Page 62 of Terms + Conditions
“I mean…” Dean draws out the last syllable, trying to think of an excuse, but it doesn’t seem like he can find one good enough. “Yeah, so? Friends with benefits is a thing.”
“Dean.” I scoff.
“It’s not that serious.”
“That’s not what you said before,” Nick counters, turning to me to add, “Mr. it’s-not-that-serious here got drunk a few years ago and told me he’s always wantedmorewith Rae. That was before they ever slept together.”
“That was never supposed to happen!” Dean defends himself.
“You were the idiot who suggested being friends with benefits when you could’ve just told her how you felt.”
Dean sighs. “I just don’t want her to settle. She could do much better than me. You should have seen the last guy she was with; he was some hot shot at a consulting firm. He made killer money. He was always taking her on fancy vacations and buying her nice stuff.”
“You think that matters?”
“Of course it does. Women like that shit.” Dean rolls his eyes.
“You’re a dumbass,” Nick laughs, shaking his head.
“Well, if I am, what does that make you?”
And the point goes to…Dean.
Damn, that was a good one. They are still locked in a glaring contest when Rae rejoins us. She looks at me, confused, and asks, “What did I miss?”
“Not much.” Dean finally breaks the stare and squeezes her thigh reassuringly. “I was just telling Nick that he should come to the cabin for Memorial Day.”
“Yes! Nick, you have to. Everyone would love to have you.”
I didn’t think Nick’s face could fall any further, but I was wrong. His mouth falls into a straight line, and his gaze narrows. “You’re not gonna try and set me up again, are you?”
“Dean, you didn’t.” Rae turns to her best friend.
“I didn’t know he had a girlfriend!” Dean throws his hands up in defense.
Before I can say anything, Nick doesn’t even turn to look at me. He just holds up his finger in my direction and says, “Shut up.” Then he points it at Dean. “Not my girlfriend.”
“May as well be,” Dean says, earning an eye roll from my cousin. “Nick admitted his feelings for this girl and then ran off to Boston.”
“That isnotwhat happened.”
“Pretty much,” I say, laughing when Nick shoots me a look that saysShut up.
“You spent the summer at her family house, slept together, and then you ran,” Dean counters.
“Sounds a lot like someone else I know,” Nick smirks.
Point Nick.
And now we’re tied.
Raeanne looks between them. “So you were dating or…I’m confused.”
“It’s a complicated story, but in the end, we agreed it was best if we spent some time apart…to find ourselves.”
“And I had no idea he had a girlfriend, so I tried to set him up with this girl’s roommate because they were a package deal,” Dean says.
“I wasn’t looking to be set up.”
