Page 73 of Love Undiscovered
Chapter 19
Chance
I get a text from Alex on my way home.
Alex: B-ball tonight. You in?
Me: Hell yeah, what time?
Alex: 4:30
Me: See ya.
* * *
We win the game against the firefighters, which puts both Alex and I on a bit of a high. Kat’s Romeo, Brad Matthews, played this game, so I’m not surprised to see him and his buddy Ethan Shane at the bar for beers after.
Alex and I grab a table and order a pitcher and some wings from the waitress. I notice Matthews and Shane taking seats at the bar.
“I had lunch with Remi today,” I tell Alex.
“Really?” he sounds surprised.
“And we are going out Saturday night. That makes three dates, my losing friend.”
“Three? I only count two?”
“Dinner, lunch, and Saturday.”
“Dinner doesn’t count,” Alex says. “You can’t count a date I set up. You gotta do it on your own, man.”
“That’s fucked up, dude.”
He shrugs in return.
“Fuck. Fine. Two then.”
“Dude, I can’t just give you a free pass, a bet is a bet. And with two, you are barely halfway to the end zone.” He pats me on the shoulder.
“I like bets, two what?”
I look up and see Matthews and Shane standing there.
Fuck. I thought they were at the bar.
I say, “Nothing important,” at the same time that Alex says, “Two dates toward thawing the ice queen.”
Fuck again.
“Sounds interesting,” Brad says, then he takes a long pull of his draft beer. “What’s the wager?”
“Twenty-five hundred,” Alex says.
“Hey Alex,” I say. “We don’t need to drag these guys into it.” Hoping he’ll get the hint and shut the fuck up.
“Oh come on now, Bauer,” Brad says patting me on the back, unnecessarily hard. “We’re all friends here. Right?”
“Bauer here thinks he’s gonna thaw my ex,” Alex starts, clearly preening a bit for the other guys’ sakes. It’s all I can do not to cover his mouth with my hand and drag him out of the bar. “But he only has a month to do it.”
