Puppy Love (bxb)

Chapter Seventeen

I didn't know when the appropriate time to pop out from behind the counter would be.

The conversation seemed to be awkward.

"Oh. Um. I'm just talking to Henry?" Andrew said.

"Hi Declan," Henry said.

"Isn't Henry your fuckin' ex?" Declan said.

"What in the hell is going on?" Yup, that was Jeff.

I poked my head up from behind the counter. "Hi guys."

That did not make the conversation less awkward.

"Dillon?!" Declan actually looked really relieved to see me. "Um, what were you doing down there?"

"Reorganizing cupcakes!"

I was in front of the apple pie display. Definitely for the best that Henry was the original talker.

Andrew wasn't as stupid as he looked, apparently. He propped his hands on his hips and sneered at me. "You were going to ambush me!"

He looked even uglier with his bruised nose.

A woman and her daughter opened the door. "We're closed!" Andrew barked.

They scurried out.

I blinked. "Wait, what were you saying?"

"You were hiding so that you could pop out behind the counter and catch me by surprise!" he repeated. Then he backed up and grabbed Declan's hand. "Babe, your best friend hates me."

I snapped and sent him cute lil' finger guns. "Facts."

Declan pulled away from Andrew and glared at him. "I was trying to find Dillon to figure out how he feels about your excuses."

Andrew backed up and had the gall to look incredulous. "Excuses?!"

"Well, I didn't think of them that way until now! You're talking to your ex," Declan growled.

Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? No, in fact, my ex wanted to talk to me." He wiggled his phone in the air. "Look."

Declan grabbed the phone and read the text conversation. Then his eyes narrowed in on Henry. "What's this about?"

Well, I couldn't have my best friend hate my now-boyfriend. "I can explain!" I yelped, hopping over the counter. I ended up smacking my foot and looking like a fool. "Ow."

"Please do," Andrew said. A smug smile was on his stupid face.

"Andrew is screwing you over," I announced, pointing at the dick in question. "He admitted it. So to get you back, Henry lured him here." I held up my phone and the recording. "I was going to record while Henry got his confession."

"I told them to torture him!" Barb screamed from the kitchen.

"Barbara?" Jeff asked.

I'd totally forgotten about him.

"Is that the love of my life?!" Barbara answered. She came out of the kitchen and leaned against the door frame. "Hey baby."

"Mom," Henry groaned.

"What's even going on right now?" Andrew grumbled. For once, I actually agreed with him.

"Dill," Declan said. I gave him my full attention, which was hard with Barb and Jeff off flirting to the side. "You should've just trusted that I'd believe you. You didn't have to go all espionage on me."

"But who could blame you for not trusting me? If you told me Henry was screwing me over, I would totally not believe you!"

"...Some people are good friends, Dillon."

"Ouch."

Andrew looked between the two of us. "Are you two about to make out? Because that would bother me, considering one of you is my boyfriend."

Declan turned to him. "About that. Is what Dillon saying true? I know you said it wasn't, but I don't believe you anymore."

"C'mon, Andrew," Henry said. He looked so handsome. He was giving Andrew his judgmental look, which made those blue eyes narrowed and his lips pouty. "Use this as the time to right your wrongs. You've lied to too many people."

Somehow, and to my absolute fury, Henry's words seemed to strike a cord in Andrew's cold and impenetrable heart.

He shifted. He looked to his feet. Then he looked up at Declan. "I've been lying to you."

Declan's back straightened. "Oh? Have you now?"

Barb and Jeff stopped flirting with each other, seemingly due to rising tensions.

Andrew cleared his throat and looked back to his feet. "Uh. Yeah. I have been." He looked back up and sighed. "Oh c'mon, Dec! Are you shocked?"

Declan tilted his head. "I don't understand."

"How can you be shocked?" Andrew burst out. "Look at us. Look at me, then look at yourself. No offense, but...I'm out of your league. And you have money. I kind of figured you'd figured it out by now."

Declan's fist tightened by his side. "You figured that I would assume that my new boyfriend didn't actually like me?" He swallowed.

"Yes...?"

Andrew gestured at himself, then gestured at Declan, as if that explained everything.

Declan gritted his teeth. "I assumed that my boyfriend liked me for my personality. I guess that makes me crazy."

Yup, there were tears in Declan's eyes. Andrew didn't seem to care.

"Look what you did, Henry. You forced me to tell him and now he's upset," Andrew said. He shot Henry an irritated look, as if he genuinely believed that his bullshit was the truth.

"I didn't force you to say anything," Henry reminded. "I encouraged you to tell the truth and you did it. Which was the right thing to do."

I hated how the words right thing to do were being used as Declan was crying.

Andrew sighed. "Guess I'm single now." He smirked at Henry. "Are you interested in reconsidering my offer now?"

Henries posture straightened in an I am about to kick your ass kind of way. "Get out of my bakery."

That should've been his freaking catchphrase.

Andrew raised an eyebrow and smirked. "C'mon, Hen. Look at me. Look at him—" he gestured at me. "You know the right decision."

I'd honestly forgotten about Barbara. But suddenly, she had crossed the room and slapped Andrew across the face.

Andrew stared, dumbfounded, as Barbara shoved a finger in his face. "My son told you to get out of his bakery."

Apparently being slapped by a middle-aged woman was the last insult for Andrew. He turned on his heel and walked out.

Someone was walking into the shop, but Andrew yelled, "Don't go into that bakery! The last cupcake I got had a worm!"

Henry face palmed.

The potential customer walked past the bakery.

"That's how you do it," Barb huffed.

Jeff smiled. "That was amazing."

And then they were kissing.

I made disgusted eye contact with Henry and comforted Declan. That was not how I expected our plan to go.