no strings attached - j.b

think about it

"Yo, Joe, can I talk to you about something?" Sam intercepted Joe as he was about to head home the next morning. Training was over for the day and he wanted to spend the evening relaxing on the couch.

"as long as you're not trying to talk me into accompanying Phoebe to her cousin's wedding, anytime, Sam" Joe eyed him from the side as he continued to make his way through the hallways to the exit.

"actually, that's exactly what I wanted to talk about. she already asked you in that case?" Sam easily kept pace with Joe, who just sighed. "no, I just took a wild guess" he replied sarcastically.

"and you said no?" Sam didn't let Joe's undertone, which lately always came up when Phoebe was the topic of conversation, throw him off.

"No, I told her I'd think about it, but honestly, I don't see any reason why I should do her the favor" Joe voiced the thought that had been on his mind since last night.

Sam sighed, "I know Phoebe isn't exactly the person to ask you for a favor, even if you've moved on by now..." he began, but was interrupted by Joe. "i totally agree with you on that".

"...But Joe, if not for her, do it for me. i would go with her in a heartbeat, but i just can't reschedule. Just be my replacement, not her escort" Sam suggested.

"she already told me I'm only second choice" Joe muttered. Sam laughed out loud. "you're pissed because she asked me before you?" he asked with a grin.

"no" Joe rolled his eyes. "honestly, she didn't even want to ask you because she was sure you'd say no. i pushed her to just ask, after all, you're the only player after me she.... has done anything with" Sam gestured a bit awkwardly with his hands before he found the right wording.

"So I wasn't really a choice at all" Joe muttered in a huff before stopping and turning to Sam. "Say, I thought the Brown family was like the perfect storybook family and everyone was totally close. Why does Phoebe have to lie about her love life and why does she describe the relationship as complicated? Isn't everything as great as they keep selling it?" he asked, interested.

Sam shook his head. "the Browns aren't faking it. the family is really how they present themselves. the cousins are actually more like siblings." he explained. "The cousin who is getting married is not a Brown. she is from her mother's side of Phoebe's family"

"and why is Phoebe's relationship with that side of the family so complicated? What did Phoebe do that they can't stand her?" Joe asked.

"no one really knows. neither Phoebe nor any other Brown likes to talk about what really happened between George and Hillary. all they know is that Phoebe's parents split up, that Hillary was pissed because she didn't get a dime from the Brown company and that's why she left her daughter with her dad" Sam shrugged.

"Phoebe was abandoned by her mum because she didn't get any money? How old was she?" Joe was shocked. He almost felt sorry for her.

"Five or six. but that wasn't even the worst of it. Hillary told the whole family that Phoebe had turned on her, which not only made Phoebe's relationship with the family very difficult and complicated, no, Phoebe practically became the scapegoat for everything. besides, she remarried, to a rich widower, not even a year after George divorced her. He had a child from his marriage, the same age as Phoebe..."

"Virginia, her stepsister with the boyfriend who works on Wall Street?" Joe asked. By now they had long since reached the parking lot and were standing in front of Joe's Porsche.

Sam nodded. "Hillary did just the opposite with Virginia. Virginia is their little angel, the sunshine of the family and Hillary brags about her everywhere and never misses a moment to rub Phoebe's nose in how great her stepsister is"

"which automatically causes Phoebe to be competitive with her stepsister and she doesn't want to embarrass herself in front of her. which is why she lied when Virginia asked her about her love life" Joe thought out loud.

Sam nodded. "if you thought what Phoebe did to you that night was evil, you need to hear what her mother is doing to her. that's why...." sighing, Sam put a hand on his shoulder. "...Think hard about it again and please go with her. you'd be doing her and me a big favor".

Joe nodded. "i'll think about it again"

• • •

"Damn, it smells really good in here. Have you been baking?" Tris put his backpack down on the sofa in surprise. Phoebe, who was impatiently staring into the oven in the kitchen, just nodded. "cookies. should be done soon"

"is it stressing you out so much that you still haven't found someone to play your nfl football player boyfriend at the wedding?" Tris asked with a grin, standing next to his cousin to look into the oven as well.

"why do you ask?" Phoebe looked at him confused. "come on, when you're stressed you always bake" Tris laughed. "that's not true" Phoebe gasped indignantly.

"come on, name one situation where you didn't bake because of stress" Tris looked at her promptly. "oh, shut up or you won't get a cookie" Phoebe grumbled and threw one of the oven mitts at him while Tris just grinned.

"oh, by the way, Kim's coming, so it would be quite nice if you could spend the evening far away from us in your room. she's still not back with Will, though apparently they've been back in bed together" she explained to him.

"hey, I pay rent here just as much as you do. i have the same right to stay here in the living room as you do" Tris replied indignantly.

"Tris,neither of us pays rent. Grandpa bought us the apartment, so you're going to your room later, got it?" annoyed Phoebe put her hands on her hips. "I'm beginning to see why Joe couldn't stand you" Tris hissed and got hit with the second oven mitt in return.

Phoebe had just gotten the cookies out of the oven when the doorbell rang. she set the tray down on the kitchen island and admonished Tris to hurry up with his food, then left before she went to the door and immediately pulled Kim into a hug.

"Go ahead and sit on the couch. i'll bring wine and cookies in a minute. i baked" Phoebe pointed to the living room as Kim looked at her in surprise. "you baked? Is this wedding thing stressing you out that much?"

"ha, see, your stress baking is well known" Tris triumphantly raised a fist in the air. Phoebe rolled her eyes. "weren't you just going to your room?" she asked.

"honestly, you wanted me to go to my room." Tris grinned."...but because I'm discreetly scared of you and don't want to be baked next, I'm listening to you" he added when he saw Phoebe's scowl, grabbed his plate and headed up the stairs.

"Say, what are you going to do if Joe doesn't go with you?" Kim asked as Phoebe put a plate of cookies on the table and filled both of their wine glasses. Phoebe shrugged. "maybe I'll just hang an ad in the locker room and see if anyone comes forward and accompanies me" she replied more ironically than seriously.

"Ever thought about hiring someone to just pretend to be a football player? I'm sure no one would notice" Kim suggested. "Kim, I'm not showing up at my cousin's wedding with some stranger call boy" Phoebe stared at her friend, stunned.

"Oh, but with the guy you've been shagging twice, who couldn't stand you at all for a while, and who plays for your grandpa's team? What's different about him than a call boy? He's got the figure and looks to be pretty successful in the business too" Kim shrugged. Phoebe shook her head, speechless.

I hate bye week, not seeing the Bengals play this week sucks!

Hope you're still having an amazing week!!

WHO-DEY🧡