Scott tilts his head back and laughs. And then he stands. “Turns out you’re a really good liar, dildo.”
“What’re you talking about?”
Cecily throws the cup on the ground and bubbles up a laugh. “He knows, Dylan. He knows.”
“Knows what?” I ask.
Scott shakes his head. “Why can’t you just admit it?”
“Admit what!”
“That you’re fucking her!”
When I look at Cecily, she sways. “Yeah, and why haven’t you called?” She squints her eyes at me. “Hmm?”
I look at Scott. “How much has she had to drink?”
Cecily says, “Whatever Alix gave me. Whatever Alix had. Whatever Scott had.” She lies back on the bed and laughs.
“Jesus Christ.” I tug at the back of my mullet.
“Dylan,” Scott says, pointing at me. I take a few steps back as he pushes me around the corner. “What the fuck are you thinking, man?”
“What?”
“You know what?”
I shake my head. “No, I actually don’t, so fucking spit it out or get out.”
“You’re screwing her? You said you were done screwing around. How many times does this have to happen for you to fucking understand what you’re doing, man?”
I scoff. “Like you’re one to talk, Scotty, you––”
“We’re not fucking talking about me.” He lays out his hand in front of me and starts counting. “Layla. Penelope. Viv. Now, Cecily?”
“You don’t––”
He puts his hands up. “You want to deny it?”
“Deny what?”
“That the same shit keeps happening. You pull them along, dangle the dildo in front of them, and when feelings get involved, you dip.”
“Same as you, right? Fuck’em and leave’em.”
He snorts. “I can tell you like this one, so stop fucking it up.”
My chest tightens. I hate that he’s right, that I keep playing the same games with these girls. I don’t want a girlfriend, though. I don’t want to talk about feelings. Having a puck buddy like Cecily is perfect. This is the ideal scenario, yet here she is, drunk, and asking why I didn’t call.
I sigh. It’s the same shit every time, and Scott’s right. I’m not learning from experience.
Then I hear chuckling around the corner. Cecily pops her head out with a big smile. Her face makes me forget everything Scott was saying. Whatever he was about to say, he’s wrong this time. I like her smile too much. Cecily innocently taps on Scott’s shoulder.
“Oh, dear, Scott,” she says, holding both his shoulders. “Dylan and I are just friends.”
Scott turns to me and says, “Hear that, dildo?”
She grabs his cheeks now and says, “It’s okay, Scotty.” Then she looks at me. “Do either of you have Skittles? Oh my god. Chocolate? I would love a Snickers right now.”
