Page 9 of More Trouble
3
Andre
When I arrived at the diner, Wes was already there. I slid into the booth, sitting across from him. He’d already ordered beers and there were three on the table. My eyes narrowed.
“Did you ask Maddox to come too?” I grabbed the glass and downed half the contents in one go. I needed it. The beer was the perfect hangover cure and antidote to seeing Jessy again. Plus, I wasn’t sure I was quite ready to sit down and be normal with Maddox yet.
He nodded. “Of course.”
I frowned, sitting there pitying myself, expecting Wes to take my side because…bro code.
Instead, he surprised me. “Dre, when are you going to learn to let live?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I scowled.
“They’ve loved each other forever. And no code was ever going to keep them apart. He’s your best friend. Let him love your sister. She’s your sister. Let her love your best friend.”
I rested my head on my arms on the table. “I don’t know how to fix this.”
“You have to fix this,” a voice said from behind me. “Wes is right. No code was ever going to keep us apart.”
Maddox.
Reluctantly, I raised my head. Maddox stood by the table, not sitting down. He scraped a hand through his hair and cleared his throat.
“What the hell, I’m never going to stop it am I?” I held out my hand to Maddox and he shook it solemnly, before sitting down opposite me.
We made idle chit chat for a few minutes until Adriana came to take our order. It was always the same: three burgers with the works. And a side of mac and cheese. Oh, and more beers.
“So, I started work at the country club today,” I said as an opening gambit.
“Ooo, fancy! Guess you’re not going to be hanging out with the likes of us for much longer. You probably aren’t allowed to be friends with a grease monkey,” Maddox joked.
“Ha, you wish.” I should tell them about Jessy. If I didn’t and then they found out she was around, my life wouldn’t be worth living. “There’s a bit of an issue already.”
“Someone else has taken the top dog spot and you’re feeling threatened?” Maddox’s tone was light, but I sensed his underlying seriousness. After what had happened over the weekend, his words rang true. I wasn’t the only man in Lyla’s life any longer and Maddox had taken over.
“Not quite, but you’ll never guess who’s working there as well.”
Maddox shrugged his shoulders. “If we’re never going to guess, then tell us. I’m crap at guessing games.”
“More like lazy,” baited Wes. “But he’s right. Tell us, Dre.”
I took another swig of beer. “Jessy.”
It took a couple of moments for them to make the connection.
“Jessy…”
“As in Jessy and Jenika?”
“The twins?” they finally said in unison.
Adriana came back with our food order and I stuffed a fry into my mouth. “Yep. She showed up late, then had a go at me.”
Wes let out a whistle. “Christ, Dre, you’re right. I never would have guessed that in a million years.”
Maddox shook his head. “What are you going to do?”
