CHAPTER ELEVEN

"HEY, GRUMPY. How are you?"

I grunted and drowned my sorrows in the beer my best friend, Drew, had bought for me.

"That great, huh?"

I stared at him bleary-eyed as he sat across from me. "I feel I'm failing at life."

He chuckled. "Bad dates again?"

I shook my head. "No, fantastic. They wanted second dates. I even went on one of them. I'm seeing him again tomorrow."

Drew's eyebrows shot up. "No kidding."

My relationship with Drew had started with a date. He'd been one of the rare men who'd lasted until he'd seen me around Parker. We'd parted amicably, as he hadn't been that into me either. We’d loved hanging out together, so we'd decided to search for romantic partners elsewhere and keep seeing each other as friends. Now here he was, the closest friend I had in the whole world.

"So what did this mysterious new guy do that you kept him around?"

I cradled my head and groaned. "He's hot. And he wanted to see me again. That's about it."

"Van, please don't do this to yourself again. Stop wasting time on people who don't really keep your interest."

"No one keeps my interest," I muttered.

He huffed. "I did."

I snatched his beer just as he was trying to drink from it. "Yeah, as a friend. Just like I kept yours only as far as platonic interactions went."

"Fair enough. Still, you won't get over Parker if you don't spend your time with someone who truly fascinates you."

He was right, but I couldn't help it. No matter how interesting they seemed on paper, other than my dick getting hard if I found them attractive, I failed to be properly enchanted.

"Maybe I should just give up. Accept my fate and die alone."

Drew slapped me across the head faster than I thought possible for someone as graceful as him. "Stop saying stupid shit. Van, I think you don't want to give up on Parker. You're too stubborn to accept he won't ever reciprocate."

I opened my mouth to contradict him, but he stared me down until I lowered my head.

"I love you, but you need to hear this. You always try to date when you've had enough of your unrequited longing. You don't give it your all, like you're saving all that potential in your heart for the moment Parker realizes you're it for him. I admire your dedication, but what if he never does? What if he takes your brother back and they live happily ever after?"

"That's where they're headed, at least according to Taylor."

Drew took my hand in his. "I'm sorry. I'll spend the holidays at your parents' place again this year if that happens."

"Thank you." I squeezed his hand and looked around, finally taking in the pub we were in. My eyes stopped on a familiar face, a smiling face with soft lips and sexy eyes that froze mid-phrase. He'd noticed me and paled. He scrambled to push off the guy who was hanging all over him. I smiled and raised my beer bottle to him. We'd been on a couple of dates, it was fine really.

He whispered something to the man sitting with him and came to our table. "Fancy meeting you here," he said and looked pointedly at Drew who was still holding my hand.

"Yeah, same. This is my best friend, Drew."

Drew smiled and waved, quite princely if you asked me.

"Look, about the guy I'm with."

I stood and placed my hand on his shoulder. "It's fine, Tim, we've been on two dates."

He relaxed a little under my touch. "Okay, cool. I'd set this up before I met you. I promise I was serious about looking for a relationship."

"We'll talk about it tomorrow, okay?"

He stole a glance at the guy currently glaring at me and then gave me a forced smile. "Sure, sounds like a plan." Tim left, his posture relaxing as he made his way back to his table.

"He'll cancel your date in the morning," Drew said, a glint of humor in his eyes.

I shook my head. "No, he'll cancel after his date tonight. Right after he decides to see that guy again."

Drew deflated and threw bits of his beer label at me. "You're no fun."

"I did pay attention on my dates. That guy is much more Tim's type than I am."

"You're sure gutted about it." Drew said, the sarcasm a little too thick in his tone.

Yeah, maybe there'd been some truth to his earlier scolding. I wasn't even mildly bothered about Tim finding someone else. All I felt was relief. I'd get a break from pretending I was trying.

"I need to get out of here," I said and drained what was left from my beer.

"Do you want to be away from the general population or completely on your own?"

I made a face at Drew. "Since when do I not want to hang out with you?"

Drew stood and slung his arm around my shoulders. "Since never. No matter how bad your mood, you still want to whine about it to someone."

I elbowed him and laughed. "Not just anyone. I only whine to you."

Rubbing his side, Drew sighed dramatically. "What did I do to deserve that?"

"Probably killed someone in a past life."

The pub was close to Lincoln Park, which brought all sorts of messy feelings to the surface. I linked our arms and dragged Drew away from it. I didn't want to remember the afternoon I'd shared with Parker. I really needed to get it together. Break free from this stupid infatuation that had loomed over me since the day I'd met him.

"Are you making resolutions in your head again?" Drew asked, his words kinder than he usually went for.

I shrugged and clung to his arm. "Maybe. I'm trying at least."

"This might sound scary, but maybe you should tell Parker. Get some closure."

"Tell Parker what?"

I stopped in my tracks, my heart racing, and my eyes insisting on widening past what was physically possible.

Parker stood in front of us, looking between Drew and me.

"Parker, we were just talking about you," Drew quipped.

I felt like elbowing him again. He'd literally caught us talking about him, I doubted Parker needed any confirmation. I couldn't do anything, too wrapped up in my frozen-in-fear moment.

Drew sighed and turned to face me. "Maybe you should tell Parker how you feel about him getting back with your brother. I doubt he'd be surprised by it."

Great save, as always. Drew might nudge me to go beyond my comfort zone, but he'd never force me into an unplanned confession.

"Who's getting back together?" Parker asked, stepping closer to me. "Who told you that?"

"No one." I swallowed hard and forced myself to face Parker. "Not explicitly. Taylor mentioned you were seeing each other regularly."

Parker ran his hand through his hair and cursed. "Yes, our lawyers thought we should talk like adults. We have some minor stuff to work out and if we meet with lawyers present, it always degenerates into an all-out fight."

I sighed, chastising myself for believing anything my brother said. "Taylor made it sound like something else."

Parker tilted his head, his mouth twisted in anger. "And you believed him?"

I shrugged. "It sounded genuine at the time. Besides, it explained why you were avoiding me. Taylor never liked me hanging around you."

Parker opened his mouth to say something and my heart sped up. I wanted an explanation, but I feared him admitting he hadn't wanted to see me. "That's not... I just needed some time on my own, I didn't intentionally avoid you."

Drew chuckled. "Same difference. At least it's sorted now."

Parker glared at him and Drew answered with a mocking grin. "What? Did I say anything wrong? Intentional or not, you avoided him. Then his brother came with a plausible explanation. You can't really blame Van, can you?"

Parker deflated and my heart felt as if it had been crushed.

"I have to get out of here." I didn't wait for a reply from either of them. I turned on my heels and marched away. I got into a cab that just happened to drop someone off at the corner of the street and refused to even look in their direction.