Courtney has absolutely no filter. It’s one of her many pleasant qualities.
“No, and it’s not a date, so you can join us if you want. It’d probably make things less awkward anyway.”
She shuts the fridge door, empty-handed. “I’d love to be your third wheel, but I’m already exhausted from flying all day. Can I take a rain check?” she asks, opening up the cupboards and shuffling cans around.
“Between two grown men, you’d think there’d be something to eat in this house.”
“There was.” I chuckle. “They scarfed it all down.”
She laughs, shutting the doors and giving up. “Well you better get dressed then. I’m starving and will stab someone soon if I don’t get some food.”
“Damn. I forgot how crazy you get when you’re hangry.”
She laughs again, following me into Drew’s room and starts chatting about her horrible flight from Dallas and the many delays she experienced. She looks at the perfectly made bed, and I hear her sigh.
“What I would give to be in that bed with your brother for just one night. I’d totally use my weekend pass on him.”
“Gross,” I say, secretly thinking about being in Travis’s bed and what happened here hours earlier. “What the hell is a weekend pass?”
“A sex pass?” She arches her brow. “A free pass to have sex with one person one time while in a relationship.”
“That’s not really a thing,” I say. “Is it?”
“It’s a thing, but most couples wouldn’t be okay with actually following through with it.”
“Well, even if you did want to follow through with it, good luck getting him away from Mia long enough to strip your clothes off.”
“I wish he’d break up with her already. She’s not even his type. Controlling. Snobby. She’s probably never worked a day in her entire life. And her laugh. Her laugh is terrible,” Courtney goes on and on, turning her head while I change. “He’s too good for her.”
“Maybe so, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they got married.” I put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and turn around to see her leaning against the wall with her palm pressed against her chest.
“My heart couldn’t take it,” she says dramatically. “I’ll be a wedding crasher then. I don’t think I’d hold my peace.”
“I don’t think you’d be invited.” I laugh.
“Hence the crasher part…” She smirks.
I shake my head and smile. “I’ve missed your level of crazy. It’s nice to be with my people again.”
“Good, then I better be your plus one if they do.”
“Obviously. But just for the record, I would love to have you as a sister-in-law.”
She smiles as she walks down the hallway to the living room. “Sign me up! I would fuck your brother so damn good. I mean, given that I was single.”
“Ew. Just no. Don’t ever say that word with my brother in the same sentenceeveragain.” I laugh and lock the door behind us. I swear she says stuff like that just to watch me cringe.
The top is down on the Jeep, and the sun is lazily hanging in the late afternoon sky. The engine roars to life, and Courtney turns the radio up as loud as it goes. We are rocking the typical college girl stereotype—in a Jeep, listening to hip-hop—but I don’t mind. I’m really happy she’s home to be my personal distraction until Drew returns. Maybe she’ll pull the plug on whatever is going on between Travis and me.
I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, and when I grab it, I see Travis’s name flash across the screen. Courtney takes notice and smiles.
“What does he want?” She lifts an eyebrow at me, and when I don’t answer, she speaks again. “Hello? Since when were you two on texting terms anyway?” She knows how I feel about him and has heard many hours of my hatred for him. I turn my head away from her, hoping to hide the evidence that’s all over my face. She doesn’t need to see the blush across my cheeks to know it’s there.
“Oh my God,” she draws out. “Please tell me Travis King isn’t Mr. Rough ’n’ Dirty Sex Machine Man,” she pleads urgently, her hand squeezing harder around the steering wheel.
I slowly turn my head at her, knowing she’s going to find out anyway. I shrug and pinch my lips together, unable to deny it.
“Holy crap on a cracker.” Her Southern accent is more evident
