“Still, you’re bailing out early for Netflix andChill.”
“Ignore my little brother, Grady,” Gordon said, putting Tommy in a headlock. “He doesn’t ever get to thechillpart of Netflix before his date runs for the nearest exit, so he wouldn’t understand how awesome it is. Chill means sex, Tommy, and a man has needs. If Grady’s gotta dip out to get his wick wet, that’s fine in mybooks.”
“Gee, thanks, Gordon,” Grady frowned as he shook his head. “Maybe I just prefer her company to yours.” Tossing a couple of bills down on the table, he cast one more unamused scowl in our direction beforeleaving.
When he’d gone, Tommy wandered over to the only pool table in the bar that was littered with beautiful girls. Gordon and I watched while he tried to pick up a few of them, being his regular goofball self. The girls giggled under his attention, but none of them acted interested in the pool lessons he wasoffering.
“I hope he’s not asking them to rub his cue again. I told him that was a terrible pick up line and to never use it again, but he’s not that bright,” Gordon remarked. I laughed, shaking myhead.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to check it. I hadn’t seen Becky since the day after the wedding, but we’d been textingnonstop.
She didn’t want to risk anybody seeing us before we told Brock, and Braden was in a foul mood after Elle returned to Barrie so she had no one to watch Aiden. I’d offered up a solution in my mom, but Becky had venomously refused it. She said she didn’t know my mom well enough to ask that of her, and she felt weird aboutit.
I understood, but in the same breath…my feelings for her weren’ttemporary.
The message wasn’t from her—it was from one of my producers. I ignored it, shoving it back into my pocket without reading it. I couldn’t get my mind off of Becky, and the last thing I could think about in that moment waswork. My knee bounced up and down, my aggravation rising. I had half a mind to just show up on her doorstep, just to see her and be with her for a few hours, but I knew that’d go over about as well as bathing acat.
“Why the long face, pretty boy?” Gordon mock-pouted, still razzingme.
“No reason,” Istraightened.
“See, I’m not buying that,” Gordon said decisively. “You’ve been acting weird allsummer.”
“How the hell have I been actingweird?”
Gordon pinned me with a considering stare. “That’s a long list bud. Let’s see…there was the whole twin thing, you showed zero interest in either one of those girls and they weresowilling. Then there’s the wedding—you didn’t bring a date, which is so not like you. I was so sure you’d bringtwodates that I bet Grady. I lost fiftybucks.”
“Fake tits are overrated, no matter how willing they are. And I didn’t bring a date to the wedding because I didn’t know anybody who wouldn’t accidentally slip the details to the paparazzi,” Ianswered.
“That’s never stopped youbefore.”
“This was my best friend’s wedding,” I reminded him through narrowed eyes. “I wouldn’t chance ruining his bigday.”
Gordon hummed, clearly not believing me. “Whatever yousay.”
We were silent for a few moments, watching while Tommy struck out with one girl and moved on to try his luck with thenext.
“What pissed you off the most about Brock and Tessa being together?” I asked, the question spilling from me before I could think it through. “Was it just that he broke the code?” In high school, Brock and Gordon had enforced a bro code specifically regarding their sisters; they were completely offlimits.
“Is this about Becky?” he asked, glancing back at me, a slight smile on hislips.
“What?No.”
“Travis, there aren’t any more sisters in the group. It’s either about Becky, or it’s about Tessa. And if it’s aboutTessa—“
“It’s not about Tessa, for fucks sakes Gordon,” I grumbled, pissed that he’d cornered me into being more honest than I’d intended on being, and pissed that I’d walked straight intoit.
Gordon laughed richly. “I knew that all along. I saw you guys leaving the receptiontogether.”
“Fuck off,” Igrowled.
“I did,” Gordon smirked, looking extremely pleased with himself. “Annaka and I slipped out to…relieve some tension, if you know what I mean, and we saw you guys climbing into theEscalade.”
“Seriously?” Ideadpanned.
“Seriously. If the Escalade’s a rocking, don’t come a knockin’,” Gordonjoked.
“Can you stop fucking around and answer the question?” I asked, my aggravation rising. “What pissed you off the most aboutit?”
