Page 8 of The Other Room

“Because you’re an asshole. And I’m not friends with assholes, Matt.”

“Jo, come on. You have to forgive me. I miss you.” He reached for my hand, but my icy glare slid over the movement and caused him to pull it back.

I inhaled, trying to suppress an explosion. “I don’t have to do shit, Matt. You made your bed, now you can lie in it.”

With a heavy sigh, he flagged Hanson over. “I lost. Another round of Bernies.”

Hanson nodded and disappeared around the corner to make our shots.

“Why do you have paint on your hands?” Aaron asked, pointing to the brown specks of paint I’d missed when I washed them before work.

Staring down at the tiny flecks, I wrinkled my nose. “I’m staining some trim in the spare bedroom of my cabin. The whole thing is in pretty rough shape, but I thought a little stain would at least brighten it up until I can afford to pay someone for repairs.”

“A spare bedroom?” Matt asked, and I turned to glower at him.

“Did I stutter?”

“Is, uh, is anyone staying in that spare bedroom?” he asked.

Furrowing my brow, I shook my head. “Nope. No roommates for this girl. Too much stress.”

“Hmm.” He pursed his lips, and I could almost see the wheels turning inside his mind.

I stared, throwing a mental stick into those gears, but if anything, his expression just brightened.

“There you go, Matt!” Tony slapped the bar. “You can live with Jo!”

“What?” I choked on the sip of margarita I’d just taken.

“Matt lost his place to VRBO, and as of this weekend he’s homeless,” Aaron said. “I offered to let him sleep on my couch, but he said no.”

“I’ve seen the chicks you bring home to that couch.” Matt shuddered, and the visual caused me to do the same.

“My girlfriend isn’t keen on having another dude in the house, something about toilet seats and dirty underwear, so I’m out,” Tony said. “So yeah, you can move in with Jo! It’s perfect!”

“Hell. No.” Shaking my head, I crossed my arms.

Matt waggled his eyebrows and bumped me with an elbow. “Oh, come on, Jo! Remember that summer we crashed together my sophomore year of college for like a month? We had a blast! Campfires and s’mores at night. Video game marathons. Beer pong. Sunday morning bacon and eggs. With extra, extra, extra bacon, remember?”

“We’re not twenty anymore. I don’t want a roommate. Especially not you.” I challenged him with a glare, but deep down those memories did warm me up a little inside. It had been the best summer of my life if I was being honest, and the two of us had been as close as we’d ever been.

But that was then. Before he turned out to be a sleazy cheater.

“Oh, come on, Jo.” Tony leaned his shoulder into me. “He was your best friend. Are you really going to make him homeless when you have a bedroom he could live in?”

“Yep.”

“Jo,” Aaron soothed. “It’s time to get over this. You need to forgive him. We all forgave him. It’s your turn.”

“Nope.”

Forgiveness was not my thing. It felt too much like weakness.

“You’d really turn your back on a friend in need?” Tony shook his head.

“No. I would never turn my back on a friend in need. But Matt isn’t my friend anymore, so it’s irrelevant.”

“Guys, it’s fine. I don’t expect Jo to let me move in with her. I’ll figure something out.”