“No shit.”
“Why are you bringing it up then?”
“Because,duh, you two would be perfect for each other.” He grabs another tamale.
Not true. I’ve met the woman perfect for me.
The game fires up again on the TV, but my teammates are looking at me like I’ve got a baseball bat coming out both ears.
“What?” I say.
“You have?” they ask at the same time. Mike’s got a smug look on his face, while Giancarlo wears surprise like a clown just rode into the room on a unicycle.
Damn it. “I said that out loud?”
“You sure as hell did,” Mike bellows. He turns to Giancarlo, puts his hand out, palm up. “Pay up, player.”
Giancarlo groans in defeat as he pulls his wallet out of his pocket, fishes out a hundred-dollar bill, and slaps it down on the coffee table.
“What is happening?”
Mike tucks the bill away. “We made a little wager about you and Chloe.”
“Me and Chloe?”
“Nice try, Romeo. I can read you like a flashing neon sign and after our lunch at the stadium a few weeks ago, I knew you were in deep with her. Giancarlo said I was crazy, so we made a bet.”
I rub the back of my neck. “How exactly could you tell?”
“First off, you blush every time you say her name.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Go look in the mirror, dude.” This from Giancarlo who’s now studying me like he can’t believe he didn’t see it sooner.
“And second, you’re happy.”
“I’m always happy,” I argue. Minus a few games in the World Series and my epic collision with the back fence.
“Not this kind.” Mike shakes his head once. “Trust me, I know. I was in your shoes once. The combo of a happy dick and a happy heart is lethal.”
“So is a punch in the face if aimed right.”
Mike laughs. “If that isn’t a confirmation, I don’t know what is. Try to deny it all you want, but you’re not fooling anyone.”
I lean forward, elbows on my knees. It’s not that I want to deny it, or that I hadn’t thought these guys would find out eventually. I’ve been caught off guard, is all, so I voice my biggest concern. “Think I’m fooling Chloe?” Because one wrong move could send her running even farther away, if she hasn’t already decided to. She’s into me, no doubt. Maybe she even loves me back. But that doesn’t mean she’s willing to take a chance on us when she believes she’s cursed.
“Why would you want to?” Mike asks.
“She’s playing hard to get, for good reason.”
“A douche for an ex?” Giancarlo takes a drag on his beer.
“More than one, actually.”
“Ouch.” Mike puts his hand under his chin in thought. “Okay, I see your concern, but she’s a smart girl. She knows something.”
“Go! Go! Go!” Giancarlo shouts at the TV screen, his body lifting off the couch and angling forward. “Damn. I can’t believe he missed that breakaway.” He sits back down, tips his bottle back until it’s empty. Then he burps.