Page 154 of End Game

“You don’t look responsible enough for that.”

Carter stares at him for half a second.

Then he starts laughing so hard he has to put his drink down. The other guys in Alexis’ polycule laugh too.

“I like him,” Carter announces to the room, pointing at Dex.

Micah closes his eyes. “Please don’t encourage him.”

“Too late,” Carter replies.

I catch Alexis’s eye across the island and smile.

Ethan is talking to Griffin now, and I drift closer.

“So Alexis said you two are legally married,” Ethan says, nodding between Griffin and me.

“We are,” Griffin answers.

“And the house is yours?”

“Yeah.”

Ethan leans back against the counter and crosses his arms. “Mine too.”

Griffin glances around a little dramatically. “That is… a lot of house.”

“It’s ridiculous.”

Griffin smiles. “You said it. I didn’t.”

That makes Ethan laugh. “Everyone pays for their own shit, everybody makes good money, but somehow I still feel responsible for the roof, the utilities, the furniture, the appliances, and whether there’s enough food in the refrigerator.

Griffin’s whole face changes with recognition. “Yes. That.”

“And if something breaks—”

“It feels like your problem, even when it’s not.”

“Yes.”

“Even when somebody else broke it.”

“Especially when somebody else broke it.”

I look between them.

This is apparently how men make friends.

Financial anxiety and HVAC systems.

“I feel like I should leave you two alone,” I tease.

“Probably,” Ethan says with a smile.

“Definitely,” Griffin agrees.

Holden appears beside us with a drink in his hand. “What are we discussing?”