Page 130 of The Sidekick

“So, what’s up?” I ask and take a sip of my beer. Before he can answer, Emily is back with his beer and wants to know if he would like something else. Her eyes pass over the three of us in speculation. She starts to slide into the seat next to him, but he leans over to put his hand there, blocking her. Not put off, she leans towards him as if she’s going to whisper in his ear.

His eyes flash up to me, and he gives me a smug smirk before he reaches for the card and hands it to her.

“Oh!” She looks at it in surprise and takes it, tapping it on her hand. She looks flustered, as if he just cut her off before she could get a good conversation going. It doesn’t stop her from trying to flirt again. “So if I show this card, do I get a discount?”

“She doesn’t do discounts,” Asher doesn’t come off as rude with the way he says it, but it’s clear that this is the end of that conversation.

“Hmm,” Emily eyes him like he’s an enigma and goes back to her other tables.

“Bullshit,” I laugh, and Trevor smiles his regular smile this time. Not the fake polite shit, but the devil may care grin I fell in love with.

“I want to know how things are going with Tera,” Asher jerks his chin at me as if he’s giving me permission to speak, and Trevor’s smile drops.

“You can’t be serious,” he looks between me and Asher with disbelief. “You really conned a stranger into giving us advice? I thought you were kidding!”

“You should start paying attention,” I look back at him grimly, and he frowns at my tone. “If anyone can help us, it’s Ash. He’s grounded and stable, unlike our dumbasses.”

Trevor looks almost betrayed as he glances away. His jaw works as he clenches his teeth. He can’t argue with that one.

“We can’t keep going like this, Trevor. We’re going to lose her for good. Is that what you want?”

“You know it isn’t,” he snaps back.

“Then what do you want?” Asher pierces him with a sharp glare that surprises me. “You haven’t made any effort to fix the situation with her, and you don’t really seem to want to, either.”

“Because you know me so well,” Trevor’s tone lowers as he leans forward threateningly. I lean back and watch the both of them warily. I’m not sure what I was expecting when they met, but this sure as fuck wasn’t it. Not within the first ten minutes, that is.

“I don’t know you, actually,” Asher leans back and twists the bottle around as he stares at Trevor. “Fill me in.”

Trev leans back with a scoff and drinks his beer, clearly having no intentions of answering.

“Trevor,” I snap under my breath, and he glares at me. “He’s trying to help.”

“I know you think we need this, but there are better ways, babe. We do not need a stranger coming into our lives being nosy just to entertain themselves. He’s a dick.”

I blow out a heavy breath and shake my head. “What if you’re wrong? What if we do need him and you shut him down? Then what? Bye, Tera? Because you want to keep doing this the same way when we both know it doesn't work?”

“We can’t lean on him to fix our lives,” Trevor insists. “I’m sure he’s a good guy, but what can he do? Give us advice that we’re too stubborn to take?”

“Maybe you won’t take it, but I’ve been taking it for months now.”

He sighs and wipes a hand down his face wearily.

“Why did you push her away?” Asher asks grimly.

Trevor’s lip curls in an ugly snarl as he refuses to answer. I don’t feel comfortable telling Asher about the issue. This is Trevor’s main demon, and he has to face it himself.

“Do you even regret it?” Asher’s hand tightens on the bottle so hard I’m afraid it’s about to break. Something is wrong here. I don’t want this to get physical, no matter how many times I’ve laughed at the thought. Asher really could hurt Trevor. Badly.

“Asher, stop,” I blurt out, watching that hand tighten down more and more.

At my words, his grip loosens, and he glances at me.

“You’re never upset, but you’re upset now. I don’t want you taking that out on Trevor, ok? Maybe we should just talk about something else.”

“Now we’re bullshitting again?” Trevor asks me with disbelief.

“I can’t do that, Max. I’m sorry,” Asher frowns slightly as he stares at the grain of the table.

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