But even that was a mistake. When I told him that he could have first dibs on my new stepsister, I didn’t know that it would be Whitney. If I knew that, I wouldn’t have introduced any of my friends to her. If I had my way, she would go on to marry someone completely different from me just so I knew that I never stood a chance, regardless of our family situation. Instead, she was dating my best friend, who was more like me than my own siblings.
When I had them sit together during Christmas dinner, it wasn’t so they could get to know each other. It was so I could sit on the opposite side of the table where I wouldn’t accidentally brush her hand when passing the gravy or graze her leg with mine. Sitting next to my dad and his future wife, I could keep my space and retain my composure.
Once Ted and Whitney were friendly, the only thing I could think of to do was to give Ted my blessing to hang out with her. If she were otherwise occupied with my friend, I thought that the ethical dilemmas of having a crush on your sister and coveting your best friend’s girl would be enough to turn me off her for good. I had yet to see that theory come to fruition.
I could always use the law of Bro Code and forbid Ted from dating my future step-sister, but he was in too deep. He really liked her, and there was nothing I could do. I cared for the guy too much to shatter his dreams of getting some.
“What do I do?” he asked, bringing me out of my daydream.
“What?” I asked, snapping to attention.
“I want to take Whitney out on a really nice date. What do you think I should do?”
“The hell if I know. I think you know her just as well as I do.”
“I’m thinking about taking her to dinner and then something else. What do girls like? Maybe like the orchestra or the ballet or something?”
“You should know what chicks like because you’re turning into one,” I retorted. “Since when do you take girls out on fancy dates? What about the days of going to a house party and letting her slob on your knob in the cab on the way home?”
Ted stared at me with a puzzled expression on his face. “We haven’t been in college for a few years now. Maybe I’d like to start dating seriously. I’m not getting any younger, and at some point, I think I’d like to settle down with someone.”
“With Whitney? You’ve been on one date.”
“And it went pretty well. I’m not saying I’m going to marry her, but I’d like to have a good shot at getting to know her better.”
“Whatever, man. You can go that route. I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. It’s served me well thus far.”
Ted frowned. “Is something wrong?”
Besides the fact that I was insanely jealous of Ted at the moment? Not a thing.
“Nope,” I said casually, taking a second slice.
“If you’re worried about my ditching you, that’s not going to happen. We can still hang out all the time.”
“Cool,” I said, hoping he’d change the subject.
“You’re not into her, are you? Because if it’s that big of a problem, then I guess I can forget about her.”
“No,” I said, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. “I’m just in a bad mood from work. Nothing a little pizza and hockey can’t fix.”
Ted sat down on the couch next to me and grabbed a slice. We’d talked about many things during our friendship, including girls, but never like this. We usually just compared hookups and talked about girls we liked, but I never had to give him advice about what he should do on a date with a girl he wanted a serious relationship with. It was too weird.
Ted seemed tense after our conversation about Whitney. I felt guilty if I ruined things for him. He deserved to be happy and I wasn’t about to cock block him.
“Hey, I’m sorry for being a dick,” I said to Ted. “I guess I’m just frustrated that my family is going to change and I didn’t have the chance to even think about it before it was all sprung on me. Besides, if you two get married, that means we’ll be brothers for real.”
Ted smiled. “Thanks, man. I don’t think we’ll get married, but it’s nice to have your approval.”
I felt a knot in the pit of my stomach and it wasn’t from the greasy food. I wanted to feel the same thing that Ted felt—the fear of not knowing if the girl you like will call back, the anticipation before a date, and the excitement of scoring. I wanted all of those things, but at the very least, I wanted the last of those things.
“I think I’m going to head out,” I said. “Thanks for the pizza.”
“Are you sure? We can play a game of FIFA. You can be Real Madrid.”
“No, it’s been a long day. I need to go home and unwind.”
“Okay,” he said, grabbing the remote from my hand. “I’ll let you know how my date with your future sister goes.”
“Great,” I replied, trying to tone down my sarcasm. “By the way, are you coming to the wedding?”
“I think so. Is there an open bar?”
“Of course,” I replied, in disbelief that he would ask such a silly question.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He grinned.
I slapped him on the back and left. I didn’t want to tell him, but I had some of my own plans.
On the drive home, I flipped through my contacts until I found who I was looking for. Vanessa Jackson. She was a particularly fine piece of ass who worked as a nurse in a nearby hospital. We met during nursing school and had hooked up a few times. She was always down for a good time, and I knew that whenever I called, there was a fifty percent chance that she’d come over.
The phone rang and rang, but she never answered. Vanessa liked to play games with me, so I knew that it would only be a matter of time before she called me back. I could wait all night if I needed to.
I was glad that Ted was coming to my father’s wedding because it was always nice to have a friend around in those types of situations. Old people’s weddings were always boring because the guests had different goals. Most of them would be married and wouldn’t want to stay late and drink all night like people my age would. This meant that the open bar would be excellent, but there would be few single ladies to entertain.
But Ted would probably be too preoccupied with Whitney to bullshit with me. I wasn’t about to be possessive of him, but he was my friend first. If Whitney was all over him all night, I would be annoyed. If I had to sit through the whole day with a fake smile on my face, then I at least wanted to get shitfaced with my friend.
Really, I just wished the circumstances could be different. If my dad were marrying any other woman in the world, I probably would have asked Whitney to come as my date. My dad would be pleased and I knew I would have a good time. I didn’t want to share her with anyone.
I had just gotten home and stepped out of the shower when my phone rang. Apparently, Vanessa had decided that she wanted to hang out after all. But, with Whitney on my mind, I felt too distracted to even enjoy fooling around with another girl. I put my phone on silent and crawled into bed. Maybe I’d call her back the next night, but for now, I wanted to be alone. If I couldn’t have Whitney, I didn’t want anybody else.
Chapter Eight
Whitney
“Whitney, have you spoken with the florist yet?” my mom called to me across the house.
“Yes, Mom,” I called back. “They’ve already delivered the flowers to the church. Everything is under control.”
“Have you had your hair and makeup done yet?”
“No,” I sighed, digging through a stack of papers to find her marriage license. “I’ve been too busy.”
I walked out of my childhood bedroom in a long flannel shirt that barely covered my butt. For a small wedding, my mom had really gone all out, and it was my unofficial job to make sure everything was taken care of so she didn’t have to worry.