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Andy takes a final swig of his beer and calls the bartender over for the check. “Let’s get out of here, man. I gotta see that sister of mine. My parents want to make sure New York hasn’t eaten her alive. As soon as I can inform them she’s alive and kicking, you and I can start painting the town red.”
Um, yeah.
We head out to the street, our eyes adjusting to the light after leaving the dim bar. “Andy, if you love it so much here in New York, why don’t you just move here?”
He slings his backpack over his shoulder. “Eh. I do love it here, but at home, I’m a big swinging dick. In New York, I’m a nobody. Why the hell would I start over like that? I’d be giving up too much. Plus, I don’t want to become my sister’s babysitter, which my parents would love. Not that she’s going to get into any trouble here. Hell, she probably hasn’t even gotten laid since the last guy dumped her, that’s how much of a prude she is.”
We stop at a corner, waiting for thewalksignal, and I’m wishing a car would mow me down right now.
* * *
42
JASPER
“My little sis!”Andy says, pulling Ava into a bear hug.
“Hey, stinky,” she says, pushing him away. “What’s with all the affection? I thought I was nothing more than a pain in your ass.”
Andy walks around the living room, touching things like he lives there. “I don’t know. Guess I’m glad to see you have a life of your own. Ya know, that you’re doing so well. Staying out of trouble. Not being on a man hunt like the other girls in this town.”
She avoids my gaze, but when she shuffles her feet, I know she’s… unsettled. “How do you know I’m not getting into trouble?” she asks with a laugh and a hasty glance my way.
He shrugs. “Because I know you,” he says, ruffling her hair. “You’re just not like that.”
She pulls her shoulders back. “Likewhat?”
Andy plops down on Ava’s ugly green chair. “I can’t believe you still have this thing,” he says, his hands running over its worn arms. “It’s comfortable, though,” he says, bouncing up and down, his bulk straining its springs.
“Andy, what do you mean, I’m not ‘like that’? Likewhat?”
He rolls his eyes. “Look, we know you’re not out there getting laid and shit, like most women your age. You’re not like that. You like a relationship. One man. You just gotta learn to pick ‘em better.”
She forces a smile, and then a scoff. There’s going to be a lot of pretending this weekend. “Okay, Andy. Whatever you say.”
He leans forward, elbows on knees. “Look. I don’t mean to piss you off. It’s just that you’ve never… had much success with men. I don’t have to worry about you whoring around.”
His obliviousness, while probably offensive to Ava, is a relief to me. Ava looks like she wants to kill him, but I want to give him a big kiss for being so far down the wrong freaking track.
“Now, your roommate Jasper and I… we’re a different story. Dude, you ready to hit the streets? Av, we’ve got dinner reservations at the hottest resto in town, and after, we’re going for bottle service at the SkyLounge. Got a kick-ass table reserved on the roof.”
“That’s nice,” Ava says weakly.
“Hey Av, if you want to join—” I start to ask.
But Andy cuts me off. “Sorry, dude. No little sisters on this outing. We can’t have anyone cockblocking us. We’re gonna roll all night, yo.”
Ava’s lips are pressed together and she nods likeyup, this is what these horndogs are all about. I want to tell her she’s wrong, that we’re not all like Andy, but I can’t without giving myself away. While she’s pretending not to care, the disheartened look on her face says it all. I feel like shit and am aching to put my arms around her.
Fuck all.
But hell, she’s not interested in us guys anyway, so what’s with the jerking us around? She might not like her brother and me going out picking up chicks, but she’s the one who was pushing interns on me, leaving Leo high and dry, and telling Ethan she liked girls.
What’s with the conflicting messages? This woman is going to push me right over the edge.
And I can’t talk to her about it.
Less than an hour later, Andy and I are at dinner, and he’s ordering just about every fancy tapas the menu offers. Normally, I’d chow down but something has stifled my appetite tonight. Pretty sure I know what it is.
