Sam raises his eyebrows at that.
„You have a thing for your best friend`s sister?”
Simon nods, the frown never living his face.
„And you`re fine with that?” He asks me.
„Why wouldn`t I be? Simon is a good guy; he`d be good for my sister.”
„I guess that makes sense. Better the devil you know and all that.”
„Exactly,” I say, relieved someone finally understands where I`m coming from.
„Well, now that we`ve all talked about our feelings, maybe we can grill some meat and get our balls back,” I say because I really can`t stomach any more sharing.
„That sounds like a good idea,” Sam says while Simon rolls his eyes.
Sophie
„Your brother isn`t hitting Max, so I guess all`s well,” Ema says while not so discreetly watching the men grill through the kitchen window.
„Sam wouldn`t hit Max just because we`re...” I stop because I don`t know what we`re doing. Are we a couple, are we dating, are we casual? I have no clue.
„You`re what?” Gwen asks.
„To be honest, I don`t know what we`re doing. We haven`t had the talk yet.”
„Ugh, I hate that there has to be a talk. I mean, relationships today are so complicated. In my opinion, if you sleep together more than once, then you`re a couple, end of story,” Gwen says, and I must admit I agree with her.
„You are so right,” Ema says while munching on a carrot stick. „That`s why women today are so stressed; because men insist on complicating things.”
„To be fair, Max and I haven`t had time to talk, so I don`t know where his head is at. Maybe we are a couple, and I just don`t know it yet.”
I know that sounds weird, but it`s the world we live in. I blame Tinder.
„And why should he be the one who decides? Why can`t you just say we`re now a couple, why does he have to be the one who says it?” Gwen says while aggressively eating a celery stalk.
„Um, I don`t...”
„If we, as women, want something: sex, love, a commitment, why can`t we simply ask for it? Who says we have to wait for the guy to bring it up?”
„Yes, girl, preach,” Ema shouts, waving her carrot stick in the air.
„Did our fellow women burn their bras for nothing?”
„That would be a shame, we all know those fuckers are expensive,” Ema says, and I must admit I`m starting to understand how Max feels when I`m acting looney.
„Gwen honey, is this about Sam?” I ask tentatively
„This is about you not knowing if you`re in a relationship with Max and, yes, a tiny bit about your idiot, oblivious, confusing brother. But only a tiny bit; mostly it`s about you and Max.”
„Right. Thank you for being enraged on my behalf, but as I said, Max and I need to talk.”
Gwen nods, and the steam seems to have gone down because her face goes back to her natural peaches and cream instead of the furious red she sported seconds ago.
My brother better wise up before Gwen gives up on his ass. I saw the way he looked at her and Simon earlier; he was not happy about the dreamy look Gwen was giving the other man.
Who knows, maybe he needs a swift kick in the ass to get him to wake up.
Chapter 12
Max
Why won`t these people leave?
They`ve been here for hours. We ate, we socialized, what more do they want?
We`re in the living room, and Sam is telling a story about a drug dealer they busted last month who pissed himself when they barged into his apartment. Everybody`s laughing, and I must admit the story is funny, but I want them to leave already so that Sophie and I can be alone.
I try to catch Simon`s eye so I can ask for help, and after a few minutes of me staring at him, the idiot finally notices. I try to convey with my eyes that I want them to leave already, and after frowning in confusion for a few seconds, he seems to understand what I want.
„Wow look at the time, it`s gotten kind of late. Ema, shall we go, love. I`m sure our hosts would like to get a bit of rest.”
Ema looks like she wants to argue against leaving, but Simon gives her a pointed look, and she stops before saying anything. She looks at Sophie and then at me and then proceeds to do the most obvious fake yawn in the history of fake yawns.
„You`re right, buttercup; I`m dead tired. Gwen, you look tired as well.”
„I do? Oh, right, I do. I mean, I am. Tired, that is.”
Ugh, I`m surrounded by idiots.
Wait, that was mean. Gwen is a nice girl, just oblivious.
Sam looks at all of us with a decidedly unimpressed expression.
„You people would make shit criminals. It`s like you`re not even trying,” he says while shaking his head, but he still gets up from his seat and heads towards the door.
They all drive away after saying how fun it was to hang out and that we should do it again soon. Surprisingly enough, I did have fun tonight, and I wouldn`t mind a repeat.
I`ve never been part of a group of friends, Simon being pretty much the only person I`ve ever been close to besides my sister. Maybe it would be nice to have people to hang out with.
After closing the front door, I turn around towards Sophie and pull her into a hug.
„Finally, I thought they`d never leave.”
Sophie`s chuckle is muffled against my chest.
„I know. It was fun hanging out with them, but it was high time they left us alone.”
„I must say that your brother took everything a lot better than I thought he would. He only threatened me a tiny bit before dropping the subject.”
„That`s good. Sam`s a good guy, and he`s always respected my choices, so I`m not surprised.”
She looks a bit nervous, and I get the feeling she
