Page 51 of Pick Me

Matty:Wow. You’ve really pissed off Britt, J. She doesn’t say shit like that.

Jackson:I’m sorry.

Britt:Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to Thea.

Jackson:That’s why I’m messaging you. I need to know where she is so I can talk to her.

Britt:Well, you’ll just have to wait until after her date.

Jackson:Who is she on a date with?

I hoped Britt couldn’t detect the annoyance in my voice, but I was annoyed. So fucking annoyed.

Britt:Wouldn’t you like to know?

Jackson:I would. That’s why I asked.

Britt:Sorry, J. She deserves to have a good time.

*Britt has left the conversation*

Matty:Whoa. I didn’t even know she could do that.

Jackson:Do you know who Thea’s on a date with?

Matty:Nope. Sorry.

Jackson:Would you mind finding out?

Matty:Sorry, J. I’m with Britt on this one. You brought a girl home last night. You deserve to stew on it for a little.

I clenched my jaw and threw my phone on the couch. What good would it do now? No one was telling me anything. The only thing I knew for sure was that Thea would no doubt bring her date home just to spite me, and I had to make sure I thwarted any possibility of him getting into her bedroom.

Chapter Thirteen

Thea

“So, then he passes me the biscuit—”

“Hold on,” I interrupted, and Henry’s shoulders slumped. I dropped my head and then pinched the bridge of my nose. He might’ve been annoyed by the questions, but my head hurt, and it was all because he was talking nonsense. “The dog? How are you able to pass a fully grown dog between the two of you?”

Henry’s face fell before he masked it with a tight smile. I was trying my hardest to be interested in everything he was saying. It wasn’t my fault he was boring. Maybe that was harsh. He was a nice guy, but almost too nice. Like he had his guard up because he was afraid something he’d say might offend me.

Was it strange that I wanted to be offended? That I wanted to light so much fire in him that he could only give me a sarcastic comment back.

“No. No. Mr. Biz or Stanley Biscuit is Cade’s dog.” I nodded, pretending I knew the difference between Cade, Dash, Alex, Erik, and Brooks. I didn’t. I was actually impressed I remembered all of their names, but that could be due to the fact I thought they sounded like porn stars. Combine that with their hockey sticks, and all these images were coming to my mind. None were clean, and I was okay with it. “I was referring to the puck in ice hockey. Sometimes, we call it a biscuit.”

Sometimes, I like to call my pussy Vajayna to feel more exotic, but I don’t go around telling people about it. I inwardly rolled my eyes because he was worse than Tanner when talking terminology. At least I could understand football since I had watched so much of it. Henry could speak Danish and I’d probably be able to understand more than this.

“Oh, okay, so you passed the biscuit to your friend…” I smiled, hoping he would keep talking so I wouldn’t have to.

“My teammate,” he gritted out through clenched teeth. He’d done a good job at hiding his annoyance earlier, but that façade was crumbling by the minute. His razor-sharp jaw showed every tic. Our gazes connected.

Tired eyes. Biting back words. Deep breaths.

He was annoyed, but I wasn’t exactly happy with him. Never in my life did I think I’d want to hear about football. Alas, this entire shamble of a dinner only proved there was a sport more boring, and it involved shoving ice gremlins into the equivalent of a greenhouse, or at least that was what I imagined when Henry described the game. On second thought, that sounded too fun.

“I passed Erik the puck, but he wasn’t ready for it, and somehow, he hit a slapshot right into Brooks’s face.”

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