Page 11 of Last Date
He laughed. “Who are you seeing on Valentine’s Day?”
“Allister Green,” Merrick interjected, setting two mugs of beer down on the table.
Peter set two more mugs down in front of Thomas and me. “We saw the lovebirds out front making plans.”
I clenched my jaw. “We’re not lovebirds. It’s just a first date.”
“A Valentine’s Day date,” Merrick murmured. “People don’t ask just anyone out on those.”
Peter gave Merrick an exasperated look. “Oh, so now suddenly you agree Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a special day between lovers?”
Merrick grimaced. “Well, er…”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Thomas held out his hands like an umpire. “You’re telling me my sweet, innocent little bro is going out on a date with that man-eating RomeoAllister Green?”
“That’s what we’re telling you,” Merrick said, sliding into his seat.
I grabbed the beer Peter had placed in front of me and took a big gulp. The ice-cold beverage slid down my throat, and I wiped foam from my lips. “Why would I turn him down?”
“Well, because…” Thomas spluttered. “He’s not your kind of guy.”
“How would you know?” I laughed. “Besides, weren’t you just nagging me to date more? I would think you’d be happy.”
“I’d be happy if you had a date with a regular guy.” Thomas wrinkled his brow. “Allister is…”
“Smarmy,” Merrick supplied.
I scowled. “Smarmy? Why would you say that?”
Shrugging, Merrick said, “Everyone knows he’s not a good guy.”
“I’ve never heard that.” I glanced at Thomas. “Have you heard that about Allister?”
Thomas hesitated. “I’ve heard he’s ruthless in business and that he plows through guys like popcorn. I’d rather you weren’t one of those kernels.”
“Oh, come on. Those are probably just rumors started by people who are jealous of him.” I laughed. “Allister seems perfectlynice.”
“Nice?” Merrick snorted. “I can assure you, ‘nice’ is not a word most people would use to describe Allister.”
Peter studied me. “Kip isn’t a child. If he’s attracted to Allister, that’s his business.”
“Thank you.” I nodded toward Peter.
A muscle worked in Merrick’s jaw. “I disagree.”
“Of course you do,” muttered Peter.
Merrick frowned at Peter’s sarcastic tone. “Peter, Kip doesn’t know what we know about Allister. Friends watch out for each other.”
“Is that what this is?” Peter gave a pithy laugh.
“What else would it be?” Merrick asked.
“You know perfectly well whatelseit would be.” Peter took a swig of his beer, keeping his eyes down. “We both do.”
I winced at the tension between the two of them. I wasn’t sure why the discussion of my love life was creating this much discord at the table. But it clearly was. “You know what? I… I may not even go on that stupid date. Let’s talk about something else, shall we?”
Thomas nodded, watching Merrick and Peter. “Uh, yeah. Did you guys see the game last Sunday?”
