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Orzo is the last and he takes my lips, a quick and searing connection. His sage green eyes are a hurricane of energy.

“You better be here when I get back.” His threat lands in a different way than expected.

My core pulsates, not understanding that Orzo is a brutally intense man.

“Yes, sir,” I quip back, offering a salute while still on my back.

Orzo straightens. “I’m serious, Cinnamon.”

“I know. I’m being cereal,” I joke back, attempting to lighten the seriousness of this moment.

Kale chokes on a laugh, but Orzo doesn’t even smile.

“We have to go. Now,” Reuben reminds them.

Each man offers one last lingering gaze before they file out of the room. Orzo is the last as he tugs the door shut behind him.

***

Bark! Bark! Bark!

I must have dozed off, because next I know, Beanie is smashing her cold nose against mine and barking in my face.

“You need to go outside, don’t you?” I groan, lifting her up and rolling off the bed together.

She squirms in my arms, and I set her on the ground, opening the bedroom door. She sprints to the elevator.

I need a leash.

Taking a quick look, I find her collar on the bar along with a food and water dish for her on the ground below it.

Scooping the collar, I don’t see a leash anywhere.

But that’s a charging cord.

Taking the cord, I tie it into her collar and then attach it to Beanie.

She wriggles her tale at me, her ears flapping in delight.

Stuffing my feet into the unfamiliar sandals next to the elevator that are mysteriously my size, I wait for the elevator.

***

Downstairs and out on the sidewalk, I allow Beanie to tug me towards the only patch of grass nearby.

A busy road is behind us, but I pay it no mind.

The sun is at its peak, and it is sweltering. The long black shirt I wear sticks to my body, and the boxers underneath aren’t much better.

I need a shower, and then I can figure out exactly what three boyfriends means.

Three boyfriends.

The thought is insane and it preoccupies my mind.

“Cinnamon?” The voice is familiar.

Eerily so.