Page 102 of Back to You

Brandon watched in silence as the book club members began coming through the door. He had to admit, it was nice how happy they always were to see each other.

He’d gotten them their drinks and snacks, and Rhonda was in full swing, yelling loudly about “sweaty bare chests,” when Ethan walked in.

“Hey!” Brandon said, surprised to see him. “What are you doing out of work?”

“I had a dentist appointment, so I took half a day. Thought I’d come see you.”

Brandon leaned in and pressed a kiss to Ethan’s willing mouth. “Minty fresh,” he teased.

He became aware of the silence in the cafe and turned his head. Eight octogenarians stared open-mouthed at him and Ethan.

“What’s happening?” Ethan whispered.

“Well I’ll be damned!” Rhonda roared. “Brandon, who is this?”

Brandon rolled his eyes. “This is my boyfriend, Ethan.”

“You already have a boyfriend? Weren’t you going on a date the other night?” The women all looked between them suspiciously.

“My date was with Ethan, Rhonda.”

A rousing chorus of awws came from the table.

“I like to see a man who knows how to treat his partner,” Rhonda said. Her volume was just short of blasting, and Ethan was wide-eyed. “Where did you go? How was the sex?”

“Rhonda!” one of the other ladies hissed, scandalized. “You can’t ask people things like that!”

“Why not?” she cried as Ethan started to giggle helplessly. “I’m too damn old to pussyfoot around.”

“I thought you were kidding!” Ethan said to Brandon, still laughing.

“Why would I joke about this?”

Michelle walked in through the play center door. “Hey Ethan.” She looked at the book club table. “Ladies! How was this month’s selection? Enough nudity for you, Rhonda?”

“Never mind that, we’re just talking about your brother’s boyfriend! That was a surprise, let me tell you! We thought he was one of those eternal loner types!”

“Oh yeah, they’ve been together for years. Well, they broke up for a while recently, but they’re working on it.”

Rhonda was clearly delighted with this bit of news. “Come over here, I want to know more!”

“Michelle!” Brandon yelped as she headed across the cafe. She just flapped a hand at him.

“Oh man, I needed that laugh,” Ethan said. He draped his arms around Brandon’s neck. “Want to grab dinner tonight?”

“Absolutely. What are you doing now?”

“I thought I’d hang out a bit, if that’s okay.”

“More than.” He grabbed a cup and poured Ethan his usual dark roast, ignoring the giggles from the book club over whatever Michelle was telling them.

“Where is Marcus?”

“The band is playing a show a couple of hours away tonight. I gave him the afternoon off.”

“So you’re manning the counter? Made anyone cry yet?”

“That was one time!”

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