Page 76 of Mr. Big Mistake
“So, you’re saying I should keep up with this. Maybe ask her to keep staying with me after this whole thing is dissolved?”
“I mean, why not just stay married?”
“What?”
“Sure! You fucked her, you guys eat dinners together, you hang out on weekends. Why not just stay married and grow old together? Fuck courtship. You guys are already there.”
I blinked. “Stop being sarcastic.”
He laughed. “Finally. Took you a while to catch on.”
I groaned. “Okay. I’m done talking about this.”
“Dude. Brenden. You're my brother, okay? I’m not gonna lie to you or shit like that. But, you’re a bachelor. You had to set up an entire room for her that’s different than the rest of your place because you don’t live the life she wants to live.”
“That isn’t true. I could settle down and be a damn good husband.”
“But you don’t want to.”
“I might want to with her.”
“It’s fun right now because it’s new. You’re fucking some girl in a new atmosphere with a new problem, and it’s exciting. Like having sex in the back of your car for the first time. But, that newness will wear off, just like it does with all the other girls I’ve seen you cycle through. Then, what?”
I pushed my food away. “She’s different. This thing we have is different.”
He gulped his soda again. “Maybe it is. But, Kelly seems like a decent-enough girl. She doesn’t need to be tied up with a guy like you if you’re just going to continue being a bachelor.”
“I don’t want to be. Not with her.”
“Then, be sure about it. Otherwise, you’re stuck. Same sex, same woman, same routine, for the rest of your life. And the rest of your life is a very, very long time to go without touching another woman except her.”
I stayed quiet for the rest of our lunch, turning his words around over in my head. I figured Clint would’ve been more supportive of me than that. But, then again, he wasn’t about to become the family man.
I should’ve canceled and had dinner with Zane.
“Anyway,” Clint said as he wiped off his mouth, “I’ll pick up the tab. You just keep yourself out of trouble, all right?”
I nodded mindlessly. “Yeah.”
“Oh, you want one of their milkshakes? I love their salted caramel pretzel milkshake. I can’t get enough.”
“I’m good.”
“You sure?”
I slowly looked up at him. “I’m fine, Clint.”
He held up his hands. “Suit yourself. I’ll have them bring you a to-go box for your stuff.”
As he walked away from our table, my eyes gravitated outside. I saw the blinking signs of the casino across the street and figured I could use a bit of a distraction. After loading my food into the container and seeing Clint off, I left my food in my car.
I strolled across the street.
“Get the hell outta my way. It’s a fucking crosswalk, asshole!”
The car horn blared as I crossed the road, and I flicked them off. I didn’t give a damn how it made me look, either. People in Vegas were always so damn moody all the time. And it was times like that that I was jealous of Zane living outside of downtown Vegas. With my hands in my pockets, I strolled into the casino. One of the waitresses came over promptly to take my drink order while I scanned the tables. As far as my eyes could see, there were people playing poker. Blackjack. Roulette, and slots. There wasn’t a free seat in the fucking place at one o’clock in the afternoon on a Tuesday.
So, I took my drink from the waitress, tipped her, then started walking around.
