“So, um. What do you do?” I ask, making small talk.
We turn the corner and he takes back his arm. “My family owns Albertsons’ Liquor out near the I-5 exit. I work there and help my dad run the place. Which means I’m stuck in the office more and more. But the place will be mine one day so I guess I better get used to it.”
“Does it close on Wednesdays?”
“Is that your way of asking me why I’m not at work?” he chuckles.
“No... Yes.”
“I put in the hours, trust me. But Anaise asked for some help and I can’t say no to that woman.”
“She’s cute,” I say, because it’s true.
“She’s fucking beautiful.” I look at Austin. “Don’t you start, too… She’s like an angel that nobody can touch. I’ve had a thing for her since high school and it’s not going away.”
“Aren’t y'all a little old to have an entire group of friends that are all single?”
“We’re not all single.”
“Butyouare?” I ask with a cheeky smile.
He stops in his tracks. “I think I just remembered somewhere else I need to be.”
I cock my head to the side. “If you chase her too much you’ll give her the ick.”
Austin shakes his head and starts walking again. “Every time you open your mouth you remind me more of your brother.”
In only a few minutes the furniture is in the truck.
“Is this the best shit you could find?” Austin asks as he lifts the armchair onto the truck bed.
“Pure impulse purchase.” I shrug, lifting the second bedside table. “Shawn cleared Eden’s place out.”
“I bet she did.” Austin closes the tail gate and heads to the driver's door. Once we’re both inside he continues. “They were pretty good for each other. Shawn's wild and your brother's game, but I could always see she liked him too much.” He starts the engine and pulls out.
“I guess you’d know better than me.”
“I’ve got a theory, right. It’s called thefive to ten percent rule.If a relationship is going to last, the guy needs to be five to ten percent more into the girl. That way he keeps chasing her just enough for her to know he’s only ever looking at her. I’m not saying I think your brother ever cheated on Shawn, but I do think she started looking for attention elsewhere.”
“What about same sex couples?”
“That, I know nothing about.”
“Do you think things will last with her and Reeze?”
He breaks out into a loud laugh. “Not a chance in hell. If they’re still togethernowI’d be surprised.”
“Why do ya say that?”
“Reeze is a nice guy. Like, a genuinely nice guy. He doesn’t have the sameI wanna watch the world burnaura that Eden and Tek have got. He’s a people pleaser. I don’t excuse what he did, but I also don’t think it would have taken long for Shawn to wear him down. A few compliments in his direction and he would have been putty in her hands.”
I ponder on Austin’s insights, but it’s something he said earlier that I can’t get out of my head. “You said before, not all of you are single. Of your friends, I mean.”
“Yeah. They’re not. Some even have kids.”
“Right. So, um… I know how you feel about Anaise, but she looked really close to Tek.”
“She is.”
