Page 30 of 10 Things I Hate About Mistletoe

“This world sure gets off on telling us how we should look, right?”

The reality was Delilah had lumped him in with all those assholes. Assholes like his dad and brothers.

Thinking about them brought up a new irritation he’d been trying to forget. Grant showing up in town hadn’t been to catch up. He’d been on a mission from their dad to invite Anthony to Thanksgiving with his father and his wife. Anthony hadn’t talked to the man since his mother’s funeral, when his dad acted like he cared, and then his dad had the balls to ask him what Anthony would do with his house.

Not his mom’s house. Not Anthony’s house. His.

Nick and Pike had jumped in to pull Anthony off his dad. Grant had his father in a bear hug, hauling him out of the wake. His other brothers had tried talking to him after that, but he didn’t want to hear from any of them. Since the divorce, he could count how often his siblings had visited on both hands. With the exception of Bradley, the rest of them could fuck off.

Which brought him back to Delilah. She’d assumed he thought she was less than because of her size, and nothing could be further from the truth.

He hadn’t gotten a chance to tell her that before Pike showed up and apology-blocked him.

Anthony shouldn’t be such a dick to Pike. The guy had no clue as to what he’d walked in on, and even if Pike had known, it would have been weird to ask him to leave Anthony alone with the woman he was interested in.

“Is Pike being a pain in the ass?” Nick asked, breaking into his thoughts.

Anthony opened his locker with a laugh, grabbing his towel. “Pike is always a pain in the ass.” He wiped the scratchy cloth over his sweaty face and tossed it back inside. “But no. I had a misunderstanding with someone and didn’t get to explain myself. It left a bad taste in my mouth.”

“Can’t you call them?” Nick asked.

“I don’t have their number.”

“Huh?” Nick leaned against the lockers, watching him. “Is it a woman?”

Anthony glanced away. “Why does it matter who it is?”

“Because I spill my guts to you regularly.” Nick said, studying him intensely. “Why are you being cagey with me?”

Anthony cleared his throat. “Maybe I don’t want to talk about it yet?”

“Oh, so this is big,” Nick said, stroking his chin. “Were you seeing someone and not sharing with the group?”

“No,” Anthony said, taking a long drink from his water bottle. “I haven’t been out with anyone since the summer.”

Nick winced. “The chick that lied about liking camping?”

“Yep.”

Nick used one of the white gym towels on his own face, revealing a grin when he lowered it. “Is it about your life as a monk?”

Anthony scowled. “Fuck off. I should have never told you.”

“What, that you vowed to stay celibate until you found the one?” Nick asked, fluttering his lashes. “I think that’s romantic.”

Anthony shut his locker with a snap. “Can we stop talking about this?”

“Sure, but I’m going to wear you down.”

“You do what you gotta do,” Anthony said, heading for the urinals. “I’m going to take a piss and then hit the bag for a bit.”

“Is that your way of trying to get me to shut up? Because I have no qualms about talking to you while we pee.” Nick came up alongside Anthony and lowered his voice, “Together.”

Anthony snorted. Nick didn’t make good on his threat, leaving Anthony in peace. When he’d first decided to give up sex, Nick was the only one he told. He was afraid that he’d end up being a punchline.

Laughter shattered the quiet as more men entered the locker room.

“Damn, did you see the size of her? How does she think coming in here in that is okay? I’ll never get that image out of my head.”