Rosco looks around the table and notices the flush on my cheeks. We’ve been friends since freshman year, so he knows all my tells. He’s about to call me out, I can feel it, when Mickey tosses his phone on the table and mutters a curse.
“You okay?” I ask, even though it’s clear he isn’t. Mickey’s a man of many emotions, but anger isn’t usually one of them.
“Yeah, why are you pissed at your grandma?” Ollie asks, holding up Mickey’s phone to reveal the nameBirdie.
“The hell?” Mickey’s face morphs from frustration to confusion. “Who said anything about my grandma?”
Ollie rolls his eyes and points to the phone as Mick swipes it back. “Birdie’s your grandma,” he says, like he’s supremely annoyed he has to explain the obvious.
“Uh, Birdie’s my sister, dumbass. Why would you think that’s my grandmother?”
Ollie blinks. “What the hell kind of name is Birdie?”
Mick sighs while I hold in a laugh. “Jesus,Oliver, it’s a nickname for Bridget. And who the hell calls their grandma Birdie?”
Ollie shrugs, like the answer is so clear he can’t believe Mickey even has to ask. “Birdie, as in old bird.”
My mouth hangs open. “Pretty sure I wouldn’t eat for a week if I called Gramma an old bird,” I say, rubbing my jaw.
“Do you not like your grandma?” Dean asks, tilting his head to the side like the concept is bizarre, because, frankly, it is.
Once again, Ollie shrugs. “She’s better than my father, but not by much.” His phone buzzes and his face lights up. “Pizza’s here!”
We all shake our heads as he walks toward the front of the house. Rosco opens his mouth, but we freeze as Mickey’s phone starts making noise.
“Bran? Brannon, are you there?”
“Shit,” Mickey murmurs, scooping up the phone. “Right here, Birdie. Are they back?”
Ollie walks in with a tower of pizzas as Mickey stalks out to the living room. There’s no doubt that guy’s gonna pace a hole in the rug, but he looks pretty stressed, so I decide to let him talk to his sister and work it out.
We descend on the pizzas and conversation picks up again, like we’ve all silently agreed to give Mickey his space.
“Alright,” Ollie says around a mouthful of veggie pizza, “name one thing you did over break…and…go.” He points his finger at Rosco, who smiles broadly before shoving a slice of pepperoni and sausage into his mouth.
Rosco chews, swallows, and wipes his fingers on a paper napkin. “Hmmm…”
“Keep it PG,” Ollie warns. It’s out of character for the guy who has a MyFans account, but Ollie’s in a mood tonight.
“I went skiing,” Rosco answers, grabbing another slice from the box.
“I saw a Broadway show, and I stayed awake the whole time,“ Dean says, pride shining through every word.
“I got kicked out of a bar in Jersey,” Ollie says plainly before pointing his finger at me.
“I swam with dolphins,” I say, because I can’t very well tell them I had sex with the one woman on campus who hates my guts.
“I win that round,” Ollie declares. “Okay, worst part of holiday break…Deano, you start.”
“Meeting my mom’s new boyfriend. Dude’s a dick.”
“I hear that,” Olli says, nodding. “My mom’s husband is a dick.”
Deano squints, puzzling out Ollie’s words. “Aren’t your folks married?”
“Yep. And family time was the worst part of my break. Rosco, you’re up.”
“Hmmm… my brother walked in on me jerking it while I was on a call with Holland, so…that sucked. More for him, honestly.” Rosco chuckles as he reaches for another beer.
