Page 66 of End Game

“Yeah, I kind of have to. I’m stuck with you.”

He frowns.

I’m just teasing. It’s supposed to be a funny-haha type of comment. I don’t mean anything by it.

“I do love hanging out with you,” I tell him gently. “You’re my best friend.”

Barrett shakes his head and clears his throat. “Yeah, if you say so.”

“How was your trip?”

“Good. We got in early,” he says.

I check my watch. I wasn’t expecting him for another two hours, at least part way through my game.

He tucks his hands into his pockets. “Well. I’ll let you get to it. I’m sure you’re busy with your game. You should prepare.”

“Yeah. I’ve got—” I let out a shaky breath. “I’m glad you’re back.”

His smile is half-hearted. “Yeah. Me too.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he lies.

“Barrett.”

He sighs. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“That means something is bothering you.”

“I don’t want you to worry about it, not with your game. It’s not my place to distract you.”

“Fuck the game.”

His eyes go wide. “Diana.”

“Seriously. I don’t care. You’re upset. You can tell me what’s going on.”

“I had breakfast yesterday with Dougie,” he says with a shrug. “Just… family shit.”

I reach out and squeeze his arm. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.” His smile doesn’t reach my eyes. “But my family will still suck a bag of dicks after your game, so don’t you think about it now. I’m sure we’ll talk it to death later.”

I frown.

“It’s fine. I’m fine,” he says. I roll my eyes. “Okay, so it’s totally not fine, but it’s not like the next three hours is going to change anything, so I’m going to pretend they don’t exist for now and deal with it that way.”

“We’re going out tonight,” I inform him.

Barrett raises his eyebrows. “Okay.”

“We’re going to eat fried food and drink and we’re going to talk until you feel better.”

“I don’t know if that’s possible,” he says with a dark chuckle I’m not a fan of.

“Then we’ll drink until you feel numb.”