Page 98 of Pick Me

“What about her?” I asked tentatively.

She threw me a wide, angry look. Did she think I knew what she was trying to say with that? When she shook her head, it got a little clearer.

Tanner cleared his throat, but even that move didn’t stop the croak in his voice as he said, “We, uh, I think we broke up.”

Broke up?

“What?”

My mind was reeling, trying to figure out what could have happened in the past week for her to want to leave him. Aster and Tanner had been dating for over a year, and to say they were like peanut butter and jelly would be an understatement. They worked well together, and honestly, I thought they were endgame.

“You didn’t break up,” Thea said.

“We did.”

Thea moved so she could see her brother, patting him on the back and bringing him in for a hug. Then she looked at me from over his shoulder, her eyes urgent. “You didn’t break up,” she said.

“I think I’d have more clarity on the situation since I was there.”

“Yeah, and I’m the one who used to live with Aster.”

“You lived on the same floor for a few months.”

“And in those months, I learned a lot about her.” Thea’s voice was sharp, unwavering. She pinned Tanner with a glare. “You know what I learned?”

He stayed silent.

“She doesn’t do anything unless she believes it’s worth it in the long run. That includes you.”

Tanner’s jaw clenched. “That was before I fucked things up.”

“How?” I asked, cutting through the tension.

His eyes flicked between Thea and me, shoulders slumping before he finally admitted, “She found the ring.”

“And you didn’t get to talk to her about it?” Thea’s fingers curled around his arm, her expression softening as she pulled him into a hug.

Meanwhile, I stood there, completely lost. “Ring? What ring?”

Neither of them answered. They were locked in their own little twin-world bubble, one I clearly wasn’t a part of.

I raised a hand, waving it between them. “Hello? Someone wanna fill me in?”

Tanner exhaled heavily. “I had a ring to propose to Aster.”

What?!

My head snapped toward Thea, but she didn’t look remotely shocked.

“How long have you known about this?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

“It’s not what you think,” she said.

Tanner pulled away from his sister, running a hand through his hair, looking wrecked. “I don’t know, man. Everyone around me was either getting engaged or talking about getting married—except for you two—and I guess it just got me thinking about how much I wanted to be with Aster.”

Thea choked, slapping a hand over her face so fast I nearly missed how wide she opened it. Damn, did she just unhinge her jaw?

Yes, my friend was talking about the potential breakdown of his relationship, and all I could think about was how deep I could get my dick down his sister’s throat.

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