Page 119 of The 21-Day Boyfriend
“He slept with my sister!” Sean yells.
“Show me your hand.” I take Sean’s hand to assess the damage.
“What about me? I’m the victim here!” Jake retorts.
“Victim? What victim? I’ll kill you!” Sean starts to approach him, but I ask him to calm down.
“You don’t get it… He… He knows her! He knows what she’s been through, knows all her problems… He should never have taken advantage of her like that! What kind of arsehole are you?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“You slept with her! What am I supposed to think, Jake?”
“I love her. This is serious. And she doesn’t want commitment, doesn’t want…”
“I can’t listen to this!” Sean looks at me. “Please, make him stop.”
“I think you’ve both said too much for one evening.”
I leave them in the living room and head into the kitchen, opening the freezer and pulling out an ice pack. I hand it to Sean, who brings it to his hand, and throw a pack of frozen peas in Jake’s direction.
“Ow! What the fuck?” Jake complains.
I help him lift the peas and hold them pressed to his nose.
“I’ll take him home,” I say to Sean, who has lifted himself from the floor and onto the sofa. “I’m sure you’ll want to talk to Mila and the two of you need some privacy.”
“Thank you.”
“Come on, I’ll help you,” I say to Jake, then.
“Thanks, Eric. At leastyou’rea true friend.”
“Do you want round two?” Sean threatens, waving his injured hand.
“Cut it out or I’ll leave you out in the road,” I say to Jake, who, apparently, hasn’t quite had his fill this evening.
We head to the door, and Sean follows. I open it and pull Jake outside before turning back to Sean in the doorway.
There are so many things I want to say to him, and they’re all too private for the ears of our disastrous mutual friend.
“Goodnight, Mr. Quinn.”
“Goodnight.”
Sean closes the door and I sigh, helping Jake down the stairs and out into the street, towards my car. I open the passenger door and help him in, strapping on his seatbelt.
Jake smiles at me. “You’re the best friend I could ever ask for.”
“I can’t say the same for you.”
I close the door and storm around to the other side of my car, climbing in and turning on the engine. I whack the heating on and wait a few minutes for it to do its job.
“Why do I feel like I interrupted something?”
I glare at him. “You’re an idiot.”
“I know, I know. But you love me anyway, right?”
