“It’s complicated, okay? Can we drop it?”
A laugh snorted out of him. “Complicated is what we all say when the girl’s being a pain in the ass.” The mound of food on his plate disappeared at an impressive rate, even though he didn’t talk with his mouth full. “She didn’t want to party with you? Even after you sweet-talked her for half an hour?”
“Fuck’s sake. It’s not like that with Piper.” I stood and grabbed a tortilla, using it to sop up the remnants of my meal.
“Piper, huh? The unicorn has a name.” A wicked grin slid across his face.
Mentally slapping my forehead, I stood and walked my plate to the sink. “She has a name, and she’s been through some shit, so I’m taking my time. That okay with you?” Filling the basin with hot water, I went to work cleaning up the pans we’d used to cook dinner.
“Aw, that sucks, man. Being the rebound is never good. Means she’s moving on from you from the get-go.”
My friend’s words knifed through me. “Did I say anything about an ex?”
“You said she’d been through some shit. Usually means a bad breakup.” Finn continued to stuff food in his mouth, oblivious to the wounds his words inflicted. “Bad breakups lead to rebounds lead to heartbreaks for the guys who pick them up.”
“It isn’t some biological chain reaction or whatever,” I grumbled. “What the hell do you know about it anyway? Have you ever even had a girlfriend?” I shot over my shoulder.
His fork stopped halfway to his mouth as a cloud descended over his features. “Once.” His fork reversed course to his plate. “Not in a hurry to repeat the experience.” His chair scraped over the linoleum as he stood abruptly and snagged a beer from the fridge.
“Yeah, well. I have other plans for this lady. And I’m patient enough to let them play out.”
Chapter Ten
Piper
“You hooked upwith Bax again?” Chessly asked as she lounged on my tiny couch.
As apartments went, mine was about the same size as Chess’s dorm room. Its two upgrades were a “great room” kitchen/living-room combo and a private bathroom. But I wasn’t complaining. At least no one else could live with me here.
Not that my sister hadn’t used our cousin’s phone to contact me to ask about moving in.
Gah!
“I was bored”—lonely—“and needed a distraction.”I can’t stop thinking about him. “So I hit Stromboli’s after the game and Wyatt hit on me.” Shrugging like it was no big deal, I finished making our tea and handed a mug to my friend, nodding at her feet stretched across the cushions, taking up my seat.
She rearranged herself, sliding back into the corner and pulling up one knee as she sipped the hot beverage, a naughty grin on her face. “Is this why you didn’t want to go home for Thanksgiving—because you’d lined up another hookup with Wyatt Baxter?”
Shooting her a glare from beneath my brows, I said, “No. I didn’t want to go home because Ben mentioned something about Phillipa bringing Charlie with her.” I sipped my tea and set the cup on the table beside the couch. “After the way he came on to me at the Molly that night, I had a suspicion the two of them were planning an ambush. I didn’t need to be the focus of a scene that would irritate my parents into forcing me to move back in with her.”
“Running into Bax was only a happy accident, huh?” Her eyes bore into mine. “Because you had no idea Stromboli’s is one of his NIL sponsors.”
“Why are you pushing me about it? Aren’t you the one who keeps telling me to put myself out there, get back on the horse? Since I kicked Charlie to the curb, you and Saylor haven’t let up about me jumping back into the dating pool.”
“Yeah, but a football player? Emphasis onplayer. From what Jamaica says, Bax only ever hooks up. He never sticks around past the first date.”
“Works for me.” A little voice in the back of my head asked,Does it?But I ignored it. “Besides, we haven’t dated, only hooked up, which we both are fine with.” A picture of the disappointment flashing across Wyatt’s face when I refused to give him my number made me squirm inside, but I’d truly done the guy a favor by not involving him in my drama, yeah? Resting my elbow on the back of the couch, I let my head drop into my hand as I regarded my friend. “Enough about me. How was your Thanksgiving?”
With a knowing smirk, Chess shook her head, but she went along with the change of subject. “As usual, Dad and I helped serve meals at the homeless shelter in the afternoon and watched the last football game of the day at Gran’s where we stuffed ourselves with turkey, dressing, and all the goodies. Gran loaded almost all the leftovers into a box, and Dad and I feasted again on Saturday while we watched the Wildcats on TV.”
Guilt stabbed me. While I’d been wallowing in self-pity in my teeny apartment with my turkey dinner for one, my friend and her dad had been helping people who had nothing. I should have thought to do that. No doubt it would have been more festive than sitting alone and poking at food it took all morning to make. Who knew eating Thanksgiving dinner by myself would be such a hugely depressing experience?
But it beat spending the day with the perpetrators of TheFuckery.
With a speculative expression, Chess regarded me over the rim of her drink. “It’s only two weeks till finals. It’s one thing to hang out here for a long weekend, but what are you going to do for a couple of weeks of Christmas break?”
A long sigh blew out of me. “I don’t know.” Pulling a face, I said, “Spending even five minutes with my sister might end up in a murder. If she invites Charlie, there’s a possibility of me spending the rest of my life in maximum-security.”
She patted my knee. “I’ll make sure to be on the jury. Innocent by reason of betrayal.” After a thoughtful sip from her mug, she asked, “Seriously, what’s your plan? Dad and I spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my Gran, but after that, I mostly work at his store. It’s not exciting, but I bet he could find something for you to do.”
