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He glances off. "Come on, man. Quit busting my balls. This isn't easy. I'm still going to have issues with it. I'm just in a good mood right now."
I lift my glass and connect it with his, the clinging sound bringing him back. "So, best man, huh?"
He rolls his eyes. "Don't act like you're surprised. You're my only friend and ironically you're fucking here, imposing on my vacation. I might as well get some good use out of you."
"Nature's revenge, buddy. You shouldn't try to go off and get married without telling your only friend." I take another sip and place the glass down. "I'm just pulling your dick. I'd be honored to stand by your side and watch you give away your manhood."
"Fuck you," he says, laughing. "I thought you were supposed to be my friend."
My grin is set firmly in place. "An honest one."
"You'll be here one day."
"Nope, bro, it’s not going to happen. Women are wretched beings that I'm going to use and abuse in a way they like for my needs. Some are just better than others, and those are usually taken pretty quickly. Like gold they're hidden and highly sought after, so I stopped trying to mine for them before I ever got started."
The waitress brings out two plates piled high with greasy goodness, making me salivate. "Yeah," I chant. "You haven't completely lost your balls. You still have a man's taste in food."
"Never underestimate my love of food. I brought you to a pub that's supposed to be a best-kept secret of New York. Eat up."
"You don't have to tell me twice," I say, already halfway to my mouth with the fried something that smells amazing. I put down a quarter of the plate in silence, my stomach rejoicing with each swallow, before I glance back up at Saxton. He's barely eaten anything, staring at me downing my plate. "I've never known you to be wasteful."
"She's older than you, you know . . ."
"Who? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Tynleigh. She's not one of those girls you're used to."
"Saxton, she's a grown ass woman. What happens between us is completely consensual."
That knowing smirk is back on his face and I feel like I missed the punchline of a bad joke. He shakes his head at me, before placing a piece of food in his mouth. "Not what I meant. She's older than you, and she's completely independent. She's not like Meredith or any other girl I've ever seen you with. It's one reason I was so thrown off with you there this morning. She doesn't require you in the least, or any man for that matter. She could eat your dick for breakfast and walk away with no remorse. Her tolerance for bullshit is zero." He shrugs his shoulders. "She's different."
I stare at him as if he's grown a second head. He takes another sip of his beer, casually, as if he's not confusing the hell out of me. "And this is supposed to turn me off?"
"You know what?" He laughs. "Never mind. I'm just going to watch this play out."
"How much older?" I ask, unsure as to why I even care.
"Two years. You're twenty-six, right?"
"Yeah, only a year older than you."
"She's twenty-eight and married to her career. She's one hundred percent happy with her single life. I love her, but she's nothing like me. She'll never need you. When you think you're walking away from the fun, she already has, so don't expect her to follow up and pet your ego like you're used to. I know you. When you're left completely alone and scratching your head because you can't forget about her, don't say I didn't warn you."
My eyes narrow and I sit back in my chair. "I guess maybe you don't know me as well as you think you do, because when I board that plane we'll leave each other behind and never look back."
"Whatever you say, man. I'm going to attempt to stay out of it. It's weird as fuck and I still don't like it, but it's her life." His phone chimes and he fishes it out of his pocket, pulling it in front of his face, seconds before he gets a big ass goofy grin on his face. Suddenly, I'm not as hungry as I was, and I'm already regretting the words that came out of my own mouth, because the memory of the way it felt sinking into her this morning is already replaying in my mind like a fucking toxic venom that can't be stopped.
I pull out my phone and mindlessly scroll through the contacts, girl after girl listed, and at this moment none of them are appealing like they usually are when I need a booty call or want to prove a point when someone pisses me off. Before I can stop myself I've made it to the T in the contact list, only the one I'm interested in isn't there, because I never got her number when I left with Saxton. "What's her number?"
I glance up just as he lays his phone down, back up to cover the screen. "Shut the fuck up," I state, before the grin has a chance to set on his face. "I'm not gone yet."
His places his crossed forearms on the table, scooting his plate up a few inches. "I never said anything."
"You wanted to." He lifts his phone again, navigating without looking at me, before mine goes off from a text message. I open it, revealing the contact he shared through text labeled as—T. "Thanks."
"Anytime,bro,"he says, annunciating the last word as if it has a double meaning. I save the number and we go back to eating in peace. I think I can pull this off. I'll keep a check on Joel and just split my time, because I want a little more time with her. No harm in getting to know a girl and having a little fun. We both came into this situation knowing what this was. I might as well take advantage of it while I'm here and just keep my other shit on the DL, because according to Joel no one knows he lives here, not even Saxton. It's for the best. No one needs to see Joel in the state he's in, and I've never been one to run my mouth about his business.
When Saxton's phone chimes again and he looks down at it, I pull mine out under the table, pulling up a new text message.
