“Sure. As long as there’s beer. One drink, remember.”
“Of course.”
“And then she tells me she’s all butt-hurt because I’m replacing her as my best friend. She wouldn’t give a shit if I had agirlfriend, but a friend… that’s taking things too far.”
Luke curses, shaking his head in sympathetic disgust. “Women. They don’t know what they want. Except Amelia. She’s a godsend.”
“You know she can’t hear us, right?”
“Wouldn’t change my view.” He smiles with heart eyes.
“Good to know. I like her.”
“Amelia?”
“Yeah, she’s a good one. And she’s good for you. You were a dick and now you’re a little less dickish.”
“Thanks, man.” He pats his heart and grins humbly. “I appreciate that. Another?” He holds up his empty glass and I nod enthusiastically.
I gave up looking at the time when we moved on to whiskey, but I’m pretty certain I’m going to regret this tomorrow. Am I going to do anything about it? No.
“So…” Luke slams down my now full glass in front of me and laughs when it splashes onto the counter.
“Jesus, Luke. Gentle.”
“My bad.” He fakes a wince. “But look, it’s all good.”
“Good.” I knock back half the liquid before turning to face him, trying to remember what we were talking about.
“I can’t—”
“I think you need to fuck Bria,” Luke deadpans and I choke on thin air. Thank God he waited until I finished my drink.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because… Imagine you discover you don’t actually like her.”
What? “I’m not a fucking idiot. I know what I feel.”
“Do you? Really? To me it looks like you’re settling for comfort because you're too scared to get your dainty heart broken.”
My brows furrow and I stare at him for a moment, trying to process what he means. “Did you call me dainty, asshole? I have more muscle in my big toe than—”
“I didn’t callyoudainty. Just your heart.”
“Same thing.”
“Nope. It’s not. This is why I wanted you to stay, man. You need to talk it out.” He’s slurring slightly but I’m hooked on his every word. “You helped me, I’m helping you. When was the last time you did something without thinking of the consequences?”
“I think I’m doing that now.” I frown, trying to work out if that’s what he meant.
“Other than now.”
“Fuck. I don’t know.”
“Exactly.”
“What do you expect from me, Luke? My love life sucks. But fuck if I know how to fix it. I don’t want to lose Bria, but at the same time, I’m losing her anyway because I can’t be her friend anymore.”
