The Guy on the Right

by Kate Stewart

  “You win,” I groan into her mouth just as she comes.

  #tubbingoutthetwister #nostormcankeephimaway #inseparable #myhero #hesgotmyback #bestfriendsforlife #livingmyhappiestlife

  The rest of the week is drama free. There’s been another shift between us since the day of the tornado. Three people died that day getting swept off the highway in their cars by one of two tornadoes that touched down. I could have very well died that day, a fact that Laney has enjoyed pointing out numerous times. My reply is always to shut her up with swift dick punishment, which she thoroughly enjoys. Last night we had Devin and Chase over for dinner. Laney cooked homemade pasta thanks to a cooking show we binged on Netflix. It was pretty damn good. We both had a lot of firsts this week.

  She hosted her first dinner party.

  I got to have piano sex.

  She learned a few chords on my acoustic.

  I mastered sixty-nine.

  Some days we left the house and did mundane things, like go to Home Depot for a better shower head. It was totally domestic, and I loved every minute.

  In the morning, I cooked breakfast, and my barista made the coffee, laxative-free. At night, I would read with my head in her lap while she played with my hair and watched cooking shows.

  We stayed up late, wearing each other out and slept in every day waking each other up in naked and creative ways.

  Every once in a while, I’d catch her looking at me, and wordlessly bring her to me for a kiss, because I knew without a doubt, when she looked at me that way, she was with me, and I’d made my place with her.

  It was the best week of my life.

  Grannism—If a man makes you smile, he’s worth it. If he makes you cry, that’s when you know he’s worth a whole lot more to you.

  Laney

  Tonight’s the night I confess to my love about how I feel. I’ve been patient. We’ve made it past every major holiday, not to mention Valentine’s, the green beer of St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter. So far, he’s refused to be the first to utter the words. It’s only in the past week that I’ve become obsessed with my confession. With my graduation looming I’m determined to secure my place with him as he has with me, no matter what my future entails. It’s when I was in the shower this morning that I realized what’s been holding him back. He doesn’t want me to feel obligated to return the sentiment.

  That has to be it.

  And I can’t hold back anymore. There’s no way I can be wrong. This feeling is reciprocal. Even if it’s only been mere months since we got physical, those months have changed everything for me, inside of me.

  My gypsy heart no longer beats that beatnik way. It now thrums in a happy and monogamous rhythm, spelling out his name every four beats. Theo’s carefully carved his place in my life and over my heart. It’s etched all over me. At the same time, something tells me he thrives on the anticipation. He’s made me wait for so much already. It’s one of his talents to drive me absolutely bat shit crazy before I get to reap the rewards. But they’ve all been worth it.

  He is worth it. While I laid myself bare, he’s been spoon-feeding me pieces of himself. Layer by layer, everything he’s unveiled has only made me fall harder.

  A knock at the door has me running toward it, toward him. I open it to see Theo standing at my door, looking edible while holding the largest bouquet of flowers I’ve ever seen. It’s obscene and takes both of his hands to hold it.

  “Good God, man, did you buy the whole flower shop?!”

  “I asked for one of each.”

  “So I could finally decide on one?”

  “No,” he leans in pressing a gentle kiss to my lips, “so you could have them all.”

  It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him then, but I hold back and kiss the hell out of him instead.

  “Ahem,” my mother says, breaking us up. “Theo, those are so beautiful.”

  “Hey Deidra.” Theo bends down, disappearing behind the door and picks up a smaller bouquet of wildflowers. “These are for you.”

  “Thank you. It’s been a long time since I got flowers,” she murmurs appreciatively before grabbing our bouquets and heading to the kitchen.

  Theo looks me over as we linger at the door. “You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you. Where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise.” He looks pleased with himself. He’s wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt and dark jeans. I push up on my toes and lean in. “Heads up, Houseman, I’m in a kind of mood and when I say mood, I mean I want to suck the life out of you.”

  I pull back to weigh his expression, and my mom chooses that moment to kiss us both on the cheek before darting out the door.

  “I’m running late. Where are you two off to?”

  “It’s a surprise,” Theo says, his hot gaze never leaving mine.

  “Well, have fun.” She calls before jetting down the steps and getting in her suburban.

  When her taillights grow dim, Theo ushers me inside the door and pins me to it.

  “I thought we were leaving.”

  “We are,” he says before taking all the gloss off my lips. When he pulls away, I’m a puddle of want, and his lips are shining. Standing limply at the door, I shake my head.

  “I missed you today.”

  “Theo—”

  He cups my face rubbing his thumbs along my cheeks. “I think about you all the time. If I’m reading, I think about what you might think of the book. If I’m driving, I wonder what you’ll think of the song playing. I want in that head of yours so bad, all the time.”

  “I’m crazy about you, too.”

  “Laney,” he whispers softly, “this is real for me.”

  It’s the perfect moment. The words are begging to be spoken, but I can’t get them out. He weighs my expression carefully before lifting my hand to press a kiss to it. “Let’s go.”

  Half an hour later, we pull up to Theo’s house where we’re forced to park on the other side of the street due to the number of cars in his drive.

  “What’s going on here?”

  “Nothing we want to stick around for, I forgot something, should only take a second.” He opens his door, but I put my hand on his to stop him.

  “Wait,” I say, and he hesitates.

  “Laney, if you—”

  “This is real for me too.” My fear is realized as he refuses to meet my eyes. He thinks I said it out of guilt. He leans in and kisses me. “I’ll be right back.”

  Theo runs inside as a group of guys huddled on his porch greet him, and he gives them a quick wave. Curiosity gets the best of me and nature calls, so I decide to kill two birds. It’s more a gathering than a party, and I can see why we wouldn’t want to be a part of it. I’ve seen more ass cheeks in the last fifteen seconds than I did changing diapers at my first job. It’s a grinder, and I feel like I’m walking into an episode of Rock of Love. This gathering is a no holds barred, titty festival fight for the biggest meat stick.

  I’m so over it already.

  Halfway to the house, I’m stopped by a familiar voice.

  “You again. Where did you come from and where the hell have you been my whole life?” I look up to see Batman surrounded by a few Robins as he pumps a keg. “Sorry,” I shake my head at his tired line and move toward the porch.

  “No way, you’re not getting away from me again.”

  “Look, you get points for persistence, but sorry to tell you, Romeo, it’s never going to happen.”

  He moves to block me from the porch, his back to his friends. He shoves his hands in his jeans, his bulky frame imposing, his T-shirt strangling his biceps.

  And I feel nothing but…annoyance.

  “Listen. I’ve been chasing you for months. When are you going to finally give me a chance? There’s something here,” he says, dipping his head low to catch my eyes. “I know you feel it too.”

  I consider him, admire him briefly, and realize what a blessing it is to know the difference between attraction and true chemistry and the blessed f
act that I now know better. Six months ago, I would’ve easily fallen into this trap. And it took one good man to change everything.

  “You do feel it,” he says with a smirk. It’s then I realize I haven’t replied, and I’m sending out the wrong signals.

  “Maybe yo—”

  “Maybe?” That voice doesn’t belong to him. It belongs to the man standing to the right of us. “Did you just fucking say maybe?”

  Theo’s livid eyes meet mine and then shoot over to Batman. He reads our posture before we take a step away from each other, but it’s too late. He saw intimacy, familiarity. He saw me linger too long. His eyes blaze over me and then shoot back to him.

  “You’ve been chasing her for months?”

  Batman shakes his head. “No, man, it’s not like that.”

  “What’s it like?” Theo spits menacingly. “Please, Troy, tell me what the fuck it’s like. Because I really need to know.”

  Troy? Batman is Troy?!

  Dread cloaks me while bile climbs up my throat.

  “Oh shit.” One of the guys says as Theo steps directly in front of Troy, his intent clear when he bats the full beer out of his hand, and it splashes the few guys next to him.

  “What the hell,” one of them spouts, wiping away the beer from his soaked arms. “You need to check yourself, Bugle Boy.”

  Theo’s gaze doesn’t waver. “Come on, tell me, fuckboy, because I need to know how a clueless piece of total shit like you gets away with this over and over.”

  Troy’s jaw ticks and his eyes narrow. “Look, this holier-than-thou routine is getting fucking old, man. I didn’t know she belonged to you.”

  Theo grits his teeth, ready to pounce. “Never stopped you before, has it? You’re disgusting.”

  Troy’s eyes flare, and I shake my head, knowing he’s about to go for the jugular.

  “Maybe you need to ask her why she’s sending vibes my way.”

  “Don’t you dare! You bastard,” I finally manage to say glaring at Troy before turning pleading eyes to Theo. “Theo, that’s not true!”

  “You’re asking for an ass-whooping,” the guy standing next to Troy says in warning. “You need to back off, Theo.”

  Troy lifts his hand, silencing him with a gesture. “Clear them out.”

  “Be a good dog, Kevin, and obey your master,” Theo snarks, never tearing his eyes away from Troy.

  “Fuck you, Bugle Boy,” Kevin says snidely before turning to the gathering crowd. “Party’s over. See yourselves out. Now.”

  There are only a few groans before those on the lawn start to disperse. The tension is unbearable, palpable as the two stand off.

  Theo is the first to speak. “You’re pathetic, you know that? The worst kind of fucking man.”

  Troy goes rigid, his eyes icing over. “I’m the man you wish you were.”

  “You’re a sack of shit hiding behind a pretty face, and you know it.”

  “Like I said, I don’t know her.”

  Unable to handle the tension, I step between them facing Theo. “I didn’t even know his name before tonight.”

  “You don’t know her?” Theo ignores me altogether, his eyes fixed behind me as he snaps over my shoulder at Troy. He’s shaking with anger.

  “Theo,” I say, placing a hand on his chest. He jerks his body away, glaring at me before attacking Troy again. “You don’t know her, huh?”

  Troy wipes a hand down his face. “No.”

  “Yeah, you don’t,” Theo says, swallowing. “But I know you. I’ve known every version of you since middle school, and I’m not impressed with the 2.0. Get your shit and get the hell out of my house, and don’t fucking come back.”

  “Whatever, man, gladly,” Troy says, stalking up toward the house.

  I look back to Theo just as his turbulent eyes sweep me. “And now I know you, too,” he says with revulsion just before he turns to stalk away.

  “Don’t you dare,” I follow him across the yard back to his car. “I was about to turn him down. I had no idea he was your roommate. None.”

  He opens his driver door, and I kick it shut. Furious eyes meet mine.

  “Don’t go off half-cocked. This is a huge misunderstanding. I didn’t know who he was until tonight.”

  “Move, Laney.”

  “This is ridiculous and uncalled for. I’ve never entertained him!”

  “Get out of my way,” Theo says, his voice so cold my eyes fill.

  “You are making a mistake,” I whisper hoarsely.

  “The only fucking mistake I made is wasting more of my time and attention on another woman who didn’t deserve it!”

  “Don’t…don’t say anything else I can’t forgive you for.”

  “Then get the hell out of my way, Laney!”

  Mortified, I cover my mouth, and stumble a step back from his door just before he jerks it open, starts his car, and drives away.

  Laney

  Hours later, I’m freezing on his porch. Troy left just after Theo with a few of his friends. He tried to approach me, but I’d snubbed him with the wave of my hand. He had to know how much damage he’d done with a few mere sentences. He played on Theo’s insecurities while making me look guilty and all because of his arrogance.

  This was a fight between two completely different with one common denominator, pride. Combine that five-letter word with two sets of balls and you get a mushroom cloud the size of Texas.

  Gran used to tell me pride is a man’s fuel source and when threatened, even the humblest of men can become a raging bull.

  I’d just watched it happen. But the truth also came out as well. To Troy, I would’ve been another conquest. To the man I loved, I was a reason to declare war.

  Except the only casualty of this war is me because neither of them was ever made abundantly clear on my side of things. I’m not taking the blame, but I have a part in it.

  A few hours after our blow up, Theo pulls in the drive, and I smell the liquor on him before he looks up and sees me waiting. He averts his eyes and hangs his head.

  “You need to go,” he says, staring at the keys in his hand.

  “You’re being ridiculous.”

  “Fine. I’m ridiculous.”

  “Don’t do this. You know how I feel about you.”

  “Do I?” He snaps, his eyes meeting mine. He’s not drunk, but he’s still angry.

  My throat tightens unbearably, and it spreads to my chest. His eyes are full of a cruelty I’ve never seen, never thought I’d see. Not from him.

  “I didn’t fight it, not with you. Not a single minute. I let it happen.”

  He scoffs. “Guess that makes me different, huh? It’s different with me, right?”

  “You know it is.” Tears fill my eyes, and I blink them away. His expression doesn’t change. “I’m not her, I wouldn’t hurt you that way.”

  “No, you definitely aren’t.”

  The words are a lash whip against my chest.

  “Please, just listen to me.”

  “I saw the way he looked at you.” He pins me with an accusing stare. “But I felt the way you looked at him. I felt it. Tell me I imagined it.”

  “You have to believe me, it meant nothing. I’m not going to deny he’s attractive, but he caught me by surprise, and when he did, I thought of how far I’ve come from wanting anyone like him, and I was happy about it. That’s what you saw. You have to believe me.”

  “Maybe I would if you hadn’t looked at him like that.”

  I’m shaking my head furiously. “I just told you why. It was you I was thinking about!”

  His chest pumps with his sarcastic chuckle. “Right.”

  Stunned by his wrath, I watch him start toward his porch. Helpless, I follow.

  “You’re comparing butterflies to bee stings! He’s not the one I feel anything for!”

  He turns on a dime and glares back at me. “What?”

  I stride towards him, only stopping when the space between us is too close to ignore. “I said you’re
comparing butterflies to bee stings.”

  “So, you admit you feel for him?”

  “If that’s what you got out of that statement, it only proves you’re currently as ignorant as you are blind. It’s you that I want, and you damn well know it’s you.”

  I can practically taste his lips, and I feel his inclination to move toward me. His shoulders stiffen, and he inches his chin back, breaking our connection. He might as well have slapped me.

  “I’m your sentence finisher, Theo, and you are mine. Deny yourself, deny me, but you’ll be making a huge mistake. Maybe I gave you too much credit for being different. Because right now—you’re acting like a dumbass man.”

  He flinches, but his gaze never warms. “Guess I am.”

  “Yeah, well, jealousy looks like shit on you. You’re ruining everything!”

  “What? What could I possibly be ruining? You looked at my fucking roommate like you wanted him.”

  “A split second of recognition and that’s what’s breaking us up?”

  “Were we ever really together?”

  Hot tears burn, as the rest of me stings. “How could you ask that?”

  “Am I allowed to now?”

  “Allowed to ask? You never had to! I just spent the last four months wrapped around you. Wake up! This is all for nothing. Fine, he’s good looking, it was a second, maybe less. He took me by surprise. I admit it probably looked bad—”

  “It was that second that made me no longer trust you.”

  The statement damns us, and I can practically hear the re-click of the worn-out armor he’s just resurrected back around his heart.

  “This is really how you feel?”

  He shakes his head as if I’m ridiculous. “We were never going to work.”

  “Says you!”

  “I should be able to tell the woman I’m with how I feel when I feel it, without fearing she’ll run for the goddamn hills! Or worry that she feels she has to reciprocate those feelings out of obligation!”

  “I never asked you to hold back!”

  He snorts. “You’re ridiculous if you think I did. Not with you. Not at all. The words were there even if I had to swallow them every day,” his voice cracks. “Every single time I look at you. And look where it got me.”