“I don’t know what you do when I’m not around.”
“I fuck my wife in the tub—that’s what. Now, hurry up and tell me why you called before the water gets cold.”
“Fine. Jesus,” I grumble, making both of them laugh. I need new friends. “Presley’s birthday is tomorrow, and she’s in Vegas all by herself, and I’m this close”—I hold up my thumb and index finger, almost touching—“to buying a plane ticket and joining her. Talk me out of it.”
“Why?”
“Why what? Why is she all alone or?—”
“Well, sure, I guess. But?—”
I cut him off mid-sentence. “Her boyfriend cheated on her, and she dumped him. Vegas was supposed to be the trip they took together.”
“Go!” both he and Keisha shout together.
I throw my free hand up in exasperation. “You’re supposed to talk me out of it!”
“I never agreed to that,” Jonas says. “Baby, did you ever hear me agree to that?”
“Nope,” I hear Keisha reply.
“See?” He shrugs. “And why wouldn’t you want to go? Like you said, she’s all alone. On her birthday.”
I wince, hating the idea of her spending the whole day by herself. “I know, but she’s also fresh off a breakup, and I’m?—”
“You’re what?”
“I’m not sure I’m the friend she needs right now.”
“And why is that, Hollis?” God, he’s a smug asshole sometimes.
I let out a frustrated sigh. “You’re really gonna make me say it, aren’t you?”
He grins. “Yup.”
“I don’t think what I feel for her is just friendship anymore, okay? Happy?”
It doesn’t mean I am in love with her, I try to convince myself. It just means that my feelings for her are a bit more complicated than I realized.
“So happy.” His grin turns wickedly mischievous. “I’d be happier if you’d just admit you’ve been obsessed with that girl since high school, but this will do. Now, do you want to leave tonight or tomorrow morning?”
“What?”
“Oh, while you were working your way through all that, Keisha was busy looking up flights. So I’ll ask again. Do you want to leave tonight or tomorrow morning?”
I bite my bottom lip, trying to find a reason not to go. But I just keep picturing her alone and miserable on that pool deck. “Tonight,” I finally say. “I want to be there when she wakes up.”
“Who knew our boy was a romantic?”
“It’s not like that, Jonas.”
“But you want it to be,” he reminds me.
“It doesn’t matter what I want. She just broke up with her boyfriend, and right now she needs a friend.”
“But it’s Vegas!”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
