“What are we doing here?” she asks, looking around. The grocery store has been closed for about a year, the only other vehicles in the lot are for sale.

“We can’t kiss you when we drop you off. Need to say our real goodbyes here.”

“Jesus, you whipped mofo,” Shane says around a laugh. “It’s only seven nights, and we’re in the same zip code.” After I lean over the console and kiss her deeply, he sighs. “Okay, I see what you mean. My turn.”

He kisses her, then points her face back toward me. I kiss her and don’t have to turn her much, he’s already right there, waiting. Pretty soon, the three of us are kissing. I don’t know whose tongue is whose, and this is something new. It should freak me out, even a little, but it doesn’t. She’s our girl. We’re hers. We both belong to this hot little nerd, and she wants us both. I feel the rasp of his stubble on my cheek, and it’s strange, but not bad.

When the kiss ends, we’re all three of us a little quiet, contemplating the newest development in our relationship. When we drop her off, Shane carries her bag to the door, and we say hello to her parents, act like Boy Scouts, and leave her.

I feel fucking hollow as I pull away.

“This sucks.”

“Yep.”

“I can’t believe we just left her there.”

“Yep.”

“We need to figure out how to make everyone as cool with this as we are. I don’t give a rat’s ass what people think of me, but I don’t want you guys to get pulled down. I don’t want people gossiping about Penelope.”

I tap on the steering wheel. “I can’t think of any combination of words that will make everyone cool with this. Her parents, my parents, my sister...and that’s not including our coach or teammates, or the people Penelope goes to class with. I don’t want people pointing at her or talking behind her back, either.”

Shane thumps his head on the backrest. “We can hide it for a while. But are you thinking this is a long-term thing?”

“Truth?” I ask and hold my breath. He’s my best friend, not just my drinking buddy or roommate. Best. Friend. The kind that take bullets for each other.

“Always, dude.”

“I do think this is a long-term thing. I’m trying not to rush things, since we’re her first boyfriends.”

“You’re her first boyfriend. I’m a friend with benefits.”

“Bullshit.” I miss a turn on purpose because we need to finish this conversation before we go inside my parents’ house. “When I say long-term I mean the three of us.”

“I’m not in it for that.”