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“It’s not crazy, Elias. You said it yourself, she’s under your skin. And really, you’re just complaining because she’s behaving like most people and trying to get you to loosen up a little,” I said, cautiously. “Maybe you’re just telling yourself that you hate her to avoid—”
“This is insane,” he said, swiping his beer back. “I think if anyone’s secretly in denial about a girl, it’s Max.”
“Excuse me?” Max questioned. “When did this all get turned around on me?”
“I’m just saying. Love and hate are right next to each other in the brain. And you did sleep with her once…”
While my brothers argued, I polished off the rest of the pitcher we’d ordered. I didn’t want to talk about their girl problems, but I didn’t want to go home either.
Honestly, sometimes, I dreaded going home.
My condo was awesome. When I first moved in, I made it a point to craft the perfect bachelor pad. Big television. Mini bar. Beer fridge. King bed. It was everything I dreamed of while I was living at home. It was everything a twenty-two-year-old guy could want. But, at twenty-six, the place was starting to lose its appeal. The things about my place that made it cool were starting to feel kind of lame.
Elias and Max were still wrapped up in their conversation. I muttered something about needing a stronger drink and headed to the bar where Maya was working.
“Pint of Harp?” she asked. She started pouring before I answered. She knew. “What’s going on? You look… lost in thought.”
“I’m thinking of getting a new sofa,” I told her.
“Thank fuck.”
“What? You don’t like my sofa? Really?”
“It’s an eyesore, Carter,” she scoffed. “It’s too big for the space. It’s black slick leather, whichscreamscheesy bachelor pad. I slip and slide all over it. It smells like beer…”
“But the spilled beer is way easier to clean than it would be on a fabric couch.”
“Maybe don’t spill beer in the first place,” she said.
“Gee. Why didn’t I think of that?”
She ran a hand through her short, black hair. Maya usually kept her hair in a faux-hawk style, but it was getting long and she hadn’t put any product in it, so it looked fluffy instead of spiky. She also had dark circles under her eyes, a telltale sign of someone spending long nights with a newborn.
“Back on topic, I am totally one hundred percent on Team New Couch,” she declared. “That would be the first step in making your place look like a grown ass man lives there and not an overgrown frat boy.”
“Wow, you’re harsh today, Maya.”
She sighed. “Sorry.”
“But I get the point.” I took a drink and shook my head. “Maybe I should just move. You know, sell all my shit and start over.”
“Do you really want to do that? You love that condo. And it’s so close to your job. And to me and Steph.”
I nodded. She was right.
Not to mention that if I moved, I’d have to find a place with a hot water heater that worked all the time. Which meant that I wouldn’t get the chance to constantly be fixing it. Which means that certain cute, curvy blonde neighbors wouldn’t be standing there in short shorts watching me fix it.
“Maybe not,” I concluded. I finish about half of my drink before it loses its appeal. “I think I’m going to head out.”
“Really? It’s kind of early for you to be calling it a night, huh? The Saucy’s girls haven’t shown up yet.”
Saucy’s was a local restaurant known for shitty food and hot waitresses.
“Eh.”
“Come on. They’re fun.”
“Yeah. I guess. If you’re into that type,” I offered, casually.
