the people in my life, Tori was the one person I thought would be on my side, on our side. But the look on her face and her words right now have me worried, "Tori, look I-"

"Ryan let me finish," she says cutting me off, her feature's soften and she smiles sweetly at me. "At first I thought if they ever tried to make you pick either of them it would break you, because I knew you wouldn't be able to. I hated the idea you to be put in that position, but they swore they would never let you do that - they would never make you choose between them because they know how much each of them mean to you. I'd never thought they would share you Ryan, not in a million years did I think that could happen and honestly is scares me because double the trouble equals double the heartbreak if everything didn't work out," she says, her lips pinching together.
   "But I don't care. All I care about is your happiness. I always have and the one thing I've always wanted for you as your sister," Tori grins and looks over at Sophie, a twinkle in her eye. "And for Jackson as his mother..." she looks between the two of us, "is that you both had people in your lives that would love you and take care of you no matter what."

"Told ya!" Sophie says, bumping my shoulder with hers, a smile tugging the corner of her lips.

I smile at my sister, Sophie matching my smile with her words about her and Jackson; I'm so relieved that Tori is happy for me because it's worried me since day one what everyone would think about my relationship with the two younger Greyson men. Sure I shouldn't care, because what happens behind closed doors it's no ones business but our own, but I still wanted my family to be happy for me, to accept both of them as the most important men in my life.

"Thanks Tori," I smile at her, my body relaxing.

"I'm happy for you Ryan, I honestly am. Yes, it is a little unconventional and some people will have their own opinions, but who gives a shit," she shrugs.

"Tori!" I giggle, acting shocked from her foul language.

We all chuckle together, the people around us giving us funny looks, but we don't care what they think. In all honesty, when it comes to my relationship with Nico and Nate I shouldn't really care what people think because they make me happy and I make them happy.

"Now for the big question?" Tori says getting all serious.

"I am not giving you details!" I say wide eyed and hiding my face in my palms.

"Actually... an even bigger question than that..." she says, raising her brow. The serious look on her face has me worried, what could she possibly be be hinting at?

"What?"

"What are mum and dad going to say?"

"Oh... uummmmmmm."

*word count - 2690*

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So if you follow me you will know I was having trouble with a chapter I was writing,
this one to be exact.
I wrote it with a massive amount of dialogue & half way through
I though I don't need all this in here so I deleted it, which then turned into the previous
chapter with the boys at the office...
but I still had great ideas for this chapter & felt like it was needed...
so I tried again.

I hope you enjoyed it.
As always please vote & comment below, you I love to hear from you all!
Thank you so much for the continued support.
Stay safe,
CeeCee
xoxo
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