Triple the Love

What is going On?

Hank

I had been surprised when Jack had reached out to me, asking if we could talk. If he could stop by. After everything that had happened, I hadn't been expecting to hear from him so soon. Or ever. But despite my initial shock, I was relieved that he wanted to talk. Maybe this was what I needed. Something to help make sense of this mess with Corey. Of course, I was also curious. What could Jack possibly want to talk about? We hadn't spoken since that night, and I wasn’t even sure if either of us had truly processed everything that had gone down. There was too much hurt and too much betrayal, and we had been left spinning with the aftermath of Corey’s confession. I heard a knock at the door, and I stood up from my spot on the couch. He was here, and suddenly I was a lot more nervous than I cared to admit.

“Hey, Jack,” I greeted him as I opened the door. Jack nodded in greeting, and I quickly led him into the living room. There was a strange tension between us, the weight of everything unsaid hanging in the air, between us. I gestured for him to take a seat and we both settled on the couch, the silence stretched on uncomfortably. For a moment, neither of us said anything, but then Jack took a deep breath and broke the silence.

“What Corey did was pretty messed up,” he said. Jack’s voice was low, but firm. “We were both blindsided,”

“Yes,” I agreed as I clenched my jaw. It was an understatement. Corey hadn’t just messed up. He had betrayed us. Lied to us. I had trusted him. I had opened myself up to the possibility of something real, and he had torn that trust apart by dating both me and Jack behind our backs.

“But I do understand why he did it,” Jack continued. “He was confused. Torn between his feelings for you and his feelings for me…but still, he lied to us and that hurts,”

“It does hurt,” I said, my voice tight. “I thought we had something real, but apparently, I just wasn’t enough,” it was probably a hurtful thing to say to Jack, but it was the truth. I hadn't been enough for Corey. He wanted Jack as well.

“Well, I know how you feel. I felt the same way. I thought things were headed in the right direction and then…well, then everything just came crashing down,” Jack said, and for a few minutes, we continued to talk about how we felt. Hurt, confused, betrayed. It was a strange way for us to bond, but I took comfort in knowing that I wasn’t alone in this. Jack and I had both been dragged into Corey’s mess and now we were left to pick up the pieces. But then – after a moment of shared silence – Jack dropped a bombshell. “You know, I used to have a crush on you. Years ago,”

“Wait…what?” I stared at him in surprise as I tried to process what he had just said.

“Yeah, back when we first met. I had a thing for you. I mean, I never said anything, and I never acted on it…well, I mean, it was pretty clear you didn’t feel the same way,” Jack explained with a sheepish smile. I blinked as I tried to wrap my head around the information. Jack had liked me? I hadn't seen that coming at all. Jack and I had become good friends, he was someone I trusted, but I had never seen him as anything more than that. And to be honest, I had no idea what to make of his admission now.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” I finally said, as I felt awkward and uncomfortable. I had no idea what to say to him. Jack chuckled, and I felt a bit nervous as I watched him.

“I didn’t expect you to know. I wasn’t exactly obvious about it,” there was another pause, and I could feel the tension growing again. Thicker than before. I just couldn’t make sense of why he was bringing it up now. Was he trying to tell me that those old feelings were still there? Was he trying to test the waters to see if I felt the same way? Or if something could happen between us? The truth was that Jack wasn’t my type. He never had been, and he never would be. I liked him. As a friend. I respected him. But that was as far as it went. I couldn’t see him being anything more than a friend. It didn’t even matter what had happened with Corey, the idea of suddenly jumping into another complicated situation – with Jack – made my head spin.

“Ah…Jack,” I said as I cleared my throat and leaned forward in my seat. “I’ve never thought of you in that way…I mean, you are a great guy, but I just don’t see you as more than a friend…and even if I did…I don’t think I am in the right head space for something like that right now,” Jack’s smile faltered for a moment and I could see the conflict in his eyes. He looked torn and hurt. However, before I could say anything more, there was a knock at the door. “Sorry, hold on a moment,” I said to Jack as I stood up. When I opened the door, my heart sank. Standing on the doorstep was Corey. A very nervous-looking Corey.

“Ah…hey, Hank,” Corey greeted awkwardly, his eyes searched mine. I stared at him, speechless and surprised. The last person I had expected to see was Corey and I had no idea why he was here now. Jack and I had, literally, been talking about the mess Corey had created and here he was, standing on my doorstep. “Can I come in?” Corey then asked.

“Ah, sure,” I said as I stepped aside to let him in. I shut the door behind him, and before I could say or do anything, Corey was already headed to the living room. The living room where Jack was sitting. I hurried behind him so that I wouldn’t miss anything.

“Hey, Jack,” Corey greeted him, and I was just in time to see Jack give him a bright smile. Had they already talked? I felt unsure of what to do or say. My heart pounded in my chest and a million thoughts raced through my mind. Why was Corey here? What did he want? Had he already spoken to Jack? Why had Jack looked so happy to see him? But the biggest question was: what the hell was I supposed to do now?