"If you say so."
"You don't agree?"
"I wasn't there, so it's hard to tell. But he seemed pretty serious when he told me about his feelings for you. I don't know whether one brush off is enough for him to get the hint."
"Shit." Buzz yanks the chocolate bar back and stuffs the rest into his mouth, no doubt wondering how to get himself out of this conundrum. I wish there was something I could do, but given my and Zane's track record, anything I'd do to help would most likely blow up in my face. "Come with me."
"What?"
"Next week. Zane and I are going to a board game night at Ann's Café. Come with me. You can run interference."
"Won't that piss Zane off?" I ask, eyeing off his turdesque creations, hoping he'll feed one to me again. "Because his feelings are definitely my top priority."
That earns me a half-hearted smack on my bicep. "Do itfor me." Buzz bats his ridiculously long lashes at me, and how the fuck am I meant to resist?
"Fine. But if things go bad between me and Zane, this time it's on you."
"Deal."
We shake hands, and I smile. I have a feeling cockblocking Zane is going to be my new favorite hobby.
22
Buzz
Inviting Court to tag along with Zane and me to board game night wasnota good idea.
In fact, it's right up there with letting Howie stay for a "few more weeks" and letting Ramzi borrow my underwear that one time before Halloween, which is something I’ve tried like hell to forget.
But what can I say? I'm a chickenshit who hates letting people down, and I'm desperately trying to avoid a situation where I have to tell Zane to his face I'm not interested in him romantically.
I needed a buffer, and Court seemed more than happy to step in and play that role. A little too eager, but I was okay with that. I had no intention of leaving the two of them alone. I'd be keeping a close eye on both of them to ensure things didn't get out of hand.
Things got off to an okayish start. They greeted each other politely, if not a little stiffly. About twenty people showed up at Ann's Café for board game night, so the organizer broke us off into smaller groups to make the game play more manageable. I sat between Court and Zane like a parent does to stop their kids from fighting.
I actually thought the night was going well until one game sank my hopes.
Fucking Monopoly.
Everyone is out. And I don't just mean bankrupt and out of the game. I mean out of Ann's Café.
Because the only two people left playing are the two idiots I showed up with. I work with Ann's husband, so I told the organizer I'll lock up when these two bozos wrap up the world's longest game of Monopoly.
"You land on Park Place, and it's over," Zane says with a sneer, revealing a ruthless, competitive side I never knew he had.
Court's ruthless and competitive side, on the other hand, is no surprise. "Don't get too cocky, buddy. I've got way more cash than you do. You're one dice roll away from losing everything."
I look at the time. It's almost eleven. Game night was meant to finish at ten. I've had enough of this.
"I'm going to wait in the car," I say, pushing to my feet. "Make sure you lock the front door on the way out."
23
Courtland
Buzz gets up and storms out of the café.
The empty café.
