Page 58 of Joey

“Don’t be crazy,” I say, turning to him.

He glances down at my naked lower body, but then I notice he’s got my jeans in his hand. He finds my eyes again and offers them to me. “I didn’t plan that.”

“Me either,” I say, taking the jeans and pulling them on.

“But… I’m pretty sure Huck and Wald did.”

I shrug. Because I don’t really have anything to say to that.

He comes all the way in, closes the door behind him, and says, “We don’t normally… you know. Date the same girl like that.”

“No?” I ask. “You sure? Because you all looked pretty familiar with the routine, if you ask me.”

“We have done it before. But it’s been a really long time. Over five years.”

“Hmm,” I say. “Since before your daughter was born then?”

“Uh… yeah. I guess. Never really thought about it in that context. But yes. Before Charlotte.”

“Charlotte,” she says. “That’s the mother?”

He nods. “But… she’s gone. You won’t have to meet her.”

“What do you mean she’s gone?”

He shrugs. “Disappeared? Or possibly dead?”

“What?”

“Yeah. It’s kinda… weird. But hell”—he laughs—“weird is the story of my fucking life.”

“Oh,” I say, tucking all that new information away to think about later.

“So you wanna keep going?”

“You mean helping you?” He nods. “Of course. Look, Joey. That was fun for me too, OK? I’m not gonna lie. I like all three of you.”

“It’s not exactly friends though, is it?”

“I don’t know. You tell me. Are you guys just friends?”

“Yeah,” he says. “We are just friends. Very good, very familiar with each other kind of friends.”

“I don’t get you.”

“What’s confusing?”

“You. And them. And the way you… deny it.”

“I’m not denying it. I’m just saying… this isn’t typical. That’s all.”

“Except it feels pretty typical.”

“I just told you—“

“I heard you. Five years. But it doesn’t matter how long it’s been since you shared a girl. That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Then what are you talking about? Because I’m not following.”