4 - Dan James
4
Dan James
“So, how did your night out go with the infamous player?” Jonathan, my best friend, asked over our lunch on Sunday, sounding more than a little bit sassy.
Apparently, Travis, Andy's best friend, had found out that I had gone out with him, then told his boyfriend, who was my brother's best friend, who then told his boyfriend, who was my best friend.
It hadn’t even been eight hours since our outing when I’d found a message in my phone from Jon, acting all hurt and left out because I hadn’t told him about this before the fact, and because he was a bulldozer when he wanted to know something, he had invited me to lunch to conduct his interrogation.
All I needed to do now was figure out how the fuck I was going to explain to him the logic behind Andy’s lessons without breaking a sweat.
“It went fine,” I said, dipping my fries into some mayonnaise. I looked at the lively crowd and pretended to be distracted by the decor of the restaurant. It was a small place close to the apartment, Andy's apartment, and Jonathan had suggested it so that I would get used to this area.
Which made no sense. I was only going to be here for two months, so what did it matter if I didn’t get out of my— Andy’s —apartment until then?
“Just fine?” he asked, staring holes into my face. His longish brown hair was pushed back, reaching below his ears, which was just when he would have usually cut it, but because my brother apparently liked it for reasons I didn’t want to know about, Jon was letting it be. “You don't want to explain why I had to find out through your brother that you have gone out on a bender with your mortal enemy?”
I rolled my eyes. “He's not my mortal enemy, he's just my nemesis.”
Jonathan gave me a look like those were the same thing when it came to me.
And it sort of was.
But I didn't have any better explanation.
At least, nothing other than the truth, which I should be telling him right about now.
But I didn't want to say it. I didn't want to start the conversation, not just about why Andy , but about why I felt the need to learn to be single, because I knew that he would see more into it than even Andy already did, and it was bad enough that the latter was asking questions that I didn't want to be asked.
So I just said, “I asked him to show me around the area, and because he wanted to annoy me and scare me probably, he took me out to his usual haunt.”
Jonathan raised his eyebrows. “And?”
“I told you, it was just fine.” I focused on my food. “He took out some shots like he thought I was going to run away at any second. He probably thinks I’m a prude and a virgin.”
Jonathan grinned. “Not sure that's what he thinks, but sure.”
My eyes flashed to him. What the fuck was that supposed to mean?
But he was already changing the subject. “Did you meet anyone new, then?”
“He introduced me to his friends, or at least I thought they were his friends. They were more decent than I expected.”
But I was pretty sure that at least half of them had slept with him.
Something that I shouldn't have cared about.
And I didn't.
Why would I?
“So you had fun?” Jon asked, trying not to look interested and hiding it poorly.
My stomach tightened. I gave him a look.
“I'm not having a crisis even if that's what my mother thinks, Jon, you don't need to handle me with gloves.”
“I'm just surprised that you actually went out with him. If you'd asked me one month ago if you'd ever spend time with Andy voluntarily, I would have said you’d rather poke one of your eyes out than do it. Unless you’re starting to hate him less?”
As if.
Even if my stomach still squirmed when I thought of last night.
Even if for some reason I didn’t want to tell Jonathan about sucking a lime out of Andy’s lips.
Nor about the effect his dark gaze had had on me.
Or the way I’d still been thinking about it when I finally went to sleep.
It was just all new, and I was trying to get used to it, that was all.
“For some reason that’s beyond my comprehension, Andy has decided to help me in my time of need,” I settled on. “Probably because he wants to see me suffer. But other than my gratitude for that, we’re still like cat and dog. We’ll never get along.”
“Did I tell you that my aunt has a cat and a dog that are as thick as thieves?” Jon asked, with a mischievous glint in his eye.
I threw a fry at him, which he caught with his mouth. “Why, thank you, Andy’s new best friend.”
I groaned.
Andy and I were never going to get along.
Even if I could maybe learn to enjoy my time with him, especially since I had every intention of shutting his mouth and annoying him as much as possible.
Payback was due.
But that was all it was going to be.
I was going to take whatever wisdom he was willing to impart to me, get my feet under me, and find another place and job before two months were gone.
That was it.
I was definitely not going to fall for his player charms or think that there was any universe in which Andy and I didn’t hate each other.
I wasn’t.