Page 43 of Someone You Deserve

Dallas smirks. “It’s about fucking time.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I know.”

Willow squeezes my arm. “This is amazing, Penn. What made you decide to go for it?”

“Pam contacted me about a house for sale that I couldn’t pass up. But honestly…” I stare out across the yard. “It was Astrid.”

They both look at me knowingly, so I’m guessing I don’t need to explain why.

“So, what about Dick?” Dallas asks.

“I don’t know. I haven’t figured that out yet.”

“Well, you should. Clock’s ticking,” he says.

Willow grabs my forearm now to get my attention. “She doesn’t really want to go out with him, you know.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because she told me. Well, not in those words exactly, but the message was clear under the surface. I think you should talk to her, Penn. Like, soon.” She widens her eyes to the point that she almost looks scary.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I move away from her, slightly concerned.

“She may have some insider knowledge,” Dallas mutters against the lip of his beer can.

Confused, I look back at Willow. “What the fuck is he talking about?”

Willow smirks. “Let’s just say I think Astrid would drop Dick in a heartbeat if you gave her a reason to, Penn,” she whispers, leaning back into my brother’s chest. The two of them are acting like teenagers,giddy because their friends are crushing on each other and they’re in on it.

Jesus, is this what this situation has come to?

“As much as I appreciate the two of you trying to be matchmakers, just stay out of it, okay? I’ll act when the time is right.”

Dallas mumbles in Willow’s ear. “That means we’ll be waiting another year.”

“Fuck you.”

Dallas laughs and Willow chastises him just as Parker exits the house and joins us outside. “Hey, it’s the hometown hero! Save any kittens from trees today?” Dallas says to our younger brother.

“I’m not a firefighter, moron,” Parker replies, flipping Dallas off as he lifts a beer to his lips.

See? This is how we tell each other we care. It’s our own love language.

“Too bad. Firefighters are hot,” Willow chimes in. “I recently read a book about a firefighter who marries a girl he’s been crushing on to help her in a custody battle. And believe me, he definitely set those pages and my loins on fire.”

The three of us just stare at her.

Willow rolls her eyes and begins to walk back to the house. “If there were another girl out here, they totally would have appreciated that.”

The door shuts behind her and then Parker and I turn to Dallas. “Did you know she reads books like that?”

Dallas smirks as he lifts his beer to his lips. “Who do you think helps her live out the scenes when they get her all worked up?” He waggles his eyebrows as Parker and I groan.

“Didn’t need to know that,” Parker grumbles.

“You’re just jealous because I’m getting laid regularly.Veryregularly. So regularly it’s probably considered irregular.”

I just roll my eyes, but Parker replies, “Not that it’s any of your business, but I got some action not too long ago.”

---