Page 19 of How to Lose at Love

“No.” Not yet…but I can’t say I wouldn’t let one of them scratch the itch if I had it.

“Fine.” He nods. Leans back and folds his arms across his chest, twirling around in his desk chair. “If you happen to meet anyone cute and down to earth, think about what I said.”

I nod. “Sure.”

Not.

“I’m serious. It could help you.”

“Yup. Got it.”

Not.

Except…

After I disconnect the video chat and jump in the shower, my mind strays to Ryann Winters and the look on her face when I caught her off guard outside of her job. That was probably bad timing, but how the fuck else was I supposed to make time to do it?

Ryann Winters.

Hated my guts.

Which is fine. I’m not looking to expand my fan club.

I was doing my teammate a favor; who could fault me for that? Jesus, it was practically a public service ending that relationship. Who dates someone and doesn’t fuck them?

I did Ryann a favor.

She’ll thank me later.

“Yo, dipshit, what do you want for dinner? Pizza or chicken?”

My younger brother Drake leans against the doorjamb, his giant torso taking up the entire frame.

“Don’t care. You decide.”

He stands there a bit longer than necessary, sizing me up. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Too late. He senses my melancholy and comes bounding in, throwing his massive body onto my bed.

“You’re messing up the covers!” I complain, yanking them back into place, liking things in order.

“You sound like you have your period. What’s goin’ on?”

“Nothin’s goin’ on.”

“Why are we bothering with this little song and dance? Just spit it out so we can eat.”

I sigh as loudly as I’ve ever sighed. “It’s been a long day, that’s all.”

“How?”

Jesus, why is he giving me the third degree? Drives me nuts when he latches onto something and won’t let it go. In this case, it’s prying information out of me.

I decide to be honest. “You know Diego Lorenz, yeah?”

He nods. We’re all on the same team, even though the twins—my brothers—are a few years younger.

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