Page 12 of The Chase

“Yeah, no fucking shit! You’ve been playing like absolute garbage. I’ve never seen a worse pylon out there.”

“Fuck you, Roxie!”

“Eat a dick, hoe!”

“Fucking slut!”

Then we both smiled and cracked up. That was just the way we were with each other. My sister got under my skin, and I got under hers, but she was my best friend.

“Tell me what’s going on,” she urged again.

I sighed and scrubbed a hand across my jaw. “I have to ask you something super personal.”

“Okay…”

Maybe I should have asked Noah or Benny this question instead. I chewed on my lip and looked up at the ceiling as I thought of how to ask her this question.

“Oh my God! What?” she asked.

“Have you ever, you know…faked it?”

“Faked what…” She trailed off, and her features softened as she put two and two together. “Oh. Oh, bud. I’m sorry.”

“I feel like I did something wrong, and when I saw her today, she couldn’t wait for me to leave.”

At that last part, Rox narrowed her eyes. “Goddamnit, Tristan. I specifically asked you not to fuck my employee!”

“She’s an adult!”

My sister sighed. “I know, but Max isn’t like you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Look, Max is kinda fragile, okay? I love you, and I want you to be happy. I want you to find a love like I have with Benny. But…”

“What?” I snapped.

She peered at me, staring down at me with hazel eyes that mirrored my own. “Do you want that? You’ve been telling us for so long you don’t want to be tied down. You want that bachelor life forever.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to settle down. It was just that I didn’t think I deserved that.

I knew I should have been over the things my high school girlfriend said to me, but her words still cut deep. I forgave her for it, but when I was alone with my thoughts, her words came back to haunt me. Deep down, I always thought she was right. I didn’t deserve what Noah and Dinah had, or what Riley and Fi had, or even what my annoying sister and Benny had. I wasn’t like them. I wasn’t good enough for anyone, and I never would be.

“It was nice to have someone who cared about me last year. I really fucked up with Taylor,” I admitted.

“Wait, a second. Last summer you told me there was someone you were interested in, was that Max?”

I nodded.

I never told Rox I asked Max for her number because I knew it would piss my sister off. Especially since I was a dick and never called. I didn’t deserve a good girl like Max, and I certainly didn’t deserve love.

“I fucked it up,” I said.

“How?” she asked.

“I asked for her number and then never called her.”

Hazel eyes bored into me, and then Rox punched me hard. “Ow! What the fuck!”