Chapter Three
“Come on, Elliot. Tell us what happened. We promise not to say ‘I told you so.’” Spencer winced and cast a furtive glance at the ceiling. “God, I hope I don’t get struck by lightning.”
“I highly doubt that’s the worst lie you’ve ever told,” Wolf drawled and sipped his martini. “God is probably tired of you asking for so many favors.”
“Well, I do call out to him often enough, but usually it’s with a ‘yes, please, don’t stop,’ tagged onto the end of it.” Spencer snickered into his glass, and Elliot rolled his eyes.
“You’re an overgrown child, Spencer,” Elliot huffed, exasperated with their back-and-forth.
“Finally you see what I’m talking about,” Wolf said with a smirk of satisfaction.
“Oh, you’re no better than him. Don’t you two ever get tired of sniping at each other?” For as long as Elliot could remember, the two had been locked in a constant battle of wits to see who could annoy the other more.
Spencer gazed at him, surprise in his eyes. “Not really. Knowing I get under Wolfie’s skin keeps me young.”
“Then you’re gonna get old pretty damn fast, because if you think your opinion of me matters, you’re even more foolish than I imagined. Which is damn near impossible.”
The waitress came by and dropped off their drinks order, and Elliot grabbed his. Wolf arched a brow and patted his hand, giving it a squeeze.
“Come on, Ello, tell us.”
A kind and compassionate Wolf was too much to bear—he’d rather have the stern warnings and disgusted headshakes—and hearing him use the silly nickname they’d given him when they were freshmen almost caused Elliot to break apart. He’d have to work on hiding those emotions better.
“Brian and I are done. It was moving too quickly for him, and he wasn’t ready to settle down with one person.”
“Sorry I’m late.” Chess slid into the space next to him. “I had to talk to a student after class.”
“Not a problem,” Elliot said, happy for the distraction. “They”—he tipped his head toward Spencer and Wolf—“are at it again.”
“What now? One of them said the sky is blue and the other disagreed?” Laughing to himself, Chess smiled at the waitress, who brought over their meals. “Wendy, can I have a glass of Chardonnay and the scampi with linguine?”
“’Course, honey. And what’s wrong, Elliot? You look like you’ve got a bad case of the sads.”
“Brian and I broke up.”
She sighed and put a hand on her hip. “Can’t say I’m sorry. I saw that the time you brought him here. He wasn’t for you. I’ll put your order in, Chess.”
Elliot threw up his hands. “Again?” Frustrated, he gulped his wine. “Why am I never the one to see this?”
Chester sipped his water. “Let’s face it. It happened again, despite you saying it wouldn’t. You didn’t listen to anything we told you after the breakup with Dakota, except to meet someone new. You went ahead and fell for the first guy you met. At least this time he didn’t steal money from you.”
Feeling like a bug pinned under a microscope, Elliot squirmed in his seat. “He told me he wanted something permanent. I thought…” His shoulders hunched forward in dejection. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter.”
“He wanted in your pants and thought saying that would get him there,” Spencer cut in and waved off Wolf and Chess’s objections. “Oh, shut up. You know I’m right, and I’m the only one with the guts to tell him.”
“Your problem,” Wolf said, “is you don’t know what you want from a man.” Finished with his sniping at Spencer, Wolf had turned his attention to cutting his steak, which he now chewed and swallowed with slow, even bites. Everything he did was precise, and Elliot had learned over the years not to rush his friend.
“What do you mean? Yes, I do.”
“Are you sure?” Wolf set his knife and fork on the plate, finished his scotch, then turned to Elliot again. “Look. We’ve watched you go through relationships”—he pointed at Spencer—“like this one goes through condoms. You have yourself and the flavor of the week living together and picking out rings before the first date is over. I thought maybe you learned with the candlemaker and wouldn’t jump with the salesman, but it seems that wasn’t so.”
Chess, who he thought would back him up, gave a slight nod and a shrug, which Wolf took as a sign to take Elliot apart further. “The fact is, you have no idea what you’re looking for in a relationship, and if you say you do, you’re lying to yourself. All you talk about is love, love, love.” Shaking his head, he cut another piece of steak and chewed.
“Stop it. Stop picking on me.” Nervous as always under Wolf’s intense scrutiny, Elliot broke eye contact. “I’ve known you too long. I’m not one of those assistants who work under you and think you’re the big bad wolf. And yes, pun intended.”
“Wolfie wouldn’t know what to do with someone under him. His hair might get messed up.” Spencer snickered.
Sensing the tension, Chess, always the peacemaker, jumped in the middle. “Come on, guys, stop. We only manage to get together every month or so nowadays. Do we want to spend it fighting?”
