Page 36 of Keep Me
“Watch it. She’s my sister.”
“Oh, so you’re allowed to call her that, but I have to watch my mouth?”
“I’d prefer if no one called me insufferable, thank you very much.”
“So if it’s not the girl who shall not be named, then who’s constantly texting you?” Jackson said, reclining in his seat.
“Olana,” I sighed out. There was no point hiding it. The way we were going, I had no doubts Olana would show up here to assert herself, even though I hadn’t given her my address.
Unsurprisingly, the room went silent. Even Thea had a gripe with Olana, and she’d only been here a year.
Jackson broke the silence. “Since you brought her up. Were you ever going to tell us why she crashed the wedding?”
“Whoa, wait.” Tanner looked between Jackson and me, then to Thea. “Olana showed up to the wedding?”
“Thea didn’t give you the full story, then?”
“Clearly not.”
“Matty and Britt hooked up.” Jackson spoke so simply, like it was inevitable, and frankly, when her lips were on mine, that was how it felt. Inevitable. For the tiny moment we were together, no one else existed. I didn’t need anyone. It was just me and her, and I was happy. So damn happy.
“We didn’t,” I gritted out, clutching the countertop so tightly my knuckles went white. No one needed to know what happenedbetween Britt and me. They didn’t need to know we did things more intimate than sex. I will forever regret being so greedy that I had to find a condom instead of enjoying her while I had the chance.
“Then where did you guys go when the rest of us were enjoying ourselves at the after party?”
“Nowhere.”
“Well, you went somewhere because we looked all over the club for you, but neither one of you were there, and that was at least two hours before the rest of us left.”
I pinched my nose, annoyed that the answer to where we’d been was giving me a headache.
“We were there. You just didn’t see us.” I settled for a lackluster response because the truth was hard to swallow.
“Fine.” Jackson didn’t believe me and looked back at Tanner. “So, these two were hot and heavy all night, and I’m not just saying they were making out. I’m talking, full-on dry humping in the middle of the private dance floor. They gave no f’s over who saw them, and honestly, I felt a little like a pervert.”
“Felt like?” Thea interjected.
Jackson ignored her jibe. “I couldn’t stop watching. But then all of a sudden, they were gone. I assumed they found a broom closet to screw in since the next time we saw Matty was at breakfast.”
Thea covered her ears and cringed. “Too much info. I’m never going to be able to look at Matty the same way again.”
“You’re right, I went off track. The most important thing is that Olana crashed what should have been the best night of Matty’s life.” Jackson looked over at me with a curled lip. “I truly witnessed a stalker that day. She came in with her hair dyed platinum blonde, looking like a Britt fangirl with her arm draped around Matty’s neck like he was her pet ferret. Wait, what happened to that thing, anyway?”
“Fred,” I stated.
“Huh?” Jackson looked at me with confusion.
“The ferret’s name is Fred, and he’s still around. It’s just that the apartment she was renting last year didn’t allow her to have pets, so her brother’s looking after him until she can find a better place.”
“So she’s house hunting?” Jackson asked with a quirked eyebrow.
I nodded.
He smirked, rolling his glare to Thea. “Hey Thea,” he said, grinning. “I think I’ve found you a new roommate.”
“I could think of nothing worse than having to hear Matty and Olana going at it. Do you think they pretend to be ferrets?” Thea said.
Jackson barked out a laugh, and I clamped my mouth shut. How was this my reality? Olana was lingering over me like a bad smell, and as much as I wanted to get rid of her, I knew that was virtually impossible.
