Page 105 of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

Alright. He’s pissed.

‘You mean slept in the same bed because I moved back in.Right?’

I grab a stack of napkins from the table next to us. ‘Come on, Riv. We’ve been getting closer, and things just hit that point. If you were ever home, you’d have known. Butno, you disappeared to your own fucking world and left me to be the one there for her. What’d you expect to happen?’

He practically growls at my words implying he’s at fault for this. I knew those wouldn’t go over well, but if he wants to throw a fit over things the other’s done wrong, let’s go there.

‘She’s my sister, man!’ He says it under his breath and through clenched teeth, but only because his parents are headed our way.

‘It’s not what you—’

‘Boys!’ Penny interrupts, helping me wipe up the table with the napkins she’s carried over. ‘What are ya, six years old and spilling your drinks again?’

River shoots me a shut-the-fuck-up glare. So, he’s not thrilled. Message received.

‘Slip of the hand,’ River lies.

‘We wanted to let you know we’ve decided to go to dinner instead,’ John says. ‘You guys want to join us?’

‘You two go. Dax and I got some shit to discuss.’

Penny’s eyes meet mine immediately.Hollyn?she mouths.

I shake my head, refusing to answer. How the hell does she know everything? Am I that easy to read?

‘Next time,’ John says, patting me on the back before the two of them leave. Penny turns before they exit, giving me a discreet thumbs up. Jesus.

‘Come on, Dax. You’re serious about this?’ River continues our conversation the moment the front door closes behind his parents. ‘You fucked Hollyn?’

‘Can yanotsay it that way?’ I ask. ‘It’s not like that. I’m in love with her.’

‘Bro code, dude,’ he says. ‘Bro code.’ He repeats it with a fist on his chest, disappointment in his voice.

After a moment of him considering my words, he heaves a sigh. ‘Time out,’ he says, motioning the hand gesture. ‘I need a fresh drink. Wanna shot? I feel like we need shots for this.’

‘Sure.’ He’s not wrong.

I sip my beer as he stands across the room at the bar, taking a single shot without me before carrying five more to the table. Good god, he’s gonna get me drunk. He lines up the shots between us, making himself comfortable on the barstool, before making eye contact.

‘Why isn’t she here?’ he asks, pushing a glass my way with one finger. ‘I’m already up one. Your turn.’

I grab the glass, downing the shot, sitting the glass on the table in front of me. ‘This was my responsibility. Also, you’re kind of an ass to her at times.’

‘Now you’re going to lecture me on how I should treat my sister? Must I remind you I’m heryoungerbrother and being an ass is my fucking job?’

‘No, it’s not. Your job is being there for her. Protecting her. Not hurting her feelings. You could have gone a little easier when you told her why Summer dumped you last night. That wasn’t her fault. It was yours.’

This isn’t mine and River’s first fight. In high school, we got into it over something I don’t even remember, and we literally tried to kill each other in the backyard. Our parents didn’t even notice until he came home with a busted lip, and I came home with a black eye. When you grow up as close as we did, you argue shit out sometimes. He’s mad now, yeah. But this isn’t the final nail or anything.

He has no response, just points at the shots. I grab another one, downing it and setting the glass back on the table before shoving one his way.

‘Shots wereyouridea,’ I remind him. ‘You gonna fall behind?’

His eyes never leave mine as he downs the shot, slamming the empty glass on the table.

‘This isn’t brand new, Riv. We’ve been going through the motions of discovering this since I picked her up at the airport. I told her how I feel, and we want to see where it goes.’

‘We?’

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