Page 19 of The Sidekick

“How would you like it if we slept together and I treated you like the gum on my shoe after?”

His jaw snaps shut as he begins to scowl.

“That’s what I thought,” I glare back and sip my coffee.

“We’ve never slept with her,” he grits out through his teeth quietly.

“It’s none of my business,” I say back primly. “I just expected better from you.”

“Trevor is my boyfriend.”

“Oh. Oh!” My mouth is the one to snap shut this time. This is what I get for being judgy. It’s karma, really. I deserve whatever tirade comes out of him. Then confusion rears its ugly head. “Wait, but you said-”

“That women come upstairs to get laid. I never said we did anything about it.”

My eyes widen in horror. “I’m so sorry. Please don’t be mad.”

His glare intensifies until I’m squirming, and my shoulders hunch up in defense.

“You remember when Diana came in crying, and Trevor let her stay in the office playing games all night?”

I swallow hard. I was thinking about that just the other day. Something tells me Max is about to ruin Trevor’s nice guy image.

When I don’t answer, Max continues, “She wasn’t crying over some ex like she told everyone. Trevor came upstairs after his shift the night before and found her naked, rolling around in our sheets. She wouldn’t leave on her own, and Trevor marched her scrawny ass downstairs naked before handing her the clothes she left on the floor.” The words come out disgusted, and I’m suddenly ashamed of myself.

“I’m so sorry,” I breathe and hold my coffee up in front of me to hide my face.

He puts his hand over mine and pulls the cup back down. “You had no idea, did you?”

I shake my head. I hope he can tell I’m being honest. I’m a horrible liar anyway. “I’m not tight with anyone here. I work, and I go home. I’m not into the gossip they start with because it’s too depressing. They can’t find a single good thing to talk about most of the time. They kind of avoid me because I’m annoying.”

His lips twitch down at that, but he nods. “I figured you didn’t, and you’re not annoying.”

“You guys thought that I’m like that?” I ask sadly. No wonder Max never talked to me. I can’t even be mad about it. I don’t have friends because of things I didn’t even do. There’s no winning.

“I’m not going to lie. When you first started talking to me, I blew you off because I thought you were.”

I nod even though I’m shriveling up on the inside. How embarrassing, and I didn’t even do anything!

“Then I realized you would talk to a wall and stopped taking it personally.”

That is not better. Is there a rock I can hide under?

“I just got so used to you jabbering on that it was easier to listen than talk.”

I’m ready to slink away into the shadows with shame now.

“You stopped talking to us when Andi came into the picture. You stopped being happy.” He’s back to glaring instead of reminiscing now, and it’s awkward. “Are those assholes the reason for it?”

I chew on my lower lip, trying to decide if I should say yes or keep quiet. There’s a lot to that story, and if I open my mouth, I’ll tell him the whole thing whether he wants to hear it or not.

“That’s what I thought,” he takes my silence as an answer, and the glare gets transferred onto the group in front of us. “Bunch of fucking pricks. I told Trev we shouldn’t have let you go so easily.”

Huh? I’m not a fish they caught. What is he talking about?

My confusion must show because he turns back to me, and his evil grin returns. “Want to know a secret?”

I’m not sure if I do, but he continues as if I said, ‘Yes, of course.’

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