Winning His War

29

Andrew's POV

A restaurant. He bought us a restaurant. Purely so he could take us out on a date.

Was this even a date? Or was it just a night out like I had been asking for? Did he consider it a date? Did Patrick?

Questions piled into my brain and before I could come up with an answer a new pile flooded in.

"I can literally hear the gears in your head turning," Jem teased as he began the drive home.

Now that we were outside the restaurant Jem's relaxed posture changed. In our private room his eyes remained on one of us the entire time. His shoulders were dropped and a lazy smile rested on his face.

Now that we were here all but the smile was gone. His eyes shifted to every car around us, staring at those who followed a bit too closely. His shoulders squared up and a small glare rested on his face.

His voice stayed the same though. It was light and happy, mixed with the usual teasing tone that always lingered in his voice. If you listened to his voice alone you would never know he was tense.

  "Was this a date," I asked before I could back down from it. My teeth sank down on my lip as my heart pounded out of my chest.

Patrick stiffened beside me, his eyes shifting to Jem with a blank face.

Jem glanced at us through the review mirror. The smirk on his face fell a sigh pushed past his lips.

"Did you want it to be?"

"I don't know," I lied, hoping he would share his thoughts next but his eyes shifted to Patrick.

"And you?"

"I didn't think of it as a date. I thought it was just something to do so we wouldn't be at your house all the time," Patrick said. His voice never wavered but the there was something about him that made me not able to believe him.

The car was quiet again. The comfortable silence we were surrounded in on the ride up here was gone, filled with cloud of awkwardness instead.

The silence stretched out until we were parked outside his house. He turned the car off but no one moved an inch.

"I already told you," he sighed as he stared out the windshield. "I can't do relationships." He didn't give us a chance to say anything else before he was shutting he car door and heading inside.

"Did you really think it was a date," Patrick asked. Though the car wasn't moving, we both sat as still as ever, both of us looking out our own window to avoid looking at each other.

"Didn't it seem like it," I asked instead of answering. "It was an expensive place, just the three of us, he paid for us-."

"Like either of us could make a dent in that check, even the tip would have been a lot. And he didn't pay for us, as the owner he waved the bill. There's a difference."

I frowned at that.

I guess I looked too far into things.

I didn't bother saying anything else as I stepped out of the car. Patrick followed closely behind me and the second we stepped into Jem's wing, I headed straight to my room.

My hand barely had time to brush against the handle before Patrick was speaking. He was facing his door; his hand gripped the knob harder than I did.

"It would have been a nice date though," he sighed, never looking away from the door.

"Yea it would have." The two of stand there awkwardly.

All I could think about was how weird it was going to be sleeping alone tonight. I had been sleeping with Jem every night for two weeks already and it was a habit I didn't want to give up so soon. I wished I had kept my mouth shut.

Not being able to handle the silence anymore, I walked into the room and shut the door behind me.

I ignored the small pile of clothes on the floor, the ones I had rejected after trying them on so that I would like nice for the dinner, and face plant on the bed the a small groan.

I wished I had never asked that stupid question.

It was still early but after a full day of work and the humiliation I had put myself through, my eyes began getting heavy. I balanced right on the edge of sleep when a timid knock sounded at my door.

Shamefully, the thought of it being Jem had my heart lurch before I reminded myself that it wouldn't be.

"Come in," I called, not having the strength to get up.

Patrick stood on the other side; his head hung low in what looked like shame as he stepped inside, the door shutting softly behind him.

"Is something wrong," I asked when I took in the frown on his face.

"I don't want to sleep alone tonight," he admitted but his eyes were glued to the floor. "I was hoping you and Jem would sleep together and that I could just invite myself in with you but since that's out of the question; maybe you don't want to sleep alone either?"

A blush covered his cheek and his last words were barely over a whisper but they had a smile covering my face.

I didn't bother saying a word as I moved to the far end of the bed and held out an arm in invitation.

He still never looked up as he crawled into the bed and lay down. His arms wrapped around me before I had a chance to trap him as the little spoon but I didn't mind.

His arms were snug around my waist while his leg was thrown over both of mine; effectively making sure I wasn't going anywhere.

"I think Jem wants boyfriends, he's just not allowing himself to have them," I said just for the sake of conversation but Patrick sighed.

"Can we not talk about Jem, please?" His voice was weak and cracked at the end.

That was the moment I was sure he thought we were having a date as well.

"Maybe we'll have a date of our own some time. Show him we don't need a fancy restaurant or him."

He stilled behind me but when he didn't object, I couldn't help but smile.

Maybe dating your best friend isn't the worst idea in the world.

We could have more fun than we would have with Jem. We wouldn't have worry about him dying every day. We wouldn't have to deal with his mood swings.

It's not like he wants boyfriends anyway.

Patrick and I could be happy together if we allowed ourselves to see each other that way.

I wanted to believe that but would we be okay with just the two of us? I haven't seen anyone fluster Patrick the way Jem does and I know for a fact that I could never come close to it. How long would it take before petty fights got in the way of everything and Jem wasn't there to play negotiator?

Even if we could make it along without Jem, did I really want it that way?

"Do you actually want to date Jem," I asked as I stared at the wall in front of me.

"I don't hate the idea as much as I thought I would," Patrick admitted after a while.

We were silent for only a few minutes while the idea formed in my head.

"Want to help me make that happen then?"

Last updated February 20, 2022