I’d expected us to stay in Eric’s room for the evening, cuddled up in his massive bed, watching a movie or a show on his flatscreen TV.
Instead, I was sitting on the living room couch, wedged between Bennie and Eric, with two giant pizzas on the table in front of us.
“We could playMario Kart?” Bennie suggested, playfully waggling his eyebrows. He had a plate with a slice of pizza precariously perched on his knee.
Eric rolled his eyes. “You just want to win.”
“Damn right, I want to win!” Bennie cackled. “You owe me one.”
Eric blew out a breath, then took a huge bite out of his pizza slice, chewing extra thoroughly. I bet he was doing it just to piss Bennie off.
If so, it was working.
Listening to them bicker while sitting between them was a bit like a tennis match. I was constantly busy, turning my head from one to the other, trying to keep up with their verbal sparring.
They were like oil and water.
Complete opposites.
Fighting like fucking siblings.
But beneath it all was a layer of familiarity that came from knowing someone inside and out.
And somewhere between my second and third slice of pizza, I realized I wasn’t just meeting Eric’s friend and roommate. It felt like I was meeting hisfamily.
“Hey, Finn, what do you want to do? Want to try your hand at beating me inMario Kart?”
I shrugged.
To be honest, I didn’t really want to play games. I was tired as fuck.
Bennie studied me intently, a grin still tugging at his lips. After a couple of seconds, he sighed. “Fine. Let’s watch something… what aboutSupernatural?”
Eric cringed, but I nodded.
“Sounds good.”
“Have you seen the show?” Bennie asked.
I nodded. “It was really popular when I was in high school.”
“Perfect. In that case, I want to watch an episode where Dean is in purgatory. Because I really like my namesake. You know? Benny. Thevampire?”
I could swear I heard Eric snarling, but when I looked at him, he looked perfectly composed, if a little exasperated. But that seemed to be normal for him when he was in Bennie’s proximity.
“While Bennie’s putting on the show, I’m gonna get us something to drink. Finn?”
I sighed.
I know I shouldn’t, but…
“Do you have Coke?”
Eric looked at Bennie, who nodded. “Yes, I bought a couple of cans. They’re in the fridge. I also got Fanta, beer, ginger ale…”
Eric’seyes snapped back to me, waiting expectantly.
“Still Coke for me.”
