Every Which Way (Sloan Brothers) (13 page)

Everything had started out so great. Will had picked her up, and they talked on the way to the restaurant. Over a plate of breadsticks, Severine realized the truth. Will Pratt had a severe case of momma’s boy syndrome.

While she stuffed her face with breadsticks, her date continued to tell her why his mom preferred for him to be called William, and not Will. Will was a child’s name. If he was going to someday have a career, who would listen to a Will?

After that, Severine tuned him out. Their food came, and she quickly ate all her pasta. To think she wasted her sexy dress on a dude that couldn’t cut the cord.

The highlight of her evening was the sound of her phone ringing. Severine practically banged her head against the table to reach it.

“Hey, Lily.” Severine took the phone away from her ear and briefly mouthed to William, ‘It’s my friend.’

“So, I have some bad news,” Lily said on the other side of the line.

“Oh no,” Severine said with shock. “What’s wrong?”

“Your mom called me. Apparently, your imaginary brother is gone.”

“Is he okay?” Severine whispered. “What happened?”

“He was walking through some unknown city and disappeared.”

“That’s horrible.”

“I am guessing you want me to pick you up?”

“Yes, that would be great. Lily, thank you so much for calling me!” Severine said in mock sadness.

Across the phone, Lily laughed, “No problem. Be there in five minutes.”

“Oh no, Will.”

“William,” he interjected.

Severine ignored him and continued, “I need to go. Apparently my brother is really ill. I need to get there. Now.”

“Do you need me to drop you off anywhere?”

“That’s so kind, but my friend is picking me up. We’re going straight to him.” Her hands were through her coat sleeves instantly.

“Well...tonight was fun,” William said frowning.

“I know, had a blast. Let’s do it again. Adios, Will!” Quickly, she rushed out into the frigid temperature. The air immediately gave her a chill. She could be suffering from hypothermia, and she’d still feel relieved. She now realized Thayer’s gleefulness over her date.

The minute she was allowed to date, she created a system with Lily. Call ‘em and leave ‘em. It was their routine and always ran smoothly. Some may call it cruel. Severine just called it genius thinking. Who wanted to sit through a date that made you lose the William to live?

Her heels clicked loudly on the payment as she made her way toward Ben’s car.

Severine shut the door and relaxed back in her seat. “I should feel bad about interrupting you guys, but...I’m really not.”

“You two are going to hell for that stunt,” Ben mumbled as he pulled back onto the road.

“Hey!” Lily protested.

“Take it back, Benji. I’ll have you know that our stunt has been working for years. Why, I’ve had cats, baby gerbils, pet wildebeests, and like tonight, imaginary brothers that were in dire straits!” Severine said.

“She’s right. Our calls save lives,” Lily stated solemnly.

“You guys can drop me off back at the dorms, if you want,” Severine offered. She was already exhausted. Adding third wheel to the list of tonight’s activities didn’t seem fun.

“Nah, it’s no big deal.” Ben glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “We’re just getting some pizza with a few guys.”

“Cool.” Severine looked down at her dark green sweater dress and knew she was overdressed. It was too cute of an outfit to waste, even if she’d look out of place.

They parked, and Lily waited for Severine to get out. She took in Lily’s bomber jacket, paired with a flowery top and jeans.

“You look cute tonight.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Well, I have a hot date...at a pizza place.”

“Benji pick this place out tonight?”

“Do you think I’d voluntarily come here?” Lily asked sarcastically.

The minute Ben held open the door, Severine could hear the combined mixture of voices. It was packed with people. Severine followed alongside Ben and Lily as they were guided toward the back. A long row of tables had been placed next to each other. Severine recognized a few faces from around campus.

A loud whistle rang the room. Severine looked at Chris. “What the hell, Save-ah-reen! You’ve been holding out on me!”

He sat in the back. Severine made her way to the open seat close to him. “Hey, where are Dumb and Dumber?”

Chris answered instantly, “Thayer’s coming later. He had a date with this hot freshman. And I think Macsen’s playing some game or something.”

She wasn’t surprised Thayer was out with a girl. Their treaty didn’t include sincere. He could go out just like she could.

Things with Macsen didn’t end how she wanted—she wanted him here tonight. Parting on a bitter note with him just felt askew.

“I’m surprised Thayer can walk in a straight line after last night.”

“Ah dude, it was epic!” Chris rubbed his hands together just from the thought. “I’ve never seen him that wasted.”

“You’re such a good influence, Chris,” Severine deadpanned.

“Hey!” Chris objected. “I didn’t drag him to the bar. He suggested it.”

Severine snorted and grabbed a piece of pizza from his plate.

There was a low hum of conversation in the room. It tempted her to text Macsen—she wanted someone to talk to and she wanted to clear the air with him.

Severine grabbed her phone and immediately her hands moved across the screen.

I’m with everyone at Charlie’s. Get over here!

I’ve already eaten. Had Chinese.

I’m choking on all the male testosterone! I repeat, get over here now!

Wimp. Be there soon.

Even though he couldn’t see it, she smiled at her screen. He brought a smile to her face. The thought of seeing those chartreuse eyes made her jolt in excitement.

“Ten o’clock.” Two hands rounded over her shoulders. They fit perfectly. “You’re already finished with your date? I’m shocked,” Thayer declared in her ear.

The chair next to her was open, and Thayer’s body filled the seat. Severine cut him down with a glare. “We’re not talking right now.”

“Because?”

The real Thayer was back in the shadows. Severine was now faced with the pretext that he exhibited for the world. He was a chameleon. No one could mask his or her emotions better than him, save Severine.

Severine pretended to go along. That’s all she could really do. “You knew he was some puppet momma’s boy. They’re the worst!”

He pushed up the sleeves of his flannel shirt. “You called him Will?”

“Yeah, that was my first sign he was a freak of nature!”

He laughed silently, but his shoulders shook up and down.

“You could have warned me about the name thing,” Severine grumbled.

“You didn’t ask if he was still breastfed, so I didn’t tell,” Thayer corrected.

Severine grunted and crossed her legs. It took one action of movement for his eyes to zero in.

“So how was your date?”

Thayer wiped his hands with a napkin. Funny, his plate was still empty. “Amazing. I’m thinking about taking her to my parents’ tomorrow. Maybe picking out china patterns the day after that.”

“Your mom will be so happy to know that you’ve found love...on a street corner. Like a modern day
Pretty Woman
.”

“My parents will go into a coma if I ever bring a girl to see them.”

A waitress placed a beer in front of him. Severine frowned. “Weren’t you hung-over this morning?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s been ten hours, I think I’ve recovered.” He took a deep gulp and flicked his eyes away for only a few seconds. “You wanna sit next to Mac?”

There he went again. Giving her the choice, making her nothing with his questions. Severine would be a shell of what she once was if she talked to him any longer.

Macsen walked around the table with his baseball cap firmly on his head. All his dark hair was covered. Severine was getting used to it; it was part of his signature style. Thayer nudged her arm and raised a brow for an answer.

Severine barely moved her head. It was a gesture no one else around them would notice, but he saw it. Thayer quickly removed himself from her side.

“She’s been waiting for you, little brother,” Thayer bit out.

It was Severine’s turn to wipe her spotless palms. His words were sharp and jabbed into her emotions.

“You seem...dressed up,” Macsen remarked and looked around at the people in the room.

“Can’t a girl look good?”

Macsen shrugged. “Sure.”

“She had a date with William Pratt,” Thayer replied from across the table.

Chris busted up laughing. Severine stared at Thayer with a somber expression. He would never make anything easy for her.

“No shit?” Chris said with a big mouth full of pizza. “You had a date with him?”

“I’m glad everyone thinks this is hilarious.”

“Oh, it is,” Chris said and cracked up again.

“So you didn’t have fun?” Mac asked.

His arm was pressed closed to her side as he asked such an innocent question. Severine still kept her eyes glued to Thayer. She could take another emotional step towards Thayer, but that would get her nowhere. At least, nowhere she wanted to be. He would conquer her. Deluge everything she thought a relationship should be.

Severine wanted something apparent. A link that was undemanding and fulfilling all at the same time. When she turned to Macsen, Severine swore on her life that she was making the correct choice. “Mac, you wanna go?”

Macsen paused mid-order. His light green eyes tried to decipher Severine’s mood. Finally, he slowly nodded his head. “Uh...yeah sure.”

Chapter Eleven

Severine stood up and buttoned her jacket. She kept her gaze focused on the belt of her coat, cinching it securely. Thayer’s eyes were centered on her. Her fingers gripped the strap of her purse tightly, her toes curled in her heels as she walked out of the room with Macsen. Thayer’s eyes still bore on her, through her, around her. She didn’t have to look to know. He looked past the surface of her skin, down to the true marrow of her thoughts.

Macsen led the way. For once, Severine let someone else take the lead. She wanted to turn back and shout out to Thayer to reach for her. But she walked through the door Macsen held open for her. When he let go of the handle and let the door shut behind them, Severine clutched onto the notion that any friendship, future, or hope for her and Thayer was eradicated.

You’re making the right choice
.

But if she was making the correct selection, why did her heart feel so indignant?

Her mood was obvious. Macsen was silent as he reached for her hand. He held it gently between his own. She could slip away if things became too much, if the walls of her choices came crushing down. Macsen would treat her feelings with easy care. Just what she craved.

Don’t break me, please
, Severine silently pleaded as they walked closer toward his truck.

She slid into the cab and glanced around at the cloth of the seats. The air around her smelled of cologne, one of her favorites.

Macsen jumped into the driver’s seat, and the truck started up loudly. He rubbed his hands together and quickly turned on the heat.

“I never pictured you driving a truck,” Severine said.

“Did you picture me in a tiny car? Too compact; I need room.”

Severine nodded and glanced at the logo on the steering wheel. “Chevy, no less? My grandpa would approve of you,” she joked.

Macsen’s lips thinned as he gripped the back of her seat, looked out of the rear window and backed out. “This is Thayer’s. He’s a getting a ride home from someone else.”

Her smiled dissolved. Of course, this truck was his. Even when she tried to get away from him, he still managed to torture her.

“So, do I wanna know why you texted me to come meet you, and we only stayed there for five minutes?”

“I missed you?”

Macsen drummed his hands against the steering wheel, while the red light in front of them cast a faint glow on them. He glanced at her with a confused expression. “What’s really bothering you?”

“We left everything so awkward this morning.”

“You left this morning,” Macsen pointed out.

Severine crossed her arms and angled her body to stare at him. “You were being a dick.”

He drove with one hand and moved his head to the side to rub his neck. “Sev, come on. Just tell me what the fuck’s wrong.”

“I can’t understand why you’re pissed off!” Severine finally confessed. “Why? Tell me why, because I’m all confused right now.”

He pulled up near her dorm and turned the engine off. Finally, Macsen turned his head to look at her. They had never been alone, never given the opportunity. But how he stared at her made her nerves and aggression fade. The two emotions scattered away like leaves in a storm.