Page 58 of Breaking Bristol
I glared at her. “How much do you know?”
She crossed her ankles and leaned on the railing. “I know that whatever is happening between y’all needs to stop because I like her, especially because she didn’t say hardly anything about you last night.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It would have been weird if I didn’t address the elephant in the room, so I basically told her I knew about y’all and asked if she was why you were so mad yesterday.” I clenched my teeth and let her finish. “She politely told me that it was none of my business.”
She was going to make me ask like we were in middle school. “Okay, but what did she say about me?”
“Honestly, Beck, not much. Just that yes, y’all were seeing each other, that you were taking it slow and really getting to know each other.”
“How does that make you like her?” I demanded.
“Jeez, I need to explain this?”
I held my hands out in frustration. “Uh yeah, Suze. I’m not a woman. I’ve got no clue what the hell you’re talking about.”
“If she didn’t like you, like a lot, she’d have said more. She would have been prying to get information from me about you. But she didn’t. She respected your privacy and any details of your relationship because it’s important to her. You’re not just some guy she’s sleeping with that she doesn’t give a shit about.”
“She knew about Gage.” I gritted the words out through clenched teeth. “She knew for months and didn’t say anything to me. Said she was waiting for me to be comfortable telling her about it.”
Susie gasped. “Why on earth would she do a selfish thing like that?”
“I struggled that entire time figuring out how I would tell her, and I get her reasoning, but she also could have told me she knew to take that fucking boulder off my shoulders.”
“Okay, and? If you’re trying to get me to side with one of you or something, I’m not going to. It’s not my call to make who’s right or wrong.”
“Yeah, I know.” I arched an eyebrow. “Apparently it’s your call to try to be matchmaker or some shit.”
She smiled. “If y’all are together, am I really playing matchmaker?”
I couldn’t be mad at her, especially because she just wanted me to be happy. “Semantics.”
“Whatever you messed up, just fix it, okay? I like her and want to hang out again.”
“I’ll do my best, Suze,” I assured her. “Anyway, I’m gonna take off.”
“Yeah, I bet you are.”
On the way inside, I wrapped my arm around her neck and messed up her hair. I said goodbye to my aunt and uncle and then got in my truck and started down the driveway. Then I turned down the path that led to Bristol.
She was sitting on the porch with a glass of wine, having changed into a pair of black leggings with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her eyes tracked me as I made my way to her, and I took a seat next to her in the other chair. “So my family likes you.”
Bristol’s lips turned up. “I like them.”
“Susie has officially approved of you. She told me I needed to fix what I messed up.”
“Matthew, that’s not—” She began.
“She’s just giving me shit. She’s a smart-ass.”
“She’s fun.”
I huffed. “She’s that, too.”
“Why are you here?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “This week has sucked. I’ve missed you and wanted to call you a million times.”