42. Josie

42

JOSIE

" R emind me why I thought this was a good idea."

"I did try to tell you it wasn't," Wyatt said with a shrug as he leaned against the kitchen island. I sighed, taking a sip of the beer in my hands.

I had the bright idea to host a small party with all our friends. And by friends I meant, Tasha, Lydia, Mila, Trevor, Bryton, Landon and Mateo. At first it seemed like a good idea gathering everyone together to get to know one another better. Tasha and Lydia hadn't spent much time with Trevor and Landon, and I thought it would be nice if they did. Bonus if they happened to like each other too.

I should have known it would be a disaster as soon as they stepped into Wyatt's apartment.

Right now, they were all currently sitting in the living room arguing with each other. The only couple minding their own business were Mila and Bryton, who sat back with amused expressions, watching the other four argue.

Lydia and Landon were arguing about some business thing that I had no clue about. They faced each other, moving closer and closer the longer they argued. I wasn't sure if they were going to kiss or throttle each other.

Tasha and Trevor sat on the other side of the couch, arguing about eating fries with ice-cream. It was probably one of the stupidest arguments I'd ever heard, and yet, I could practically feel the sexual tension growing between them.

"Should we stop them?" I asked quietly.

"Eh, Landon and Trevor can hold their own," Wyatt said with a shrug.

"Sure. It's all fun and games until someone gets strangled." I honestly couldn't rule it out at this point.

"My bet is Trevor and Tasha cave first," Wyatt said, eyeing his best friend.

"What are we betting on?" Mateo suddenly appeared at our side, holding the entire tray of chips and dip as he ate from it.

"Josie and I are betting to see who sleeps together first. Trevor and Tasha, or Lydia and Landon."

"Trevor and Tasha." Mateo didn't even hesitate. The three of us watched as the pair continued arguing. I caught Tasha's eyes darting down to Trevor's lip, a look on her face I've seen countless times before.

"Agreed," Wyatt nodded. "Landon and Lydia will take a while. Landon's as stubborn as a bull. He won't give in to Lydia, at least not yet."

"Lydia's just as stubborn," I added. "I'd give them at least a month before they cave."

"I'd give it a good six months," Mateo chimed in. "Or we can speed things along." He flashed us a smirk and took a step towards Landon and Lydia only for Wyatt to grab him by the back of his shirt and yank him back.

"Don't even think about it."

"Come on, I was just going to flirt a little," Mateo whined.

"You can't flirt," Wyatt scoffed.

"Excuse me?" Mateo looked appalled. "I can flirt. I have Josie exactly where I want her, don't I, babe." He winked and blew me an air kiss. Playing along, I grabbed the kiss out of the air and winked back.

"This," Wyatt waved between us. "Is not happening."

"Can't fight true love," Mateo said dramatically.

Knowing Wyatt was about to smack his brother, I butted in.

"We're not really betting anyways."

"But we could," Wyatt suggested.

"You want to bet on our friends sleeping together?"

He just blinked at me. "Yes."

"Oh! We could start a group chat and talk about them behind their backs," Mateo grinned.

"Uh…"

"I bet Bryton and Mila would join in," Wyatt nodded along with his younger brother.

Are we really about to make bets on our friends?

I opened my mouth to try and argue some sense into the pair of them, when I noticed Tasha and Trevor standing. The three of us tried to act like we weren't doing anything as Trevor sauntered over.

"I'm gonna head out," he said. "Thanks for inviting me over Josie, we'll definitely have to do it again." He gave me his charming smile before pulling me in for a quick hug. To my side, I caught Mateo grinning behind his soda can.

"I'm going to go too. Long day and I'm exhausted," Tasha said as she came over to us while Trevor did his bro hug with Wyatt. I raised an eyebrow at her excuse. We both knew it was a lie. Neither of us worked Saturdays.

"I bet," I said. Her sheepish smile let me know I was right. A small part of me wanted to tell her it was a bad idea. Sleeping with Trevor wouldn't end well for either of them, but I knew it wasn't my place. They could make their own decisions, and I wasn't going to tell Tasha what to do. She's a big girl.

"Let me know when you get home." I pulled her into a hug, biting back any remarks. If she wanted to act like she wasn't about to leave with Trevor, then I would turn the other cheek.

I'm sure I'll hear all about it eventually.

A light blush colored her cheeks before she quickly headed for the door. I chuckled under my breath. The two of them weren't fooling anyone. Trevor hung back for another minute talking to Mateo before leaving.

Once the door shut, Wyatt turned to me with a raised eyebrow.

"That's gonna be fun," he said.

"Maybe they'll be good for each other," I shrugged, silently praying I was right. Tasha didn't need any more heartbreak, and as much as I loved Trevor, he had heartbreak written all over him. I'd barely grabbed my drink when Lydia walked up with her purse in hand.

"Sorry to leave early, Josie."

"You're leaving too?"

"Yeah, I need to make sure I have everything set for Monday's issue." I caught sight of a brooding Landon at her back, staring right at her. I had a feeling I didn't even want to touch that subject. Ignoring the tension between the two of them, I pulled her into a hug.

"Don't work too hard and let me know when you get home."

"Will do." She said a quick goodbye to the others before stomping out the door, not bothering to look back at Landon who still watched her.

Seconds later, Landon said a tense goodbye and left just as quickly.

That's going to be…interesting.

Mateo and Wyatt stared after their brother with raised eyebrows.

"You two throw great parties," Bryton teased as he and Mila came over. I shook my head with a sigh.

"If I'd known that was going to happen, I would have kept them all separated."

"It was definitely entertaining. Going to make future get-togethers interesting," Mila grinned. "That was better than television."

"Hundred bucks Trevor and Tasha become fuck buddies," Bryton said with a grin, oblivious to the fact we'd discuss the same thing just minutes ago.

"Want to make it interesting about Landon and Lydia?" Wyatt asked, winking at me.

Yep, we really are about to make bets on our friends.

"What are you thinking?" Bryton asked.

Mila and I shared a look as Wyatt, Bryton and Mateo started hatching their plan.

"Everyone picks a date they think either couple will sleep together and whoever guesses right gets $300 bucks," Wyatt suggested.

"What if they sleep together tomorrow but we don't find out for a couple of months?" Mila questioned.

Good point.

"Does it have to be an exact date?" I asked.

"Can be a rough estimate like…within a month of the date you say," Bryton said.

"Works for me," Mateo shrugged. "And we can have a group chat where we can talk about the timelines."

All of us shared a look before Wyatt turned to me. I rolled my eyes and nodded.

"Fine, let's bet on when our friends will have sex."

"Hell yeah!" Mateo cheered.

"Easiest $300 bucks I'll ever make," Bryton laughed

Within minutes Mateo had all five of us in a group chat. I snorted at the name.

Only Mateo.

"Everyone should have their bets placed by tomorrow. And remember," Wyatt looked directly at me. "No interfering."

"I would never!"

I so would.

"Uh huh."

I grinned knowing he didn't believe me for a second. Mila nudged me as she giggled.

"Let's go Bang Bet Club," Mateo cheered again, punching his fist in the air.