The Start-Up Page 10

  After reading Adam's email, Fi launched into a full onset of tears. She had let her insecurities get in the way of her happiness. She had let her past boyfriend influence her relationships. Adam, Blaine, and Crawford were all truly great guys, but she wouldn't let herself fall in love with them.

  Now, it was too late. It took her until late into the night to go through all the messages they'd had sent her. Each token of correspondence had echoed the same message. They loved her. They missed her.

  The last message from any of the guys was a week ago. She'd spent so long avoiding her true feelings and now they may have moved on. She'd been selfish to not let any one of them express themselves to her.

  She finally fell asleep in a ball of hopeless anxiety. She had wanted them to leave her alone. She had gotten her wish.

  Chapter

  Fi had the next few days off from working at Flytown Coffee. She spent that time doing nothing but hiding in her bedroom. Tessa had called a few times, but she was too upset to talk to her.

  Still in a fitful sleep, she was awoken by incessant knocking and her doorbell ringing endlessly. She covered her head with two pillows, but whoever was at the door was not giving up.

  A thought came to her. What if it was one of the guys?

  She bounded out of bed happy that she still had a chance. When she threw open the door, she saw that it wasn't Blaine, Crawford, or Adam.

  "Oh," Fi said, her voice rich with disappointment.

  Tessa's eyes narrowed. "Where have you been? You haven't answered your phone in ages! I thought you were dead!"

  Fi rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry." She had been a horrible friend. "I am so sorry. Come in!"

  Tessa crossed her arms and clucked her tongue. "I literally haven't talked to you in over two weeks. I feel like you've been avoiding me."

  Fi looked at her old friend. Seeing her face pent up with concern broke her. "I have." Tears sprung from her eyes. "I have."

  "What? Why?" Tessa asked in shock.

  "I'll tell you everything," Fi said.

  Over a pot of coffee, Fi told Tessa everything from beginning to end. Tessa said nothing, letting Fi spill it all out at once.

  When she was done, Fi asked. "What do I do?

  Tessa grabbed both of her shoulders and said, "You go to them!"

  Fi asked, "Are you sure? What if..."

  Tessa shook her head. "There are no 'what ifs'! You go to them. if you're to late, you're too late and we will deal with that if it comes to that. But for now: Go!"

  ADD IN PART ABOUT THREE PARTS OF HER? FROM TESSA?

  Chapter

  Before Fi could go to them, she had to see for herself. She believed in Luv Maite and the love algorithms she built herself. She ran the the program on all four of them. She waited with anticipation for the results. The results would tell her if she had made a mistake or not. She wasn’t sure what outcome she was hoping for.

  Either Luv Maite would predict Crawford, Blaine, and Adam were matches for her or it would not. With the state of how thing were in their relationship, the results would mean happiness or heartbreak.

  She didn’t have to wait for long before Luv Maite gave her its predictive analysis. She stared at the screen in shock. With shaking hands, she took a photo of the results with her phone. She had already decided she would see them regardless of the Luv Maite results, but with its analysis she was shaken. There was so much more on the line now.

  She jumped in her car and drove to Palo Alto. The entire drive she second guessed herself. What if the algorithms were wrong? She shook her head and scolded herself. She had to stop doubting herself and her work.

  Then again, if the algorrithms were right then it meant… She wiped the tears brimming her eyes. She wasn’t going to get worked up again without talking with them. That was her first mistake to begin with. She should have given them a chance to talk to her.

  She arrived at the house in a flurry of emotions. She bounded up the steps and rang the doorbell with her phone in her hand. She had to show them the Luv Maite results. She had to state her case. She hoped they would give her the chance to speak, an opportunity she wouldn’t give to them.

  When no one came to the door, a prickling fear sprouted inside her. Were they really there and ignoring her? Just as she had done? She tried to calm herself to not jump to conclusions. She fingered the key to the house on her keychain. She could always let herself in.

  But should she? If they were inside trying to avoid her, shouldn’t she leave?

  She sauntered down the steps feeling fully defeated. What did she expect? She’d ignored them for weeks. She’d shut them out. It was only fair they shut her out, too.

  When she got to her car, she couldn’t bring herself to open the door and get in. This could be her last chance. The more time that stretched between her and the guys, the more difficult it would be to salvage anything that could still happen between them. She forced herself to turn around.

  At the door to the house, she ran again. “It’s Fi!” she said, noticing her voice was shaking.

  She knocked. “It’s Fi! Please! Talk to me!”

  She pressed her ear to the door. She couldn’t hear anything.

  After a few moments, with her heart beating wildly, she said, “I’m coming in! I’ve got to you three. Please!”

  She used her key to open the door. She noticed a stillness in the house that she’d never felt before.

  “Hello? It’s Fi! Hello?”

  She made her way to the main room where they’d spent so many hours together working on Luv Maite. The computer monitors were gone. Her heart dropped like a stone in the sea.

  She checked the date on her phone. A realization slowly came over her. Z-Combinator. Today was the day they were all to leave for it.

  They were gone.

  She gripped the kitchen counter with one hand, feeling a dam break inside of her. Without trying to hold back, Fi sobbed. She had been too late. All that time she had wasted!

  They were gone.

  Chapter

  The three men, CEO, COO, and CTO of Luv Maite, got into the Uber to head off to the airport.

  They had each prepared for their big moment presenting to Z-Combinator. What one would think would be a joyous march to their destiny felt like a silent descent to their ill fate.

  The men had said little to each other the entire morning. Now, in the car together with their Uber driver, Harold, there was dead silence.

  Harold glanced at Blaine sitting next to him up front. “You men going to a funeral?”

  Blaine replied, “No.” He laughed nervously. “What makes you say that?”

  Harold shrugged. “My apologies. I assumed from the looks on your faces.”

  Crawford and Adam exchanged looks. Crawford stiffened his back, a failed attempt to look relaxed. While Adam sunk deeper in his seat, not wanting to engage in any banter.

  Harold, a grandfather with ten grand children, eight boys and two girls, tried again with the closed off men. “Business or pleasure.”

  Adam huffed. “It was going to be a bit of both, but now it’s just business.”

  Blaine glanced back at Adam. “We could try to call her again.”

  Crawford, looking out the window, answered, “She’ll ignore us like all the other times we’ve tried.”

  Adam remarked, “It doesn’t feel right going to this thing without her.”

  Blaine rubbed his forehead. “I know. It doesn’t.”

  “What should we do? Not go? We’ve worked so hard for this,” Crawford said. He looked up at the car’s ceiling. “But so did she.”

  Harold tapped on his steering wheel. “Are we talking about a co-worker or… a girlfriend?”

  All three men replied at the same time, “Both.”

  Harold’s eyes widened. He pushed up his glasses, confused but intrigued.

  “We still have a few days before we have to present,” Blaine said.

  Crawford shook his head. “That’s true.”

&nb
sp; Adam sat up in his seat. “I say we delay going to New York right now. I say we find her and tell her how we feel.”

  Blaine hit the dashboard with his palm. “I agree!”

  Crawford looked at both of his friends, who were looking at him with anticipation. “Let’s do it!”

  Harold pulled over on a side street. They hadn’t even left the neighborhood. “I take it we’re not going to the airport?”

  Blaine chuckled, “Please take us back to your house, my good man.”

  Harold nodded his head as the turned the car around. He wanted only to offer a bit of advice for these young men. He didn’t quite understand their situation, but he could tell they were in love. “If she is worth fighting for, fight for her!”

  When they drove up to the house, Fi’s car was in the driveway.

  “She’s here!” Adam exclaimed.

  Harold remarked, “Well, that was easy.”

  Chapter

  Chapter

  Fi gripped the kitchen counter. She felt if she let go, she would collapse. She would realize what a selfish fool she'd been. She had let her insecurities destroy her. She had let Trevor's past comments influence her today. The universe had sent her three amazing guys, who cared for, but she blocked them out.

  Her sobs overtook her. Her body convulsed in grief. She shut her eyes tightly as the world seemed to spin out of control around her. She'd been given a chance for happiness, but she chose to stay in the comfort of her doubts.

  They were gone now. Any chance they would want to work it out now, after she had abandoned them, was unlikely. Z-Combinator was a big deal. Possibly, the biggest deal of her career. Luv Maite was more than a job. More than thousands of lines of code. She had let them down by ignoring them when they needed her.

  She took her phone out of her pocket. She looked at the screenshot of the Luv Maite analysis of Fi matched to the three guys. She didn't have to run the program on them. She knew in her heart what it would say.

  "Fi?"

  She looked up from her phone. It was Adam.

  She wiped the tears falling from her cheeks. "What are you doing here?"

  Blaine walked in behind Adam. "Fi!"

  Then, Crawford who heaved his backpack down on the floor. "Thank god, you're here!"

  "What about Z-Combinator? Why are you here?"

  Blaine replied, "We couldn't go without you."

  A release of emotions exploded in Fi's body. She held her phone up to show them the results. Her voice shook when she spoke. "I ran Luv Maite on us." She took a deep breath to get a hold of herself.

  The men surrounded her, looking at the screen.

  Adam - Fi : 99.99% match

  Crawford - Fi : 99.99% match

  Blaine - Fi : 99.99% match.

  She leaned back on the kitchen counter to steady herself. What she had to say would take strength. "I knew in my heart we were right for each other. It scared me. What we have is so rare. I felt so lucky that this happened to me. That you three happened to me. But... I somehow felt I didn't deserve it. I never think the best of myself. It was easier for me to walk away than to face my fears."

  "Fi..." Crawford said, brushing the tears from her cheeks.

  "I love you. All of you." Blaine handed her a napkin to wipe her tears. "Thank you."

  Adam cupped her chin with his hands. "I love you, too."

  Blaine kissed the top of her head. "I love you."

  Crawford pushed himself between the counter and Fi. He put his hands around her waist. "I love you, too."

  Fi's face exploded in joy. "I'm so happy to hear you say that. I was afraid. So afraid you didn't feel the same way!"

  Adam kissed her on the lips. A long and slow kiss. When he pulled away, he said, "I was afraid of that, too. But, sometimes you have to jump. I jumped. I love you."

  Blaine stroked her check with his thumb. "I've been protecting my heart for so long, too. That's why I ran through girls, like I did. Then, I found you. I didn't want to lose you but that terrified me! I jumped, too. I can't imagine my life without you. I love you." He kissed her on the mouth, still stroking her cheek.

  Behind her, Crawford embraced her tightly. "I fought my feelings for you. Going through heartbreak is about the most painful thing I'd ever gone through. It scared me to risk myself with you, but I had to. I've jumped. I'm all in. I love you."

  Fi pressed her body back against Crawford's. She'd missed them. She missed their bodies. Their arms around her. Their mouths on her body.

  Crawford brushed the hair off her neck. "i've missed you," he murmured before kissing her neck.

  Adam pressed his mouth to hers. He twirled his tongue around hers, their kissing getting deeper and more urgent.

  Blaine dropped to his knees. "I want to kiss your other lips." He pulled down her pants. In a rush to leave her house, she hadn't put any underwear on. Blaine spread her pussy lips open, quickly finding her clit. He licked her sweet pussy.

  Crawford lifted Fi's shirt over her head. He continued to kiss her neck as he unclasped her bra. When her tits were free, he grabbed both of them, pinching her nipples. Fi felt her legs start to sway. She pressed her body firmly against Crawford's body behind her for support.

  Adam gently put his hand around her throat, bringing her into the kiss even more. Fi could feel her body tingling all over until an explosion set off in her pussy. She moaned in Adam's mouth, who kissed her deeply.

  The men led her over to the couch where Fi promptly got on the couch, pushing her ass out to them. She wanted them all at once. "Use my ass, my pussy, and my mouth," Fi purred, wanting her men inside her,

  Adam pounced on her ass eager to get it ready for penetration. He slipped two fingers in her pussy. It was already sopping wet. He took a wet finger, slick with pussy juice and pushed it into her asshole. Fi shuddered at the delicious feeling. She pushed her ass out even more, wanting more than just his finger.

  As Adam loosened up her virgin asshole with his fingers, Blaine stood before Fi on the other side of the couch. He slapped his cock against her face. "You're so beautiful."

  Fi smiled as she flicked her tongue out to lick his cock tip. She wanted to be beautiful for them. When she opened her mouth wide, Blaine slipped his thick cock between her plump lips.

  Crawford pushed his cock inside Fi's pussy. She let out a yelp, feeling his girth fill her up.

  Adam, balancing on the coffee table for leverage and position, pushed his big black cock into Fi's tight asshole. Fi had never done this before. She clamped her eyes shut, focusing on Blaine's dick in her mouth. She was pleasantly surprised at how good it felt to have them all inside of her at once.

  She opened her eyes, pulling out Blaine's cock from down her throat. "Fuck me!"

  The men intensified their thrusts. Blaine grabbed a fistful of hair from the top of her head and pushed in and out offer needy mouth. Crawford reached around to her clit and fingered the hardened nub while he plowed into her pussy. Adam, having been given the go ahead, pounded into her asshole with full force, enjoying the tight squeeze of her unchartered orifice.

  Fi had never felt so wanted, so loved, and so fulfilled. A fiery bolt of energy flashed deep inside her belly until it erupted outward to her limbs. She moaned loudly, feeling her body writhe and shudder from the ferocious orgasm.

  Through gritted teeth, Adam said, "It's so tight!" He held on a few moments longer, slamming his giant black dick into her ass. He released his cum load inside of her, pulling out his dick with sweat dripping down his face.

  Crawford took Adam's place, quickly slipping his heavy cock into her puckered hole. Blaine retrieved his dick from her wet mouth and circled to the other side of the couch. As Crawford built up his tempo inside Fi's ass, Blaine plowed forward into her dripping wet pussy.

  Fi, now without a giant dick to muffle her screams, cried out. "Fuck! It's so fucking good!"

  She turned around to watch Crawford and Blaine fuck her. She was entranced by their sculpted bodies, glistening with sweat and
pummeling her asshole and pussy.

  Adam brushed the hair falling into her eyes. "You look so hot getting fucked like this."

  She turned to him, looking up to him with pure love in her eyes. He leaned down to her and kissed her, gently biting her lip.