“I’m proposing to Mia next week, and I want you both to be a part of it,” Jackson says to Braden and me after work one day.
“Dude, congratulations!” Braden high-fives him.
“That’s great, man.” I mimic Braden, though not as enthusiastically, since marriage is a sore subject for me these days.
“So what’s the plan?” Braden asks.
Jackson goes into the details, but somewhere along the line, my mind takes a nosedive while thinking back to my proposal from months ago and how different things would look right now if it had a better outcome. Instead, I’ve got a standing appointment to fuck once a week and multiple dates scheduled to meet the women Justin vetted to become my wife.
While ruminating, a name from the conversation catches my attention.
“Sorry, what was that?” I look up from my beer, not knowing who said what, only hearing that Cici was mentioned.
“Cici’s flying in for it. Are you okay to be around her?” Jackson asks.
Oh, for the love of God.“That’s great. Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
“Do you want an answer to that, or was it rhetorical?” Braden asks with an eyebrow raised in speculation.
“It’s fine. We had our fun three months ago. We’ve moved on by now.”
Jackson scoffs, “That’s the biggest load of crap I’ve heard in a while. You havenotmoved on.”
Fuck.I quickly think of something to say that’ll prove otherwise, considering I’m getting engaged soon, and go with the first thing that comes to mind. “I have.” I point to Braden. “Remember our bet after New Year’s? I’ve been seeing that girl since then.”
“Dude, seriously? All I heard was that she gave you a damn good BJ,” Braden says, still doubting my story.
“What can I say—it had me at hello.”What the fuck am I doing?
“You’re shitting me. You’ve been seeing this chick for that long and haven’t mentioned her? I call bullshit. Jackson, what do you think?” Braden turns his direction, waiting for his reply.
Staying silent, Jackson stares me down, probably torn between wanting to punch my lights out for moving on so quickly after his sister or being relieved that I’m not still stuck on her. I’m unsure which side will prevail, so I brace for impact.
“Come on, Jackson, I smell a liar. Help me out here,” Braden encourages.
“I’m not sure what to believe since this is the first I’ve heard of her, not to mention you’re still moping around like your dog died. It’s okay if you’re still hung up on Cici. You don’t need to make shit up. It’s not like I’d say anything and make my sister feel worse than she already does. So fess up. Are you seeing this chick or not?”
Goddammit. I don’t know which direction to go. I’m supposed to be pulling off a fake engagement soon, yet that won’t work if they think I’m still in love with Cici, and they won’t believe otherwise unless I give them a reason to. I’m fucked no matter what I do. How did I end up here again? Oh yeah, Cici’s coming to visit. Shit. I’m pissed that I’ll be committed to someone else when she’s here, but I’ve backed myself against a wall.
“Yes, I am. I kept it on the down-low because we hooked up so quickly. I didn’t want anyone assuming it was a rebound. She’s been patient with me and knew I was dealing with some shit. Also… you know her and so does Cici, so it was complicated.”
“What the fuck? Who the hell is it?” Jackson goes from composed to furious in two seconds flat.
Braden’s watching, waiting for the fallout. Yep, I’m fucked.
Here comes the icing on the motherfucking cake. “It’s Rebecca, the temporary assistant who stepped in when Mia left.”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me. Why would you do that, man? Of all the women in this godforsaken city, you went and chose one that would piss her off. Was that your goal—to get even for turning your sorry ass down?”
“Okay, whoa. Calm down, buddy. I was there that night, and it was a chance encounter. Eli didn’t plan anything other than to drown his sorrows. Right?” Braden turns to me.
However, I’m not ready to speak and let my anger take over. To hear someone accuse me of intentionally hurting Cici isn’t something I’ll sit quiet for. The worst part is knowing how wrong this situation is. I’m a fucking asshole for it, but that’s nothing compared to what’s coming. I’ll inevitably look like a prick in the end, but I won’t let him accuse me of hurting her on purpose.
“Let’s get one thing straight: I would never intentionally hurt Cici. Rebecca approached me that night and offered to help me win a bet that Braden and I made. It was just sex at first, but eventually it became something more. I wasn’t looking, nor did I want a relationship, but she was persistent and worked her way in. It just happened, man. I’m sorry.” I run my hand through my hair, wanting to punch a hole in something.
I’m frustrated at not only the entire shit show that’s become my life, but more importantly, the realization that I just sealed my fate. There’s no way I can pull off an engagement with someone else at this point. It seems like Rebecca is about to have her dream come true after all.
14
