About Us (all of us #2)

T W E N T Y E I G H T

G I O

I never wanted Marina. I just wanted Marina. Maybe because she was our friend and I shouldn't have. Probably because I had a platonic crush on her when we were ten. Maybe because her obsession with Trenton was so fucking annoying I had to meddle with it just to test out how real it was.

I don't know.

But I do know one thing. I didn't just want Joselyn. I wanted Joselyn.

I really wanted Joselyn.

Both because I shouldn't and because I couldn't. Because of who she was and the fact that it made her that much more enticing. And I was in denial of it because it was easier that way.

Trenton would have never let me even breathe on his sister if he had any idea the things I thought about her.

That's why I have to leave her alone. I hurt her and I hurt myself by not being true to my feelings in the first place. She deserves someone who will love her without worrying about the possible repercussions. I wasted our potential, and because of that I'm not right for her.

But Scott? He isn't either. He's a piece of shit.

Diesel grins wildly. "Trent's gonna—"

"Flip. I know."

He laughs, his legs kicked up on my coffee table. "I was gonna say murder you, but yeah."

"I didn't just wake up one day and think, hey, today seems like a fine day to fuck Trenton's sister. I didn't do that. I didn't plan it—not like he did with your mom."

"Yeah, but you know how he is."

Indeed, I do. That's what makes this so difficult.

He grimaces, shifting in his seat. "This place is tiny as shit. You don't make enough bartending to get something bigger than barbie's dream house?"

"Fuck you." I chuckle, giving him the finger as I wedge myself between the coffee table and the couch to join him. "This is how I have so much disposable income."

He sits there with a faint smile. "Anyway, if I were you, I wouldn't even mention that one minor detail to Trenton. Just saying."

"Anything involving my dick is not a minor detail."

"Okay, an average detail. Maybe."

I flip him off again, laughing like old times. Like we used to when we'd sit in his backyard and smoke until we fell asleep out there. Things aren't the same. They aren't bad, but they're not anything compared to that.

But maybe to them life is better. Maybe to them, life now doesn't compare to then. I wouldn't know. I don't have a family of my own. Most times I don't have shit to do but go to work and if I'm lucky, I get a break from the back to flirt with the college girls that flock in for happy hour.

That's what I have to look forward to. Fucking happy hour.

"Well, what the fuck am I supposed to tell him then? That his little sister is hooking up with Marina's dad, but leave out the fact that I went and did the same exact thing not too long ago?"

"Yes."

I let out a breath.

"You really want to know what I'd do, G?"

"That's why you're here."

"I wouldn't tell him shit." Diesel holds his hands up. "Don't tell him shit."

"I have to."

"But you don't, though." He lays his head back. "Joselyn isn't your problem."

Except she is my problem. She's always been my problem.