Page 21 of Pick Me

I screwed up my face, thinking about what a ridiculous comment that was. Let me see… Devin was also married, but he had been out of college for three years, so he didn’t count. There was also Adam and Hayden who got together after Matty tried to push Britt onto Adam. That was a disaster waiting to happen. Adam was out, then, Aiden and Alyssa were doing whatever the hell they were doing, and Tanner…Well, shit.I was the only one who was fucking around. Not that I’d done it in a while. I hadn’t had the time or inclination ever since Thea moved in. Something about her judging glare and knowing she could hear always seemed to put me off.

“Wait, when did that happen? When did I become the only solo amigo in the group?” I frowned but then smiled because I was happy being on my own and away from the pressures of someone else’s expectations. It was good being me.

“Is that what you are? Single?” Britt asked with more judgment in her voice than I liked.

“Yeess …”

“I’m not sure that’s how I’d define you.”

Furrowing my brows, I studied her longer than I was sure Matty liked. “Are you trying to imply that my hand and I are in a relationship? Because if so, that’s cold, Britt. Stone cold.”

Matty smiled, the first of the night, but I’d let him off. He was clearly upset about his lack of sex tonight.

“No, but thank you for the graphic I could’ve lived without.” Britt’s nose crinkled as she waved me off, and I sat up straighter, looking between them.

I grinned. “What? You don’t like that idea? How about this? How about next time you and Matty are having relations, my hand and I could also have relations in the corn—”

“No.” Matty’s fist hit the table, his knuckles still white. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think the guy needed to get laid. He narrowed his eyes, and I smiled. Why did I enjoy ticking him off so much? Oh, that was right. For three years, he tried to pretend he wasn’t obsessed with Britt, and once he finally got her, he couldn’t stop showing off, gloating like he was special.

“Aw, Matty. I get it. You don’t want to share. Honestly, though, I think it’s more Britt’s call than yours, considering she had to share you for so long.”

Silence.

Whoops. There I go again, saying things I knew I shouldn’t. Sometimes, I just couldn’t stop myself. Words always came pouring out of me like verbal diarrhea.

Britt’s eyes were wider than our dinner plates as she side-eyed her husband, waiting for his reaction. Oh, fuck, could I feel the tension now… It was my own fault. Even if the statement was fact. He’d left Britt sidelined for years while he sorted his own shit out, not that I knew what that shit was. Matty was a private guy.

“I didn’t share Matty. He was going through some personal things, and I merely waited until they were figured out.” Britt wrapped her hand around Matty’s and squeezed.

I raised my hands. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” I might’ve only been apologizing because I had nothing to do for the rest of the night and didn’t want to be kicked out. I still believed every word. Funny, I always viewed Matty as the mild-mannered one of us, yet here he was, looking at me like he was thinking of the most painful way to tear my limbs off.

“So, why does Sam hate you?” I changed the subject because I still had at least another hour before I’d be allowed back in my apartment, which I couldn’t blame Thea for after I locked her out last night. The memory still easily draws a smile to my face.

Britt and Matty eyed one another. “He doesn’t hate Matty. He just wanted us to have a real wedding so he could be in it.”

“Real wedding?” I said with raised eyebrows, and frowned. “There’s going to be another one?”

“Considering the only guest at the real wedding was a Britney Spears impersonator, I’d say it is important to do it again the right way,” Matty stated.

Wow, what a crank he’d become.

“Wow. So, you’re going to be married twice before I’ve even gotten married once?”

“Why is that a shock to you?”

“I don’t know, it just makes me feel old.”

“Do you even want to get married?” Matty asked.

“I’m not ruling it out, but I gotta admit, I’m really starting to feel left behind here.”

“The first hurdle is to find someone who can stand to be in your presence for an entire evening.”

“He’s got that,” Britt said, a smile forming on her lips, and that piqued my interest.

Wait a minute, was the threesome still in the cards?

“Britt’s mine.” Matty drew Britt’s chair even closer, glaring at me. Dogs peeing to mark their territory were less obvious than him.

---