“I actually wanna talk to you ‘bout that,” he said.
“About what we’re gonna do?”
“No, all this cussin’ you’ve been doin’. Ya only get like that when you’re stressed. What gives?”
“Well, for starters, this Katie shit,” I said.
“Uh-uh. You ain’t gettin’ outta this one that easily. I get you’re the oldest, and ya feel ya gotta put up some sort of bullshit macho front. But you’re talkin’ to me ‘bout this one.”
“So, you can go bad mouth me to Katie about how much of a man I’m not and how she’s better off with you?” I asked.
“How ‘bout let’s not bring her into our dick-measurin’ contest. How does that sound?” he asked.
“Fine. But you’re gonna look at me like I’m crazy when I tell ya.”
“Can’t be any crazier than figurin’ out your brother’s sleepin’ with the girl you slept with last night.”
“True. Fine. I—”
I ran my hand through my hair as I turned my gaze toward the wall.
“I’m tired of the one-night stands,” I said.
Andrew’s silence pulled my gaze back over to him.
“You there?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m here. Just—digestin’.”
“Told ya you’d think I’m crazy.”
“Not crazy. I’m surprised, but I don’t think you’re crazy. I’m gettin’ a bit tired of them, too.”
“That what bein’ in our thirties does to us?” I asked.
“I ain’t thirty yet, old man. I’m only twenty-eight.”
“Close enough. It’s just getting’ to be too much. I can’t keep ‘em all straight anymore, and I keep forgettin’ their names. I don’t wanna come off like an asshole, but I’m startin’ to.”
“This is really gettin’ to ya,” he said.
“It is. It’s been on my mind a lot.”
“Since ya fucked Katie?”
“Don’t talk about her that way,” I said. “But yes.”
“So, if the two of us wanna settle down, then who gets Katie?”
“I don’t think it’s a matter of who gets anyone. Do any of us know how she feels about the rest of us? Have any of us talked to her about this?” I asked.
“Probably not. You ready to have that conversation with her?”
“Not really. I was enjoyin’ the casualness of it all, but it doesn’t sound like it’s too casual anymore.”
“Nope. Not by a longshot.”
“And there are still so many unanswered questions,” I said.