Page 96 of Gorgeous

Theo laughs. “Of course she does.”

“Why didn’t she bring it up?”

Theo shrugs one of his massive shoulders. “She wanted you towantto tell her yourself.”

Fuck. “That still doesn’t make it right that you both kept who Breck really was from me,” I argue fruitlessly at this point.

Theo eyes me curiously. “Are you sure? Because I think we all knew how you would react. Anniston simply wanted to make sure she wasn’t some kind of psycho for your sake and for the sake of the rest of the house. Do we regret keeping it from you?” His lip quirks. “No, we don’t. You would have never given Breck a chance. You would have shut down and ran just like you did all those years ago. Am I right?”

I want to say no. I want to argue and say they didn’t know me at all, but the truth is, he’s right. I would have kicked Breck to the curb without hesitation. Like I just did.

“You shouldn’t have taken the option away from me,” I say, sighing.

Theo’s eyes blaze for a minute. “Didn’t you ask me to put my girl’s life in your hands two years ago? Didn’t you take the option away from me? For my own good?”

I swallow, remembering the statement clearly. “Yes.”

Theo nods. “I returned the favor. Except I saved you from yourself. Maybe it wasn’t the best decision I’ve ever made, but Anniston and I only had good intentions. And it wasn’t our secret to tell. Breck deserved a chance.”

“Did she tell you why she was here?”

“No. We assumed it had something to do with Bennett, but we weren’t sure.”

I flash him a smirk. “What if she was trying to kill me?”

Theo snorts. “We thought you could take her.”

I laugh, the sound foreign to my own ears. “I hate you sometimes,” I lie to the bastard who has become one of my best friends.

“The feeling is mutual, Jameson. Now can we please stop for food? I’m fucking dying over here.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I tell him, pulling off the exit. “Where do you want to stop?”

Theo doesn’t look at me when he says, “You pick since it’s your birthday.”

Well, I’ll be damned. “Don’t go getting soft on me now, Von Bremen.”

He flips me off but stays silent until I choose the place, pulling into a burger joint. I head to the bathroom first, cleaning up the exaggerated scratch on my neck before meeting Von Bremen at the counter to order food. He glances at my neck briefly, and I cut him a bland look. It’s not that bad. I got caught up in the moment. I won’t allow it to happen again. Theo chooses not to engage in conversation, but when he pays for our food, I can’t help but break the awkwardness. “I think this is the most romantic birthday date I’ve ever had, Von Bremen. I hope you don’t expect head after it.”

The lady manning the counter clears her throat, her eyes growing wide as she hands Theo his change.

“Jameson, I expect head after Itextyou. If I buy youdinner, I expect you on all fours.” His tone is flat and serious, and the poor girl at the counter is blushing.

“He’s joking,” I tell her with a laugh. Theo grabs our cups off the counter and slams mine into my chest so hard it flattens in half before tossing over his shoulder, “I’m glad to see you have your sense of humor back. I was wondering if you were gonna act like a pussy all night.”

He brushes past me, filling his cup with ice and hopefully nothing with sugar in it. I don’t know if I can handle him being overly hyper tonight. I’m slightly embarrassed and highly amused when I approach the same cashier and ask her for another cup. She nods her head quickly and hands me another.

“Thank you,” I tell her. “Sorry about all that.”

She smiles, and when I turn to get myself something to drink I hear, “Holy shit, they’re hot.”

The compliment momentarily brightens my day. It used to only piss me off if a woman thought I was hot, but now, after Breck, something has changed. I find it sweet.

“Why are you smiling? That girl call you an asshole or something?” Theo is lounging at a table in the corner, his feet on my bench. I shove them off, the impact of them hitting the floor echoing in the sparse fast-food joint.

“You know they don’t bring the food out to you, right?”

The look Theo gives me says one thing: Wanna bet?

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