Page 34 of The Fallacy of True Love
Chapter Twelve
Cam
My ass had barely hit the bar stool when Eric moved the basket of cheesy fries toward me and said, “So. Manila guy.”
“Ugh.” I tried to get comfortable on the small, unpadded seat. “Can we wait for Nikki to get here so I won’t have to go through it twice?” Noting the absence of his furry four-legged shadow, I cocked an eyebrow at Eric. “Don’t tell me. You left Milo with Jo again.”
His gaze slid away from mine. “She was giving Nix a hard time about going out without her.”
“And of course you couldn’t resist.” Shaking my head, I picked out a fry smothered in gooey cheese sauce and popped it into my mouth. “Admit it. You got Milo to make them happy.”
“I always wanted a dog.”
I grabbed a tangle of cheesy fries. “And you decided to adopt him because Jo wanted a dog too but Nikki couldn’t handle taking care of one more thing. Am I right?”
His silence spoke volumes. When he finally met my eyes, they were hooded. “You know how I feel about them.”
I’d gotten the truth out of him one night after we helped Nikki and Jo while they had the stomach flu. How he’d fallen in love with Nikki three months into moving here and how he loved Jo too. “Which is why I keep telling you to make your move. Do you really want some other guy to come around and steal Nikki from right in front of you? C’mon, Eric.”
“I asked her out,” he said quietly.
I jolted forward. “What? When? Why don’t I know about this?”
“I asked last Wednesday.”
“So when’s your date?”
His smile held no humor. “Now.”
I gaped at him as his meaning sank in. “Shit.”
Last Thursday, Nikki had messaged our group chat, saying she couldn’t wait for our night out. I’d assumed I missed out on the planning and simply replied with see you.
“Wait. Did you specifically ask her out on a date? Or did you just invite her for drinks?” I asked.
He grimaced. “Well…”
Groaning, I kicked his foot lightly. “You should have made it clear. You know how she’s trained herself not to think about dating.”
“I know,” he said, closing his eyes.
“At the very least, you should have told me what you had planned, so I could have found an excuse to cancel last minute.” Glancing toward the entrance, I checked if Nikki had come in. When I didn’t find her, I got up.
“Where are you going?”
“Leaving while she’s not here.” I took the beer bottle he’d had waiting for me and searched for napkins so I could bring some fries home too.
He sighed. “Sit down, Cam. She’s expecting you to be here, and she wanted to hear about your housemate.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Of course you two have been gossiping.”
“I was helping her with her laptop when you called.”
“Right.” I sat back down, still gripping the bottle. “He was only booked for one night, so it was nothing more than a temporary inconvenience. He should be gone when I get home.”
As I took a drink, Eric asked, “Did you sleep with him?”
The beer I’d ingested almost spewed back out. I coughed, my eyes watering.
