Page 20 of From Drummer to Gamer

“You still can’t be searching for the name. Emmie, I suggest we hire someone to help out our man,” Mikey drawled, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I sighed, setting my phone aside. This wasn’t going to work. I still had five more fucking days to get this done. I was the kind of person who submitted their assignment weeks prior to the deadline, so this was uncharted territory for me, and I certainly didn’t like it.

“Do you want someone, Matty?” Emmie asked, his soft eyes trained on his girl, Evy, splayed over his lap while she looked at something intently on her laptop.

We were all sprawled out on his TV room floor, which was our usual hangout spot. It was as big as a modest living room with soft carpet, plush couches, and dark walls with the perfect lighting.

“No,” I answered him. “I can do this,” I mumbled more to myself than to him.

He nodded, his blue eyes still on her while he softly tucked her hair behind her ear, to which she gave him a sweet smile.

Even in a room full of a hundred people, those two were always in their own bubble like they didn’t have a care for the rest of the world.

I’ve had my fair share of relationships in the past. But it didn’t consume me. It didn’t become my whole living purpose like Emmie explained Evy was to him.

It was a kind of love I didn’t understand, and I don’t think I ever would. It defied all logic and practicality. And I craved logic and practicality. I didn’t understand love without it.

“Or maybe you’re thinking about a certain someone who is going to be living with you.” Mikey grinned, stretching his hands behind his neck, the motion ruffling his long blond hair.

“Someones,” I corrected.

“One is a girl.” He smirked. “I thought I’d never see the day Matty boy would be living with a girl. Much less babysitting a teenager. This is going to get so fucking interesting.”

“And the other is a boy,” I added. “Her brother, no less. And he is my employee. It’s strictly business.”

“How sure are you about this boy?” Emmie questioned, finally landing his gaze on us.

“Very,” I said with confidence because I was. There was no question about Raphael’s talent, but his antics were debatable. “Only problem is that he is a cocky-ass motherfucker.”

“Did you run a check?”

I nodded. “Everything’s clean. Even the contract’s signed.”

“Good,” Emmie agreed. “We can’t take many chances.”

“So the girl,” Mikey started, his eyes shining with amusement. “How old did you say she was?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Almost nineteen.”

“Oh, so I have a shot then?” He sat up straight, smiling smugly. “She is going to be my neighbor and all.”

“No,” I said, which came out as more of an icy warning than I intended, as an unfamiliar ripple surged in my gut.

“Someone’s jealous.” Mikey grinned wider, rubbing his hands together.

I leveled him with a sharp glare but didn’t say a word.

I couldn’t possibly be jealous, could I?

How could I be jealous of someone I knew nothing about? The thought of him anywhere near her brought out an insistent need to rearrange his face, but I dialed it down, knowing that fucker was only pulling my leg. As much as he liked to hide it, Mikey had been in love with Emmie’s sister, Lily, his whole life, but he did everything in his power to act against it. And it certainly wasn’t because of the fact that she was his best friend’s sister; there was much more to that. It wasn’t a can of worms I was willing to open.

“Jay, I’m hungry,” Evy groaned, putting her laptop aside. “Can we eat now?” she asked, her wide brown eyes volleying over to us.

“Yes, sweetheart.” Emmie, orherJay, placed a kiss on her forehead.

They were so icky sweet that they even had their own nicknames for each other.

Thankfully, Evy saved me from that asshole’s persistent interrogation.

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