Page 64 of The Teacher of Nothing
He grunts, glancing at me over my shoulder. “I wanted to see if I could fix it before I called a plumber.”
“Since when do you tinker on your own plumbing?”
“Since I’m now running for AG and the last thing I need is someone calling me a worthless rich prick who can’t fix his own pipes.”
“But you are a worthless rich prick who can’t fix his own pipes…”
He flips me off. “But they don’t know that.”
We sit in relaxed quiet as he fucks around some more. Eventually, he gives up and stands up, defeated and annoyed that he’s been defeated. My brother likes to win. It’s a family trait.
“So what brings you here so late and smelling like pussy?”
I stiffen and glower at him. “What?”
“I’m kidding, man. You don’t smell like pussy. I got a text from Dad, though, that you had a woman over. And to talk with you so you understand who you date now reflects on me.” He shakes his head and walks over to a cabinet where he keeps abottle of whiskey hidden behind flour and sugar. “I didn’t know you were dating anyone.”
I scrub a palm over my face in frustration. “Gemma and Jamie just really can’t keep their mouths shut, can they?”
“Jamie tells Dad everything. Always has.”
“It’s just some girl, er, woman.”
Hugo lifts a brow and smirks. “Hope she’s not too young for your old ass.”
“She’s not,” I lie.
“Dad says we’ll get to meet her on Sunday for dinner.”
“Dad’s wrong,” I growl. “It’s not even that serious.”
The bitter taste of my lies sits on my tongue, burning with the need to tell him the truth. Of course I don’t. I can’t. He’d lose his shit.
“You brought her home,” Hugo says, brows furling as he goes into lawyer mode. “That’s something. You don’t ever bring women home.”
“Maybe because every time I do, someone in my family steals them away!”
Hugo’s eyes narrow. “You slept with Neena once. You told me you didn’t even like her.”
“I didn’t. Jesus. I didn’t mean it that way.” I spear my fingers through my hair, messing it up. “You dating Neena after I was done with her is not the same thing as Dad stealing my girlfriend. Fuck. I know it’s different. I’m just in a pissy mood, unfairly taking it out on you.”
He relaxes and nods. “I’d be pissy too if those two showed up while I was getting laid. What a buzzkill.”
“You have no idea.” I gesture in the air. “Where’s Spencer?”
“Who the hell knows. We got into an argument earlier about Neena, actually.”
“She finally called?”
“No. Her cell is still turned off. I accused Spencer of running her off.”
“Well, he did, didn’t he?”
“That’s beside the point. Neena left. Whether Spencer was the catalyst or not doesn’t matter. He’s still here with me and I took her side.”
“Have you contacted her ex-husband or Aubrey?”
“I haven’t spoken to Aubrey since she left to go live with her dad. And me and Tony aren’t exactly on speaking terms.”
