Phillip shrugged his shoulders and pointed an accusing finger towards her. “Why don’t you start by telling us when you decided to drop the ball with hot stuff?”
“I didn’t drop the ball. I ended any sexual relationship is all I did.” She said as the barista placed her coffee in front of her. She reached across the table and made a grab for the sugar, but Mallory decided to hold it hostage.
“You ended sex with the man we call Sex on a Stick? Are you out of your mind?” She looked at Phillip. “I think the peroxide has gone to her head.”
“I agree.”
Sam glared at him, outraged. “You were the one who told me I was playing with fire!”
“I take it back.” He said innocently and as if there was nothing wrong with retracting his previous statement.
“You can’t take it back!” She said outraged.
“Of course I can especially after seeing how bent out of shape he was that you ended it with him.”
Sam raised her eyebrows as she took a sip of her coffee. “Explain.”
“He grabbed my phone right out of my hand. He said if I had any questions about what was going on with the two of you to ask you because he had no idea.”
“And then he left as if we ruined his good time.” Mallory added for good measure.
Sam blushed as she remembered his words from earlier.
“What’s with the look?” Mallory asked as she stared at Sam skeptically.
Sam shook her head as if to shake Nick out of it. “I can’t go on playing between the sheets with Nick because I’m going to fall in love with him.” She left out the fact that she was teetering on the edge and had possibly already fallen in love with the son of a bitch.
“Oh, she’s gone.” Mallory said as she studied her friend before turning to Phillip. “She’s so far gone she doesn’t even realize it. Pity.” She shook her head sadly.
“What are you talking about?” Sam asked as she rolled her eyes.
“You are in love with him already dimwit! Now grab your big girl panties and claim the man as your own. Enough of this pussy footing around already it’s getting tired!” Mallory exclaimed exasperatedly.
Phillip pointed to Mallory. “She’s right, you know. You’re only spiting yourself at this point. It’s obvious you’re head over heels for the man. Might as well stake your claim, before you give him the wrong idea and some hussy sinks her nails into those delicious shoulders.” Phillip sighed dreamily as he envisioned Nick’s broad shoulders.
“So what the two of you are saying is that I should tell him I love him and that I want to be with him?”
“Yes!” Both friends said in unison.
“You guys are still drunk.” Sam said as she looked at them disbelievingly.
Nick sat across from Ava. They were surrounded by stuffed animals that they had won in the course of an hour. They decided to take a pizza break, and just as they had finished getting all the prizes situated around the table with them the waitress brought over their pie and a pitcher of soda. He leaned over and placed a slice on her plate before he poured her some of the soda. He wondered if he should cut it up or something for her, but then she folded the triangular slice of pizza and took a hefty bite. Phew, he made a mental note that a seven year old can feed herself pizza and helped himself to a slice.
Ava’s mouth was half full when she opened it to speak. “Aunt Sam is missing out on all the fun.” Then she asked as she kicked her legs freely while she chewed. “Are you and Aunt Sam boyfriend and girlfriend?”
Nick choked on his pizza. What did Luke’s daughter possibly know about boyfriends and girlfriends? Nick was thirty-one and had no clue about them. “What do you know about boyfriends and girlfriends?” He said as he reached for his soda. Hoping the big gulp would help the pizza go down.
Ava went to take another bite, but stopped to answer Nick. “Well, I don’t have one or anything.” Nick’s eyes widened as he gulped the soda. “But Cara was, Uncle Jake’s girlfriend and Leah is kind of my dad’s girlfriend.”
“And you think I’m your aunt’s boyfriend?” Nick asked as Ava nodded and took another bite of her pizza. Nick didn’t know how to answer her and he knew he couldn’t tell her it was complicated.
“You look like boyfriend and girlfriend. I bet you even tell each other you love each other. Uncle Jake and Cara would say it all the time. Do you tell Aunt Sam you love her?” She took another bite and Nick swallowed hard. He didn’t remember feeling like this when he was shackled in a holding cell all those years ago, right now he felt like the walls were closing in on him as he was being interrogated by a child.
“You know what your right Aunt Sam and I do sometimes act as if we’re boyfriend and girlfriend.” He grabbed the back of his neck, trying to figure what else to say.