Irresponsible Puckboy (Puckboys #2)(18)

“Does it matter what he is to me?” Oskar crosses his arms. “At the end of the day, I can give him things you can’t. And if you care about him as much as you say you do, you should be happy to step aside and let Tripp be happy.”

“But he can’t be happy without me.”

Oskar’s eyes widen. “Are you hearing yourself?”

And here it comes, the Dex-is-an-idiot tone. “So sorry you don’t know what it’s like to have a best friend.”

“I’m beginning to think you don’t either.”

Tripp climbs out of bed to pull some shorts on. “Can you both shut up?”

“Nope.” I stand firm.

“Come on, Tripp. Dex needs to calm down.”

“No, I don’t.” I climb out of bed too because I don’t want to be the only one not standing. I’m tempted to take my shirt off as well so that I’m not the only one fully dressed, but that would probably be weird. I think. Yeah, definitely weird.

“Well, you don’t exactly seem calm, do you?” Oskar points out.

“Because you’re stealing my best friend.”

He shrugs. “Sorry, boyfriend trumps best friend.”

“Well, husband trumps boyfriend! Ha!” I point my finger in his face to really drive the point home.

Then Tripp curses, and I realize I’ve just messed up.

Oskar’s eyes flash. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“It was a joke,” Tripp quickly says, right as I reply with, “Fake husband. I mean. Obviously.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Sorry, Tripp.” I rub the back of my neck. “I … I didn’t mean …”

Oskar pinches the bridge of his nose. “Please tell me you didn’t actually get married.”

“The whole wedding was a joke,” Tripp says. “It’s not even legal.”

“You’re married?” His deep voice echoes off the damn walls, he’s so loud.

“No,” Tripp says, sounding a thousand times more patient than I would. “Dex didn’t think he could get married, so we were proving that he could. It was all fake. Calm your tits. Dex suggested it, and I—”

Oskar whirls on me. “I like you, Dex, but Jesus Christ you would have to be the world’s biggest dumbass. What is wrong with you? How could you make him do that?” Does Oskar sound … hurt?

I can’t even answer him. My annoyance from earlier dries up because yeah, I’ve been called dumb a lot in my life, but never like that. “I … I …”

“I can’t with you two.” Oskar throws up his hands and leaves.

“Shit.” Tripp shoots a look at me. “What happened to it being a secret?” he hisses before chasing after his boyfriend.

Well, I did what I wanted.

I got one over on Oskar.

It just doesn’t feel as good as I thought it was going to, especially when I’m left standing here alone.





Eight





TRIPP





“Oskar, wait.”

He was so fast to run out of there, he’s already storming down the beach by the time I get outside, and I have to run after him. Though I shouldn’t have to explain myself.

Oskar isn’t actually my boyfriend.

I’m just about to reach him when he whirls around on me.

“You let him talk you into marrying him?”

“No. Not exactly. I didn’t think he’d go through with it. I was there as a supportive friend.”

“How …” Oskar can’t seem to get his words out.

“How, what?”

“How do you do it to yourself, man? I’ve never loved someone before, but I’ve been interested in guys who haven’t been interested in me, and that was bad enough. How do you put up with him being so insensitive to you?”

“He’s not insensitive. He legitimately thinks we feel the same way about each other.”

“Then why do I seem to fight for your heart more than you do?”

“It’s complicated.”

A voice sounds behind me. “What’s complicated?”

I don’t need to turn to know it’s Ezra, and probably Anton too.

“Tripp here got married,” Oskar says. “Did either of you know that?”

“Uh, Oskar, I think getting fake married to Tripp is taking your ridiculous charade too far,” Ezra says.

“No, no. Not to me.” Oskar levels me with a serious stare—one I rarely see from the manwhore playboy that he is. “You want to tell them, or should I?”

“You’re making this out to be a bigger deal than it really is.”

“Why don’t we see what they think?” Oskar nods behind me.

I take a deep breath and slowly turn. “Okay, here’s the deal. Dex was contemplating marrying Jessica, but—”

“Somehow Tripp and Dex ended up getting married,” Oskar finishes. “Maybe Dex is so dumb he mistook him for her? I mean, they both have boobs, so maybe?”

I turn back to him. “I do not have boobs. My chest is pure muscle. And also, quit with the dumb Dex jokes, okay? He really hates it, and he doesn’t deserve it.”