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“Not that I am aware of,” I said with what was probably a red wine smile after only one glass.
“Really!?” She made a high pitched noise, then looked me dead in the eye. “Would you—I mean, we don’t know each other well or anything—and he’s your best friend and everything—but would you set me up with him?”
My full body reaction was swift and visceral. Hair prickling. Stomach souring. Toes curling. No. Fucking. Way.
Mine. He’s mine.
It was a cold bucket of water and the fires of hell all at once.
And it wasn’t fair. I opened my mouth to say God only knew what, because I was little more than a snarling beast, but I was interrupted.
“What are you two conspiring about?” Brady asked, sliding into the conversation and the chair beside me. Close enough that I feared he was under the same misconception Mack had been earlier. He thought this was a date. With my beast a little too lively, that reaction was also: No. Fucking. Way. And, again, it was probably unfair.
Lindsay leaned in closer, her eyes glazed but twinkling. “I was just asking Chase if she’d consider setting me up with Mack,” she said and nibbled her lip. I got the feeling that she needed me to do this because she wanted my blessing or something. We weren’t the mob. Mack could date whoever he wanted. I ignored the raging in my chest because it was true. He was the best of people and he deserved the best. I couldn’t tell him that I didn’t want to date him and also stop him from dating someone like Lindsay.
I would never hold my friend back, or try to keep for myself something that wasn’t truly mine.
“That’s a great idea,” Brady said. He was so close I could feel the heat of him and, yet, I wasn’t the least bit tempted to turn into him and bury my face in his neck like I had wanted to do to Mack all day.
“It is,” I agreed.
Lindsay’s face split open in the most dazzling smile. “Are you serious? Oh my god! I’ve been trying to talk to him all day but I keep tripping over my words and—” She blew out a breath. “He’s so gorgeous it makes me nervous.”
“You’ll need to do something about that before your date,” Brady quipped. Their date. Because I was setting them up on a date.
“Why don’t we all go on one together!” Lindsay said, clapping. “That way, I won’t be so nervous because you’ll be there too, Chase,please.”
“Yes! A double date is a great idea!” Brady said, his hand grazing my hip. What the actual fuck was happening right now?
“We could go bowling!” Lord help me, she was on a roll, beaming as she poured another glass of wine.
“I fucking love bowling,” he agreed.
They were both looking at me like I was somehow the final vote in this ridiculous plan. I hated bowling. I didn’t like wearing other people’s shoes. It was gross. I repressed a full body shudder and plastered a smile on my face.
“Let me talk to Mack.”
“Yes! Ohmygod! Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou.” She pulled me into an awkward hug which, thanks to her height, meant I was basically motorboating her.
“Don’t thank me yet,” I warned, because this was very far from a done deal, but Lindsay just kept on beaming and Brady’s hand was now rubbing circles on my back.
The two of them shoved me in Mack’s direction when I had another overly large glass of sangria in my hand. Was I really doing this?
“Go, Chase. Go!” Lindsay whispered and I was glad she couldn’t see my face because my eyes were rolling back so far I could almost see the inside of my skull.
I didn’t know what the hell I was thinking, going along with this. There were numerous things wrong with the entire situation:
One, I didn’t want to go on a date with Brady. Yes he was hot and seemed like a decent enough guy but there was next to no chemistry. I’d been staring at him periodically, wondering if it would spontaneously smack me in the face, but it was yet to happen. And what was the point of going on a date if there were no sparks?
Two, I didn’t want to go on a double date withanyone, and I was confident Mack wouldn't either. He wasn’t much of a dater, period. I couldn’t see him agreeing to go on a double date. Or was I just hoping he’d say no?
Three, being there in person to witness Mack on a date was about the last thing I wanted to do, ever, but especially with Lindsay-the-perfect-ballerina, who was all sorts of delightful. I was not that much of a masochist, thank you very much.
There were probably more, but the sangria was making me fuzzy and Mack was giving me a quizzical look as I weaved my way towards him.
“What’s up, Cheese?” he asked, slinging an arm around my neck. Electricity zinged the length of my spine.Ignore it. Ironic that the guy I should have sparks with felt like a dead fish, and the one I was trying to be normal around made me feel like my insides had turned to molten lava.
I took a long gulp of sangria in the hopes of dousing the heat. The mere thought of saying we should go on a double date was making me twitchy. Or maybe it was the fact I was suggestinghego on a date. A date with Lindsay.
