Chapter 21

Joey

“Are you sure you have everything you need?” I ask my brother as he walks around the house gathering all of the things for his camping trip that he should’ve rounded up before today.

“Did you get Doritos?” I nod. “Those soft, chocolate chunk cookies I like?”

Grinning, I nod knowing Andi made sure he had two packs of the things.

“Don’t forget the fishing poles this year,” I remind him.

Two years ago they managed to get to the cabin without a single pole or piece of tackle. Needless to say, Andi wasn’t upset when we had to drive hours to bring them their supplies.

“Already packed,” Jon says as he spins in a circle in the living room like something he’s forgetting will just jump out at him. “Are you sure you don’t want to go?”

Cringing, I draw my head back a few inches. “I’d rather stick my dick in a girl than touch a fish.”

Jon chuckles, shaking his head back and forth at my comparison.

“Weather app says it’s supposed to rain all weekend,” Andi warns holding her phone up. “Don’t capsize the boat.”

“Cooper is bringing his Xbox in case we get rained out,” my brother says as he snaps his fingers. “Bug spray.”

When he reappears with two cans of Cutter, he shoves them in the bag with the hotdogs and cheese.

“Are you trying to poison everyone?” I ask as I follow behind him, remove the spray, and place them in the bag with the lures and foam boxes of worms.

Jon grunts, but doesn’t verbally respond to my accusation. “Guys are waiting.”

After a quick nod in Andi’s direction, he grabs the final bags and walks out the front door. Andi and I follow, sitting on the porch swing until he’s fully loaded up and driving away.

“Are they taking different vehicles?” Andi asks as we stand and make our way back inside. We have wine to drink, and I don’t plan on wasting another minute without a glass of red in my hand.

“I think they’re all meeting up at Cooper’s. Dave got a Suburban again like last year.” I pull the first bottle of wine from the fridge. “Wanna grab the glasses?”

Ten minutes later, we’re pouring our second glass of wine and settling on the towels I put down on the area rug in front of the living room TV.

“Wanna talk about why you’re in such a good mood?” Ignoring her, I point the remote at the TV and select a show I know she’ll like. I’m aiming for distraction. “That’s what I thought, but we can talk about why you haven’t objected to watching Pretty Little Liars all night.”

“I’m not really paying attention to the TV,” I mutter.

I’m too happy today, and she’s noticed. A good friend would leave well enough alone and not question my change in behavior.

Lifting my glass, I take a huge gulp of wine. When I look over at Andi, I find her smiling back at me.

“What?” I ask as I drain my glass and reach for the bottle.

“Nothing. Just keep drinking. I know I’ll get the truth out of you before the night is over with.”

Laughing, I shake my head and top off her wine glass. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“There’s always something to talk about,” she counters.

“There’s nothing regarding Anthony to talk about,” I specify.

“How did you know I was referencing Anthony?” Her grin is wicked. “Can’t stop thinking about what you did last night in his truck.”

My eyes narrow. “Is this where you confess to stalking my brother so much that you once again parked down the street, lurking in the shadows to find out what time he got home and who he brought with him?”

Expecting her to be upset with me, enough to leave the entire subject alone, I frown when her smile never falters.

“Are you saying you do have something to confess about what happened in his truck last night?”

“Now you’re just trying to put words in my mouth.” I hope my nervousness doesn’t show. She hasn’t pulled the creeper shit on my brother in years, but last night would’ve been worth her while for other reasons if she decided it was time to pick the habit back up.

“How long has it been?”

Feigning confusion, I just stare at the TV, watching as the blonde girl runs from something in the woods.

“What do you mean?”

“How long has it been since you got off with someone else?”

Last night.

Shrugging, I lie to her again. “A while I guess.”

My cheeks heat, but I’ll just blame it on the wine if she calls me out on it.

“How about you?”

In turn, her cheeks heat, and she looks away.

Tilting my head a little, I stare at her. “Care to tell me what you did last night?”

I wonder if she can read me like a book the way I can her. It’s unnerving in recent days.

“You remember that guy I was telling you about from work?”

“The one that still lives at home, and is even less functioning at life than Dave? Chad?” I recall.

“Thad,” she corrects.

“Even worse.”

Sighing, she makes me wait long minutes before she picks back up on the conversation.

“I called him after you guys dropped me off. Figured it was time to work on getting over Jon.”

“Moving on is a good thing.” I lift my glass and salute her, but she only frowns back at me. “It isn’t?”

She shakes her head and screws the lid back on the nail polish she’d picked up a few minutes ago. “I don’t think it’s possible. I mean, I tried last night with Thad, but I couldn’t go through with it. It felt like cheating.”

“It’s not cheating, Andi.”

Nodding in agreement, she looks away as her eyes begin to gleam with unfallen tears. “I know it technically isn’t, and I’ve tried dating.”

Reaching for her, I place a hand on hers. “I know you have.”

“I haven’t been able to seal the deal with another guy in years.”

“You haven’t been laid in years?”

Cringing at the shock in my voice, I give her a look of apology.

Even before Anthony showed up, I’d managed to hook up with guys every once in a while. Don’t get me wrong, my current dry spell has been longer than most, but a huge development project at work has occupied most of my time this last year. Jacking off is just easier than trolling. There’s so much work and so many conversations you have with guys before you know if you’d be a good fit. Nothing worse than needing to fuck the hell out of some guy only to find out he doesn’t bottom.

Andi, on the other hand, has left the Tiki Tavern on numerous occasions with guys. I’d assumed she’d left with them for the same reasons I did before I realized staying home was easier.

“I wish Jon was wired differently.” That’s the honest truth.

“Me too.” She’s near breaking down, so I lift her wine glass and hand it to her. She takes it, giving me a weak smile. “I’m sorry for turning all depressed and ruining our night.”

“Our night isn’t ruined,” I assure her.

“Know what would make me feel better?” Oh lord. Last time she said this we ended up streaking down the street. Thank goodness all of our neighbors are elderly and in bed by the time the summer sun goes down.

“I’m not running naked down the street.”

Her giggle is music to my ears. “Tell me about Anthony.”

My mood shifts immediately. “Are you wanting to know because you genuinely care, or because you see it as a way to convince my brother to sleep with you? Because you know he’ll never change.”

Her smile falters. “I want to know because I know you’re dying to tell someone, and hooking up with Anthony isn’t the same as if it were Dave or Cooper.”

Simultaneously, we both shudder at the words.

“Anthony is brand new to the group. He became both your and Jon’s friend at the same time. I don’t think Jon can claim him,” she clarifies.

I almost tell her about the first night I met the man I can’t seem to get off my mind, but I don’t.

“I offered him sex last night when we got here,” I blurt and roll my lips between my teeth to keep from giving her the rest of the details. She may think she wants to hear what happened. She may have convinced herself that it means nothing in relation to my brother, but I know different.

“And? You can’t just leave it at that! Is he big?”

Bigger than I ever imagined.

“We didn’t have sex.” Shrugging, I take another long sip of wine. “He turned me down.”

“He turned you down?” She shakes her head, confusion drawing her brows together. “That makes no damn sense.”

You’re telling me.

“Did he give you a reason? Did he tell you he’s straight? Because I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

What the hell do I say to that?

“He said he wasn’t in a position to start anything.”

Her confusion deepens as her mouth opens and closes several times without sound. “Did he know it was going to be a one night stand?”

What the hell?

“Maybe he’s smart enough to know one night with me isn’t worth the drama it will cause when Jon finds out.” There’s more snip in my voice than I should have, but for her to assume he’d only want to sleep with me once is rather insulting.

“Don’t get me wrong.” She holds her hands up in mock surrender at the anger in my tone. “I’m sure you’re great, and he’d come crawling back for more, but what guy turns down sex?”

I walked into this very house last night wondering the exact same thing.

“Couldn’t tell you,” I mutter. “Anthony apparently.”

Now my mood is shifting. Last night I chalked it up to him being a gentleman, but after her analysis, I’m not so sure.

“I’m not going to fuck you in my truck.”

He didn’t say he’d never sleep with me, but from what I can remember, he didn’t seem like he was fighting his decision very much. Maybe he has a hard time getting it up again after coming.

Way to deflect, Joey.

“Maybe he’s taking the rules seriously,” I offer with another shrug.

“Maybe he’s not into guys after all,” Andi counters with a smirk. “You told me about that other guy who was all for it until it was time to do the deed.”

Laughing at her suggestions, I take another long swallow of wine. After draining the glass, I empty the first bottle into my glass.

“I highly doubt that.”

“But, Dave did tell me that he shot them down the other night. He didn’t want to go to the Tavern to go trolling.”

“Which night?” This is news to me.

“The same night he kissed you.”

Trying my best to keep the smile from my face, my mood lifts a little.

“He was probably afraid Jon was going to kick his ass when he found out about the kiss.”

“Maybe he’s a gentleman and didn’t go with them because the guy he really wants was right here.” She punctuates her words by stabbing her finger into the towel we’re sitting on.

“I offered him sex last night,” I remind her. That’s the truth, even though I’m leaving out so many other details.

“He didn’t know when Jon was coming home. Maybe he’s going to ask for permission to date you this weekend?”

Ask permission? Is that even a thing guys do these days?

“You’re living in a fairytale,” I mutter as my blood heats. I don’t know if it’s from considering her words or the more than half a bottle of wine I’ve consumed in less than an hour.

What I do know is that fantasies I’ve had night after night of Anthony are going to shift into something romantic and picture perfect, a far cry from the ways I’ve imagined we can sneak around and see each other.