Page 38 of The Other Guy

“I’m sorry, okay? I just have a lot on my mind lately.”

“Well, talk to me about it, then.” I have no idea why I say that. It’s not as if I believe there’s anything to salvage when it comes to our relationship. Nor that I want to. However, we were once intimate with each other. We were once friends. Right now, whatever’s between us feels more like acquaintances than anything. Someone you’d see at Starbucks and give a nod and wave to and ask the polite “How are you doing?” but in reality, you don’t care. Not really, anyway.

“It’s nothing.”

“It isn’t nothing. There’s… something. You know it, I know it.”

He takes a deep breath and squeezes my hand before letting it go and sitting up straighter in his chair.

“Alright. Here’s the deal…”

“Here you go. Boneless wings and an onion blossom. Fried chicken club with coleslaw. Can I get you anything else? Another beer?” Nick asks as he places our meals in front of us.

“Yeah, sure, thanks,” I tell him and cast a smile his way.

“Enjoy. I’ll be right back with those.”

“Thanks.”

Jeff picks up his sandwich and takes a bite and I do the same with one of my wings, both of us content to eat rather than talk. Nick returns with our second round of beers and takes away our empty glasses. But halfway through our meal, we’re interrupted once again. This time, it’s not Nick. Though, I’d definitely prefer that interruption over who’s standing next to our table now.

“Hi, Jeff.”

Jeff, bless his stupid little heart, coughs and pounds on his chest when the feminine voice greets him.

“Whitney. Hi.”

I look back and forth between them, waiting for Jeff to introduce me but he doesn’t. Instead, he just looks like he wants to be anywhere but here. He starts scratching behind his ear, one of his tells that he’s been caught in something bad. I only saw it once before, and it was when he lied to me about his parents being in town.

I raise my eyebrows and sit back in my seat, waiting for whatever’s about to happen to go down. I should be mad in this moment, but I’m amused more than anything. Maybe it’s because I knew before I walked into our home today that we were through. Maybe it’s because I never fell in love with Jeff. Whatever it is, I’m glad that I’m not feeling the sting that Whitney is feeling. She looks positively heartbroken as she stares at me and Jeff sitting here together eating dinner.

“This your sister?” she asks hopefully.

I look at Jeff, waiting for his reply. He looks to me then to Whitney then to me again. A pleading look on his face that says it all.

“Aww, shnookems,” I croon, reaching over and grabbing hold of Jeff’s hand. I do a mock shudder dramatically. “Wouldn’t that be awful if I was your sister? That would make living together pretty awkward, huh?” I give him a broad smile, enjoying the hell out of his face turning a bright red.

“Living together?” Whitney’s voice comes out soft.

“Mm hmm. For what, a year now? Is that right? Goodness, it doesn’t seem possible, does it, Lovebug?” Yeah, I’m laying it on thick and I really don’t care.

“I…” Jeff clears his throat and looks down at his plate. “Probably?”

“So he was right.”

“What do you mean?” I ask her when her voice comes out a little stronger, extracting my hand from Jeff’s.

“The guy. He was right. You gave me the wrong number?! What the hell is wrong with you?”

My blood runs cold and I look to Jeff and back to Whitney. “What did you just say?”

Whitney stands up straight and Jeff looks like he’s about to puke. Good. “A week ago, he,” she points at Jeff, “and I hooked up. Afterward, he told me he’d never had better and that he wanted to see me again. Gave me his number. I texted him the next day and after this… this… person responded a few times he eventually said he felt too guilty and had to come clean. That it wasn’t him who I spent the night with but that it was some Textdoor Neighbor! Who the fuck does that?!”

I feel all the color drain from my face and now I’m the one who’s about to puke.

“Textdoor Neighbor?”

Whitney nods her head. “Yes. I thought it was funny at first but then realized that it’s a shitty thing to do to someone and really didn’t want to believe it. But now… he was right, wasn’t he?”

---