Page 15 of The Best Friend Problem
“Then here’s to Finn, the best friend a girl could ask for.”
He grabbed his own drink, clinking it with hers. “I am pretty awesome.”
Dark brown eyes rolled upward, but her lips curved in a grin. “Whatever, egomaniac, just drink.”
“To us.” He raised his glass higher. “The most awesome best friends ever!”
“Damn right.” She grinned, raising her glass to his. “To us!”
Chapter Four
One hour later, they stood outside the door to Finn’s apartment, Pru clinging to Finn’s back because the two-minute walk to his place had been too much for her. She blamed the three-inch wedges she was wearing. He’d blamed the third shot they’d taken.
Maybe he was right, but Finn had been the one to suggest shots in the first place, so he got to carry her tipsy butt back to his place. And if she took the opportunity to enjoy the warm, hard muscles of her bestie holding her up like her own personal superhero…well, she’d just blame that on the shots, too.
The sound of tiny nails and excited yips came through the closed door.
“Calm down, you crazy mutt.” Finn released the grip he had on her legs and she slid to the ground as he reached into his pocket for his keys. “She must smell you, because she’s never this anxious to see me.”
Pru doubted it. She knew Bruiser loved Finn, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t pounce on the opportunity to tease her friend.
“Naturally, because she knows I love her more.”
Bright blue eyes narrowed. “Keep it up, Carlson, and I’ll sneak into your apartment tonight and let Bruiser do her business in your shoes.”
He would not. Mostly because Lilly would freak out if an animal of any kind stepped paw in their place. Their building was strictly pet free and there were hefty fines if anyone was caught hiding an animal.
She stuck her tongue out, pushing her way past him as he opened the door, only to be immediately assaulted by five pounds of fuzz trying furiously to jump into her arms.
“You want something to drink?” Finn closed the door behind her as Pru scooped Bruiser into her arms and headed for the couch. “I think I still have some of the pear cider you left from our last movie night.”
“Just water is good.” Her vision was fine, so she wasn’t completely toasted, but her brain was kind of mushy. They’d downed three shots at the bar in addition to the cider she’d had with dinner. Not puke worthy for her by any means, but she was feeling a bit giggly, and that meant she was pleasantly tipsy and well on her way to drunk. More alcohol would be a bad idea.
He shuffled about in the tiny kitchen. Actually, “kitchen” was a generous term. More like a small fridge, sink, and stove shoved against one wall. Finn lived in a five-hundred-square-foot studio. His bed was on one side of the apartment, kitchenette on the other, and the only room, a small bathroom with sink, toilet and standing shower filled out the rest of the tiny apartment. He said since he was one person and he spent a third of his time at the station anyway, he didn’t need a ton of room.
The lack of space became much clearer when more than one adult occupied the home, but since Bruiser couldn’t come visit her per her building’s rules, she didn’t mind the cramped quarters to see the sweet pup. And Finn, of course. Plus, here they could watch all the trash reality TV they wanted. Lilly hated reality TV, so Pru rarely watched it at home.
“I think I have the latest Single Woman Looking on my queue if you wanna watch it?”
Speaking of trashy TV. “Load it up, Jamison.”
Finn grabbed the remote, turning on the giant flat screen that took up a significant amount of wall space in his tiny home. He was such a guy. But she got to reap the benefits of his massive HDTV, so win, win.
“Who did she send home last week?”
Finn handed her a glass of water, taking a seat beside her on the small couch.
“Jayce. I think.”
“Oh no! I loved Jayce. She should vote off Easton. That dude is an ass.”
“Yeah, but he’s good for ratings. I think the producers want to keep him on until the very end.”
“Then how the hell is it her choice if the producers tell her who to pick to stay and go?”
He tilted his head her way, the corner of his mouth quirking up. “It’s not real, Pru. Most of this shit is scripted or heavily edited. Everyone knows the relationships don’t survive past the last cut.”
She knew. It wasn’t like she was some romantic hopeful like Mo or believed if two people matched perfectly on paper, they would last forever, like Lilly. She knew true love existed, but she was afraid it just didn’t exist for her. Maybe that’s why she liked these cheesy dating shows so much. She’d like to hold out some sliver of belief that some people could find lasting happiness with another person.
