That wasn’t a question. I need to think about how I’m going to respond to it. I could lie and tell him that I don’t have a thing for his sister, but I’m sick and tired of pretending. So, I go with the truth. I mean, if he decides to throw a punch, I’ll let him land one. But only one. Running my fingers through my hair, I release a lungful of air. I’m doing it. I’m going to tell my best friend the thing I’ve been keeping to myself for years.
“Yeah, Joe. I like your sister.”More than like.
Joe hasn’t moved from his spot by the couch. He also hasn’t spoken.
“Joe?”
Holding up his hand, he finally asks, “Does she know?”
That question makes me laugh. “Uh, no. She doesn’t. Mainly because she’s not speaking to me.”
Joe’s face morphs from pissed-off brother into a smirk. “What’d you do?”
What’d I do? WhatdidI do?
“I, uh, fucked up.”
“Obviously. Now I get why she hasn’t bothered to see me.”
Yeah,that’sthe reason.That, and you’re a dick to her most of the time. But I keep that to myself.
“Tell me what happened.” Joe sits back down and reaches for his beer. “Leave out anything that will make me want to knock you the fuck out.”
So, I do. I tell him about her first date and my role in ruining it. He finds the whole thing hilarious, which doesn’t surprise me. Joe’s an asshole, to be honest.
After I finish telling him the whole story and her reaction since that night, Joe slaps his knee and says, “Well, you know what you need to do, right?”
Short answer? No. Long answer? No. “No.”
“You need tomakeher forgive you.”
“Make her forgive me?”
“It’s what I’d do, because that girl can hold a fucking grudge.”
That seems to be true.
“If her roommate was in on it, ten bucks says she’s doing the same to her.” He chuckles. “One time, I cut the hair on her favorite Barbie. She didn’t speak to me for a fucking month. Not until I wrecked my bike, broke my arm. After that, she felt sorry for me and Barbie-gate was all but forgotten.”
Something tells me he’s wrong about that. If I asked her about her Barbie, my guess is she’s still angry about it.
“So, you’re saying I need to injure myself so she’ll forgive me?”
“Well, I wasn’t saying that. I was thinking more along the lines of a grand gesture, but yeah, maybe getting your bell rung would be enough.” He snickers. “I’d be happy to knock you out in front of her.” Joe shrugs. “If it’d help.”
Snorting, I glare at him. “Like you could knock me out.” Turning, I sit in the chair next to the sofa so I can think. “It’s worth a try.”
When I look up at him, his expression is serious. “You really care about her?”
“Yeah, man. I really care about her.”
“How long?”
He wants to know how long I’ve had a thing for Becklyn? “Forever.”
“Funny. Looking back, I can see it now.”
“Yeah?”
