Why do I miss him?
"I don't know what you're talking about." I lie through my teeth. And the Oscar goes to...
"I have eyes Bitsy. It's obvious that tall, dark, and badass doesn't want you hooking up with Jagger. He was cock blocking all night. The question is why."
"I don't know. Overprotective cousin. What do you think?" I'm so comical right now. Acting as if I don't have a clue. "You're the expert."
I’m sure she’s nodding her head in agreement. "Usually I can call these things, but I'm not sure about your cousin. He's tough to read. Maybe he wants to make sure you stay single, so he can continue to make fun of your life of celibacy and coding. He can't keep up the jokes if you don't remain the nerdy little cousin he buried up to her eyeballs in dirt."
I cringe at her assessment.
"First of all, I wasn't a nerd. I was a six year old. And secondly, it's actually YOU who makes fun of my life of celibacy. Speaking of which, I don't know what the big deal is about me not having sex right now. It's not like I'm a virgin or a nun. I'm just selective."
"Well you might as well be a virgin. You're almost twenty-four-years-old and you've had sex with two freakin' guys. Not to mention that you got your head cracked open the minute after you finished having half-ass sex with the second one. That shit shouldn't even count."
She's kind of right ... the bitch.
"Plus, I think it changes the narrative if you actually start dating a hot guy. Arguably a guy who is way the hell hotter than Roman. How's he going to make fun of you then? How's he going to play big brother and drag you all over the city like he has been if you're busy with Jagger all the time. It's so obvious that he wants to be the only one getting laid, and of course he also wants to be the center of attention."
Pot meet kettle.
"That's a pretty convoluted theory Sloan." I cut my eyes to the phone as if she can see how annoyed I am with this conversation.
"Whatever."
"You think Jagger is hotter than Roman?" I ask out of curiosity, because throughout her long rant, all I heard was that she thought Jagger was hotter than Roman. And any woman with a pulse would realize just how crazy that sounded. Roman is panty dropping gorgeous.
"Of course! Jagger could be a model for Abercrombie and Fitch. What's not to like? Plus he really likes you Bitsy. He always has. This is your chance with him. Jagger fucking Reed."
I swallow a mouthful of popcorn and think about what she is saying. It's true that I've always secretly crushed on Jagger. He's sweet, he's hot, and he is going to be an
Olympic athlete for God's sake. What is my problem? He is my perfect distraction from Roman.
"Or is Roman cock blocking because he doesn't want anyone else getting near your hot pocket? I mean you two did have some sort of connection before you found out that you were related. He was practically stalking you."
"My hot pocket Sloan? What are you a ninety-year-old grandmother?"
"Forget about my name for your vagina. The real issue here is, do you think I'm right? Has Roman made a move over into kissing cousin territory with you?"
"Ewww, of course not. It's you who wants to have his babies." I do my best to laugh her off. "Not me."
"Eh, I'm over it. He's your cousin. That would be too messy for our friendship."
Messy indeed.
"You want to see Jagger again right?" She asks quickly. "He asked about you on Wednesday when I saw him at Java."
I should want to, but all I can think about is Roman's face when he saw me sitting on Jagger's lap at The Lotus, and how I'm getting the silent treatment now. I guess it was kind of slutty of me. Maybe I should apologize to him.
"I think Jagger's just being kind Sloan. I mean let's be honest here. There's no way he has any real interest in me. I've seen him dozens of times over the years and he's barely said hello. He's Ethan's friend. Not mine."
"You were seeing Ethan then. What was he supposed to do? Ethan was his teammate. He's making up for it now. In fact, I think the text he sent today should tell you just how interested he is."
"It was a group text."
"He didn't want to assume anything, so he included me in on the text. That's all."
"That's up for interpretation."
"The guy texted us that he'd hopefully see you specifically tomorrow at Java. That is man speak for I want to see you tomorrow at Java and you better be there woman! So I'll ask again. Do you want to see Jagger again or not?"
"Well ... yes but–"
"What are you worried about? Not that cousin of yours I hope."
"I'm not worried about him. It's just that he's got a temper, and he's taking this older cousin thing way too seriously. I don't know what the heck my mom told Juliette and Joseph, but I feel like Roman is on babysitting duty."