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On one hand, I can see why she might try something like this. She knows as well as anyone how I like a beautiful woman. Hell, I’ve brought enough of them home with me in the time we’ve lived together that she knows my habits well. My Achilles heel. My kryptonite.
But I’ve cut that shit out. Fucking some girl whose name I’m not even sure of, no matter how hot she is, has lost its luster. I think it happened gradually, although I’m not sure. It’s not like I woke up one morning done with trolling for a lay. It just kind of crept up on me.
And if I’m honest with myself, Ava might have something to do with it. I repeat,might.
Now that her brother’s here, I’m kind of screwed, because there is no bigger man-whore on the face of the earth than this man. We’ve been each other’s wingmen for so long I’m not sure how we’ll hang together this weekend, given my lack of interest in bedding hot New York chicks, the real reason he’s here.
He might say he came to visit me or his sis, but we all know better.
One thing I do know is that there will be no fun time with Ava while Andy’s around. All that shit is off the table for a few days.
If not permanently.
Ava’s attempts to set me up with her giggling interns has my head spinning. It just doesn’t… make sense. I could be wrong—I can be a total dumbass in these matters—but I thought she was into me. Me and the other guys. And yet she throws these girls at me?
What’s even weirder is that Leo and Ethan are getting the same vibe from her. I guess Leo bedded her and she couldn’t get out fast enough, hightailing it back home, after that weird-ass trivia night she brought us to. And then Ethan said something about her, mentioning she might be into women. Didn’t see that one coming.
Which is all fine and good. I want Ava to be happy. But these recent developments are quite the departure from the track I thought we were on. If we actuallywereon a track.
Did I miss something? Am I that freaking clueless?
I’m glad Ava had her Big O and all, but does that mean she’s done with us? Like, she’s moving on to whatever sort of guy she had in mind from the beginning, which maybe is not one of us guys? I know a lot of those women atGlistenthink those of us atSports, Inc., are dumb jocks. It’s no secret. But Ava sees beyond that. At least I thought she did.
Andy snaps me out of my reverie. “Thanks for meeting me here, Jas.” He cranes his neck to study the yellowed business cards pinned and stapled to the walls of the bar, and to inhale the stale beer and old cigarette scent that give the place a down-home feel. “I love that this is my first stop here. Get off the train, head right across the street for a beer.”
It’s a great ritual, one I’m glad we have, and it’s just generally good to have my old buddy here. It really is. Although I’m having some serious trepidation about keeping up with Andy’s antics this weekend.
“So tell me, how’s my little sister?” he asks, almost dutifully. He’s never been that interested in what she’s up to, so I figure the question is more obligatory than anything. I know her parents don’t like their daughter in the big city, so Andy’s probably charged with making sure she hasn’t been abducted by some sort of sex cult or something.
“Fine, I guess,” I say with a shrug.
He looks at me for a second, which might be nothing, but of course I’m paranoid the man is reading my mind and knows that my friends and I have been fucking her.
He looks back at his beer, satisfied he’s done his due diligence. Or is he? “I haven’t seen her since that douchebag dumped her for some chick he’d been pining away for. I’d like to fuck that asshole up. But it would be too easy. He’s a little weasel.”
I fumble my words, turning my nervousness into a yawn for cover. He’s more invested in his sister’s well-being than I thought. I remember when she visited him at college for a football game or something way back when. She was this skinny, quiet little thing. Surrounded by beautiful college coeds, I paid her no attention. There were too many distractions, like there were right here in New York up until a few weeks ago.
I nod, sharing disgust at her misfortune. “Oh yeah. I heard something about that. Happened right before I moved in with her, so I wasn’t around when it all went down. Guess it got kind of ugly.”
“You win some, you lose some. That’s love. But my sister is a nice woman and beautiful to boot. Anyone else fucks with her, they’ll have to answer to me.” He slams a fist into his open palm.
“Yup, agree,” I choke.
“She wrote all about it for that weird column she has at that chick magazine, the one about sex and shit. Bared her soul. Guess she got a lot of kudos for it. She did a good job, but I personally prefer to keep my relationship stuff private. Ya know?”
I drum my fingers on the bar, certain I won’t survive Andy’s visit. I’m not afraid of him, certainly not, but I also know what a freak he can be when he’s pissed off. Usually, we’re on the same side of any conflict, the two of us against the world. But if he finds out about Ava, all bets are off. I prefer to keep my friendships, not to mention, my life.
“Yeah. I know what you mean. I… haven’t read her article. Don’t usually pay too much attention toGlisten,” I say with a laugh. “Not my thing.”
Hi shrugs. “Yeah, I’d normally never touch that girl boss stuff with a ten-foot pole. But, you know, my sister. I read her shit from time to time. She sends it to our parents and they send it on to me.”
“Oh. That’s cool,” I say, wanting to talk about anything other than Ava.
“Dude, did you read her latest thing, how to handle men who are obsessed with sports? Like, for girls who don’t get into that stuff? Funny as hell, I have to hand it to her.”
Um, no. Ava wrote an article about men obsessed with sports? Is this retaliation for my article about dealing with women who aren’t into sports?
“No. Nope, haven’t seen it,” I say, glancing at my watch.
