Page 4 of Mexico Can Choke On It
“I’m broke AF, so yeah, but only weekends now. Gotta make rent on my shithole apartment.” I flash them a devilish grin. “Unless I wanna take my landlord up on his oh-so-generous offer to swap sex for rent.”
“You’re joking, right?” Katie asks. “Please be joking.”
“Relax, I’m kidding. The guy’s a fossil who reeks of mothballs and Fritos. But seriously, the stack of unpaid bills on my counter is starting to resemble a freaking Jenga tower.”
Cam’s eyes flicker with concern, and I can already tell what’s coming before she opens her mouth. “Sooo… can we ask about the Bryce situation? Have you seen him?”
There it is. The B-word. The name that makes my stomach do this annoying flip-flop.
Bryce Sterling.
He’s the reason I dropped out of UCLA senior year.
Why I didn’t graduate with my friends.
And he’s why I bought a one-way ticket to Europe and tried to eat, hike, and slut my way into forgetting him.
Spoiler: didn’t work.
“Haven’t seen him. He’s been in New York all week on business.”
Both of their faces soften immediately, and I hate it. They’re the only two people on this planet who know the truth about Bryce Sterling—my brother’s best friend. Co-CEO of the company I now work for.
They’re painfully aware that I’ve been obsessed with him since I was fifteen years old.
Fifteen. That brutal age where hormones take over your brain and you think any guy who looks your way is your soulmate. But with Bryce, it wasn’t just another teenage crush… it was an all-consuming romantic freefall.
Guys like Bryce don’t choose girls like me. He comes from old money, and I’m counting quarters to avoid parking tickets.
My heart’s been stuck on him for a decade, and he’s clueless. Or maybe he knows and only plays dumb to save me the humiliation. That night at my high school graduation party—when I kissed him and he fled—it’s in the past.
“I’ve moved on. Grown up. End of story.”
My besties’ faces are unconvinced.
“No, I’m dead serious. This summer I’m getting my shit in gear, not crushing on a guy who sees me as his best friend’s chaotic little sister.”
And reality check: Bryce is taken. He’s been living with his girlfriend for two years—a blonde socialite, exactly the type you’d expect. He’ll be putting a ring on it any day now, just like my brother did with his fiancée Fiona. Soon they’ll all be hanging out in the Hamptons, chatting about stock portfolios and Ivy League preschools.
Whereas my bankrupt ass had to swallow my pride and beg my brother for cash to return to college. I’m sick of mixing drinks and making bad decisions. Gavin is always trying to play the dad role, and this time he came up with a plan to prove to my family—and myself—that for once, I can actually finish something I start.
Translation: prove I’m not a screw-up.
My phone buzzes like a pissed-off hornet, lighting up with a text from my Bossy McBrotherface.
Gavin:They moved up the Public Relations IPO strategy meeting. It’s in 30 minutes. I need that slide deck NOW!
Shit.That’s on my laptop…. in pieces. I don’t want to say “corporate espionage,” but I may have lost interest halfway through figuring out how PowerPoint animations work. And then, I may or may not have accidentally deleted half the transitions.
More vibrations from my phone.
Gavin:PETRA. SLIDES. WHERE ARE THEY?
I’m typing some BS about the slides being “almost done” when the hot bartender arrives with a heavenly BBQ chicken pizza. The tangy sauce and melted cheese make my stomach growl loud enough to turn heads.
“Can I get it to go?” I say, already grabbing my stuff. “And the bill. It’s a corporate emergency, which apparently is a real thing and not just something people say to sound important.”
I turn back to my phone, where Katie and Cam are still waiting.
