Page 26 of The Summer Intern

“So then Casey just left?”my best friend, Sylvie, asked, taking a long swing of her chilled beer.I sighed and glanced over at Wade, the third member of our childhood trio.His expression was solemn, and he was staring down at his beer bottle, picking at the wrapper.

Wade had been in Eagle Ridge for over a month now, and nothing had knocked him out of his funk, not Sylvie, not visiting our old haunts, and not my story about the abrupt ending to my hook-up with Casey.Sylvie, though, was hooked on the story.

“Fled the scene,” I said, my voice echoing in the spacious living room.

Sylvie let out a mischievous laugh.“Did you not make it good for him?”

I rolled my eyes."Ah, come on, Sylv.We dated.You know I take care of my lovers."But now that she mentioned it, I wasn't entirely sure how much he had enjoyed it.Sure, he had come, but did he actually like it?Maybe I’d done something guys don’t like.

"Whatever, I was a closeted lesbian the entire time I was fucking you," Sylvie continued with a sly grin."I'm not sure if I understood things.But look at you, Matty, you kissed a boy and you liked it."

“But did he?”

Wade snorted."Men are simple creatures, if he came, he was happy."

"I've never been with a guy before.How do I know if I did something wrong?"I barely heard Sylvie, because I was completely sidetracked by that train of thought, which was more worrying than I would have expected.My chest felt tight and I absently rubbed a hand over it, wondering what Casey was up to at that very moment.He should have been sassing me over texts or trying to boss me around, but he’d gone radio silent.

“I’m sure he enjoyed himself,” Sylvie said gently.

"So much that he sprinted out of there before I could even…" I trailed off, not entirely sure what I wanted to do next.

"Cuddle him?"Wade finished with a chuckle.

"Fuck off.I wasn't trying to cuddle him.It was hot sex, that’s all," I huffed, even though he was completely right.Maybe a shower, too, where I’d carefully clean every inch of his body, paying special attention to that cute, curvy little ass.

"Oh, come on, Matt.You?Casual sex?You wouldn't be you if you didn't try for a cuddle," Sylvie teased.

I crossed my arms over my chest and stuck my tongue out at her.Wade laughed and shook his head before taking another swig of his beer.I didn’t mind their good-natured teasing, not really.Wade was smiling and laughing, and that made me feel good.Hell, it was the most I had seen him smile since he arrived in town two months ago, and it made me feel a sense of relief.

“Do you want to date him?”my stepbrother called from across the room, where he and Sutton were cooking dinner together.The two of them were so in sync that they seemed to dance around the kitchen, grabbing ingredients, mixing, and chopping, moving as though they shared a mind.

Did I want to date him?A few months ago, I might have said I enjoyed being single, but now I wasn't so sure.There was something warm and homey about the way Ben and Sutton were together that sparked an odd kind of yearning deep inside me.But the only answer I had for Ben was, "I don't know."

"Date?They’d make the most irritating couple; all they do is bicker," Sutton said as he dumped salad ingredients into a big bowl.“Actually, they're kind of like an old married couple, now that I mention it."

"Are you guys eating, or just gossiping about Matt’s love life on our couch?”Ben asked.

“I could eat,” Wade said, taking another swing of his beer.

"I guess dating is moot, anyway.He must not have liked it.I mean, he was out of there before I even asked if everything was okay."

Sylvie leaned in, asking, "Did you make him come, or did he jerk himself off?"

I bit my bottom lip.“He seemed to be enjoying what I was doing.And then he..."

"Oh my god, could we talk about something else?Anything else.Please!"Ben groaned as he dumped a box of pasta into the big pot on the stove."Why are you three hanging out at our house anyway?"

"Matt's tiny house is too small for Wade's liking," Sylvie explained casually."And my dog keeps biting Wade.And Wade's cabin smells like dirty socks.It's starting to seem like Wade is the problem here."

"Love you too, Sylvie," Wade deadpanned, elbowing her playfully.

"Ben, come on.You love us here.Adds some excitement to your lives."I grinned at my stepbrother."And we're being nice to Wade because his wife fucked his business partner—"

"Ex-wife," Wade corrected.

"—And then his business partner fucked him over.And not in a fun, sexy way, like how Matt fucked Casey," Sylvie added.

"It was more of grinding on each other, does that count as fucking?"I asked.

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