Page 3 of More To Us

He looks her in the eye. "I'm not lying. I have a girlfriend."

"It's true," Nash says to her. "They live together. They're practically engaged."

"Oh." Shannon's eyes go to the floor, then dart over to me. "How about you? You single?"

"Yeah." I smile at Jake. "But I don't share girls with my brothers."

She looks at Nash. "And I suppose you're—"

"Engaged."

"Well." She fakes a smile. "Enjoy your lunch." She hurries off.

"You see that?" Nash says to me. "You don't want a girl like her."

"Hey." Jake turns to Nash. "There's nothing wrong with Shannon. You're just pissed because you were her third choice." He laughs and picks up his beer. "She would've taken Austin before you."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" I ask.

"She's at least 26, maybe older. You're like a kid to her. At least Nash is her age." Jake chuckles. "But she picked him last."

"It's because I don't give off that single vibe anymore," Nash says, getting his wallet out. "Girls know I'm taken."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself," Jake says, swigging his beer.

"Shut up, idiot." He tosses some money on the table. "Now get out of the way. I gotta use the restroom before we go."

Jake steps out of the booth and Nash leaves just as our waitress stops by.

"Here's your check." She sets it down.

Jake glances at the total, then hands her the money. "It's all set."

"Oh, um, okay." She looks at me, then back at the check. She sets the check down and slides it across the table to me and smiles. "In case you want a copy."

Confused, I laugh a little and say, "Thanks."

She takes off, her tiny ass swaying back and forth as she walks. She's a cute blonde, but she wears too much makeup. She'd look a lot better without all that makeup.

"You gonna call her?" Jake asks.

"Call her? I don't even know her."

He points to the check. "She gave you her number." I look down at the check and see her phone number written on the back. "So are you calling her?"

"Probably not." I shove her number in my pocket, thinking it'd be rude to just leave it behind. I'm not good at rejecting girls. I always feel bad.

"Why wouldn't you call her?" Jake leans back in the booth. "She's hot, and around your age. She seemed nice."

"I'm tired of girls asking me out. Next time I go out, it's gonna be with a girl I actually asked."

He shakes his head. "You're complaining about girls asking you out? Seriously?"

"I'm not complaining. There's just something about having a girl ask you out that...I don't know...I guess I just like the chase."

"Yeah, I hear ya. Ivy's refusal to date me just made me like her even more. But still, that waitress was hot. You should go out with her at least once. You might like her."

Nash returns and slaps a piece of paper down on the table.

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