Page 14 of My Brother's Roommate (Frisky Business 2)
Not ten seconds later, he replies that he and Maren are doing the whole meet the parents thing with his mom and dad out in the suburbs this weekend.
Shit. I can’t believe my sister didn’t mention that to me. Then again, I’ve been distracted as hell all week. There’s a solid chance it just went in one ear and out the other.
With a huff, I drop my phone facedown on the couch next to me, one hand rubbing the tension from the back of my neck. The guys will probably hit our usual strip of River North bars tonight, but I don’t want to run the risk of bumping into Tessa. So it looks like this might be it for me tonight.
Just when I’m about to head to the fridge for a cold one and officially surrender myself to a night of drinking alone, my phone buzzes again, and I snatch it up. Another text from Hayes.
If you really don’t have jack shit to do, you could head to the lake house. Somebody needs to winterize that thing before too long.
I reply without a second thought.
I’m on it. Backup key still under the grill?
It’s a decent excuse to get out of here, and a little cleanup is the least I can do after all the times his grandma Rosie has let us all stay there. The lake house is almost three hours away, though. I’ll have to get going soon if I want to make it there before it gets too late.
Hayes shoots me back a confirmation text, followed by a punch list of what needs to get the lake house ready for winter. He signs it all off with a huge thank-you for helping him out.
Little does he know he’s the one doing me a solid. A long drive and a weekend alone is just what the doctor ordered to clear my head. Plus, some alone time at a peaceful house on the water should be perfect.
After cramming a few sweatshirts, jeans, and toiletries into my duffel bag, I pack a second bag containing a few supplies. Bottled water, the protein powder I use every morning to make myself breakfast, and a bottle of whiskey. Just the essentials. Then I head down to the parking garage and rev up my car to head out of town for the second Friday in a row.
I’ve got a hundred fifty miles of highway ahead of me, more than enough time to work out whatever’s going on between Penelope and me.
Is she mad at me? Fuck if I know. I’ve never been good at the whole feelings thing.
What I do know is that if I was dumb enough to cross any lines with her, she’d end up hurt, and Connor would put my balls on a spike in the middle of Millennium Park. I wouldn’t blame him either. That’s what you do when some asshat breaks your sister’s heart.
Luckily, I’ll never have to pull that shit for my own sister. Hayes is a good man. Not that I’m not a good person. I am, but I’m complicated. A bit of a fucking mess, to be honest. And I’m not going to let Penelope get swept up in all that.
I listen to a podcast most of the way there, and the moon is high overhead by the time I find the spot to turn off into the driveway. I’ve never been here when the leaves have fallen from the trees. It looks different. Almost spooky.
Gravel crunches beneath my tires as I pull up to the lake house, the clock just turning over to nine o’clock as I throw my car in park and hop out. Cringing against the wind, I feel around in the darkness to find the spare key hidden beneath the grill cover, then trudge up the steps and onto the porch. The forecast said chances of snow were low tonight, but the sky is telling a different story. Good thing I came up here after all. The pipes might have frozen if I hadn’t.
Inside, I drop my duffel bag and flip on the lights, along with the heat. Everything looks just how we left it this summer, right down to the leftover six-pack of cheap beer shoved in the back of the fridge. I consider helping myself to one, although a whiskey neat would warm me up a lot faster. I miss the bar cart from the hotel last weekend almost as much as the drinking buddy I shared it with.
Leaning one hip against the counter, I pull up the list of tasks Hayes sent over. It’s kind of late, but I can definitely cross one or two things off this list tonight. That will tire me out enough to get some good shut-eye and leave me nice and fresh to finish things up tomorrow.
