The Sweetest Game(29)

Dean stayed quiet the elevator ride up to the twenty-third floor and he was the first one off when it came to a stop. I’d never seen him so fired up before. Matteo and I jogged to keep up with him, neither one of us wanting to miss a minute of this show. It was a shitty move, I know, but the idea of seeing my super sweet brother be a dick to someone was fucking exciting.

He walked through the door before any of us and grabbed Melissa by the arm. “We need to talk. Now.”

“Ouch. Jeez, Dean, let me go.”

“No. You want to talk in private or do you want me to say what I have to say right here in front of all these people?” He waved his arm in our direction and I looked at Cassie, who was currently glaring at me.

I mouthed “not my fault” to her and she narrowed her eyes at me.

Melissa glanced around the room at Trina, Cassie, Matteo, and me before whispering, “In private,” and stalked off behind Dean’s giant frame.

“Hey, Trina!” I smiled at Matteo’s wife. “You look great.”

“Stop hitting on my wife,” Matteo joked.

“You don’t want to go there, do you? We can if you want,” I joked back.

Dean’s shouting stopped our conversation as all four of us turned our heads in the direction of the guest bedroom. We were mesmerized by the sound of Dean actually yelling at someone. And knowing that the someone was Fun-Size. The whole thing seemed insane.

Despite the closed bedroom door, we could hear absolutely everything. It was awesome.

“You acted like it didn’t matter. Like nothing between us ever fucking matters. Why? Why do you do that?” he yelled, the frustration in his voice coming through loud and clear from a room away.

“I don’t know,” she answered softly.

“Bullshit! That’s bullshit! You do know. Do you have any idea how much of an idiot I felt like this morning when you walked out of the room? I thought things were different after last night, but I was wrong. I’m always fucking wrong when it comes to you.”

“Why are you so mad?” Her voice was shaking, and knowing girls, I knew tears couldn’t be far behind.

“Are you joking? You make me feel like a fucking fool over and over again and I’m sick of it. I’m not doing it anymore. I’m done with this.” His voice was cold and I glanced at Cassie, who looked like she was holding her breath.

“What do you mean, you’re ‘done with this’?”

“With this. With you. I’m not doing this anymore.”

“So, that’s it? We’re not even friends?” she asked, her voice rising in pitch.

“I don’t want to be your friend! How many times do I have to tell you that?” he shouted, and it sounded like he punched something, but I couldn’t imagine what. “Damn it, Melissa. I don’t want to be your fucking friend, okay? Stop acting like you don’t know this already. You know how I feel. And I can’t be around you with all this back-and-forth bullshit that you do to me. I’ve wanted you for two years. Two years!” he yelled and I almost felt bad for eavesdropping. Almost.

“Well, who asked you to want me? I didn’t, did I?”

My eyes widened at her response and I shifted closer to Cassie and grabbed her hand. She squeezed it hard.

Dean whistled a sound before responding to her. “No, you sure didn’t. Well, you don’t have to worry about me anymore. You can delete my phone number from your cell since I won’t answer if you call.”

The guest bedroom door flew open and none of us even pretended to be doing anything else. We all stared at my little brother as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator.

I cleared my throat, determined to be a good host. “Dean, this is Trina, Matteo’s wife. Trina, this is my little brother, Dean.”

Dean smiled, then sauntered over to Trina and shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, I’ve heard wonderful things. Sorry about all the yelling.”

“It’s okay. I understand,” she said with a sympathetic smile.

“I love your accent. No one told me you were British,” Dean said, laying on the charm.

“And no one told me you were so cute,” she flirted back and I had to bite my lip to keep myself from laughing. My brother could use the attention.

Melissa rounded the corner, and Cassie immediately dropped my hand and headed toward her. They disappeared and I heard a door close. I glanced at Matteo and Trina and apologized.

“It’s okay. We need to get going anyway. We have reservations in a little bit. It was nice to see you, Jack. And nice to meet you, Dean.” Trina kissed my cheek and gave Dean a squeeze and told him, “Personally, I think she’s crazy to not be head over heels for you. But don’t worry, you’ll find the right girl. You’re a catch. Don’t ever forget that.”