Page 68 of More Than Pen Pals

I consider how much to tell him. Does my brother really need to know all the details about Leslie’s reaction to Melissa?

“You’re already censoring the story in your head. Stop it. Tell me every single thing.”

I decide to try telling all the details for once. If I’m lucky he won’t remember half of it.

“Leslie is jealous,” he announces when I finish. “No doubt about it.”

“But I told her I don’t want to date Melissa.”

“You idiot, that was before Melissa apologized and you decided she’s an okay person and then thought it was a good idea to call her pretty in Leslie’s presence. You screwed that one up big time.”

I throw my head back in frustration. “I know. I realized it as soon as I said it. But I couldn’t take it back.”

“Her jealousy is a good sign for you, though. If she didn’t have feelings for you, she wouldn’t care if you might be interested in another woman.”

“Maybe.”

“Definitely.”

It’s time to change the subject. “You should come to dinner tomorrow night.”

“No way.”

“Come on. It’ll be fun. You can help Melissa and me pull one over on our moms, which will also keep your mind off Colleen. Then you can stay the night in your old room, and we’ll play tennis Sunday morning.”

“You two are really going to pretend you want to date each other?”

“Probably. It’ll help if you’re there,” I wheedle.

“All right. Count me in, and prepare to get your tail handed to you on the tennis court.”

thirty-three

McConnell’s Pub isn’t as crowded as I’d expect for a Friday night, but what do I know about Chicago nightlife? I’ve only been here three weeks.

After the waitress takes our order, Wendy asks, “Did you want to button up her shirt as badly as I did? I don’t need to see that.”

I shrug. “Probably gets her some great tips. You gotta do what you gotta do. Plus, if we’d gone to a club, you would’ve seen a lot more than that.”

“True. Now, are you planning to tell Ash what happened with Glenn?”

“I don’t know. We’re not supposed to talk to each other about him.”

“But you told him about Glenn calling.”

“And I shouldn’t have.”

“You can’t leave him hanging, though. He’s probably sitting at home alone crying into his beer and wondering if he’s lost you to Glenn forever.”

“First, he doesn’t drink. I can’t believe you didn’t know that. Second … do you really think so, other than the drinking part?”

She shrugs. “It’s possible.”

“So do I call him up and say, ‘My ex proposed and I said no. Looking forward to reading your letter. Bye!’?”

“Hmm. That seems awkward. Maybe I’ll tell Randall, and he can break the good news.”

“You’re not telling Randall.”

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