Page 70 of About That Night

“What?” I’m annoyed. I sip my whiskey.

“You’re in love with her,” George says. He sounds in awe of the fact.

The words startle me. In love with Chastity? That feels suspiciously correct. In fact, I know I am, I’m just shocked to hear someone else say it. “How do you figure?”

“Because you’re willing to pretend to date her just to be around her,” George says. “You’re bending over backward to help her out.”

“And you just about bit Toby’s head off defending her,” Conway says. “Threatened Ricky.”

Threaten seems like a strong word.

“You’re celibate,” Toby says. “Right? Or do you have some side piece that’s taking care of your business?”

“No! Of course not. I would never do that to Chastity.” The very idea offends me. I have zero interest in any other woman. Any or all women. Women in general. Not while I’m hanging out with Chastity.

They all stare at me and wait.

“What?”

“Play what you just said back in your own thick skull and tell me what you think,” George says.

I do. Damn, I hear it. I’m well and truly gone. They’re definitely onto something.

“But…I mean, we’re friends. Friends do shit for each other.” Apparently, I feel the need to go down fighting on this, even though I started the conversation with the intention of getting their advice on how to make Chastity see that I’m the man for her.

“You don’t mow my grass,” Conway points out.

“You’re a grown man. Why the fuck would I mow your grass?”

“I just got struck by lightning! I was fried like an overdone hush puppy.”

“So? You and Toby live together. There’s two of you to split the chore.”

“You see my point. You don’t cut the grass for just anyone. It proves you’re in love with her.”

In love. With Chastity. It is one hundred percent absolutely without a doubt or question what is happening here. I’m head over ass in love. But I need to process the concept. I can’t say that I’ve ever been in love before, and I don’t know what it feels like, and I don’t want to screw this up.

The odds are pretty high that I could screw this up.

“You know, I had sex with her once before.” I don’t know why I’m sharing that now. Maybe I’m trying to convince them, and myself, that Chastity is interested in me beyond friendship.

“Wait, what?” George says. “Then why the hell can’t you now?”

“Because they’re fake dating, not real dating. Keep up, bro,” Toby says.

George is just shaking his head. “I…hell, I don’t even know what to say.”

“It was right after Faith’s graduation,” Conway tells them. “I saw her coming out of Hank’s room one morning. Then Faith stopped hanging around with Chastity.”

“Yep.” I study my whiskey. As if there were ever any answers in the bottom of a glass of liquor, though many men have tried to find them. “No one really thinks we’re actually dating, do they?”

“We already told you, everyone thinks you’re dating,” Toby says. “Y’all look at each other like you want to go behind the barn and rip each other’s clothes off.”

Accurate.

“I can’t speak for her, but that is definitely true for me. Say I’m in love with her. For argument’s sake. What am I supposed to do?” That’s what I really want and need to know.

“You need to just ease into it being real. You start blurring some lines. You start cuddling. And then suddenly, it’s real.” Toby nods his head at me like he’s giving me solid gold advice.

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