Page 73 of The Accidental Dating Experiment
He sighs, then scratches his jaw, shrugging in admission. “I mean, it’s a big house. And the furniture’s all still here so…”
I gulp. Shit. I’m going to have to face up to some modicum of the truth. We don’t have a spare bedroom in The Horny House. Only spare chaise lounges. I could offer him my bunk, but the last time I was in that bed, I fucked his sister. Soooo…
“There are a bunch of chaises,” I offer.
His brow knits. “That’s not weird.”
I quickly explain, and he says gamely, “When in Rome.” After we put the board away, he drops his beer bottle into the recycling bin, then stops with his hand still raised. “But where are you and Juliet sleeping?”
The kernel of guilt turns into a grapefruit as I pick up my half-full bottle, staring at it rather than him. “There’s…a big bunk bed.”
“You’re sharing a bunk bed? Are you eight?”
The guilt expands to watermelon size. I wish I could tell him the truth. I wish I could say I can’t stop thinking about your sister, and how much more I want than this little experiment.
“There wasn’t anything else,” I say.
With a nod, he accepts that, then cuts across the kitchen, but he stops again in the doorway, turning around. “And listen, I’ve been meaning to ask something all night.”
I fiddle with the beer label then take a drink. “Yeah?”
“How long have you been into my sister?”
I didn’t think spit takes were a real thing until just now.
Sawyer laughs at my expression. “I thought so.”
“Fuck,” I grumble, dragging my free hand through my hair. So much for taking the high road.
“Impressive that you’re not denying it.”
“There’s no point. How did you…”
He scoffs as he returns to the table. “Not born yesterday. That whole dopey gaze when you talked about the store was a dead giveaway.”
“Dammit.” I’m so transparent.
He nods in agreement. “What are you going to do about it?”
“You’re not going to tell me to stay the fuck away from her?”
He rolls his eyes. “What am I? Eight?”
Fair point. “I appreciate that.” I lean back in the chair, sighing heavily. “I don’t know, Sawyer. Your sister deserves the world.”
“Yeah, she does. You can’t give that to her?”
I want to. I desperately want to. “My track record is shit. I wasn’t a good husband.”
“You didn’t cheat on Elizabeth, did you, man?”
“No. There are other ways to be a bad husband.”
“And what were yours?”
“I was emotionally unavailable, Elizabeth said.”
He snorts. “She was emotionally unavailable. Dude, you picked a woman who was obsessed with work.”