Page 17 of Tongue-Tied

“I already promised. But after tonight, I’ll swear again,” he mutters. “You still love me?”

My stomach warms because I can’t stay mad at him. “Always. Now go have fun instead of babysitting me.”

“You know that’s not how it is.” He kisses my cheek. “Thanks for coming.”

As we walk across campus, Kael pats my back. “You good?”

“Totally. I will not allow Dex to talk me into anything like that again. He’s worse at matchmaking than me.”

He snorts. “He kind of is. But his heart is in the right place. He cares about you, that much is clear, or he wouldn’t try so hard.”

I kick at a stray rock. “Yeah, I know.”

“What’s his dating status, anyway?”

“He gets plenty of interest, believe me.”

Kael hitches a shoulder. “He’s friendly and charming. Makes sense.”

“Yep. But he only ever hooks up and isn’t interested in a relationship.”

I don’t tell Kael about his past and how his dad has been a big disappointment and terrible role model. It’s not my place.

“Nothing wrong with that.”

We pass Indelible Ink, which is the local tattoo shop. There’s a blond guy working there who’s a total snack. Getting any ink is out of the question though.

“I know I need to get more comfortable around guys I find attractive, but…” I trail off, unsure how to put into words what I’m feeling.

“Instead of Dex trying to encourage you to talk to guys on your own, he should show you how it’s done.”

“Been there, done that. But he throws me to the wolves every time, thinking it’ll come naturally. It never does.”

Kael is quiet for a minute before he says, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but…the two of you are so natural together. Why not play pretend sometime to get more comfortable, or ooh, I know! Use him to make someone jealous.”

I inhale a sharp breath. “Use Dex in, like, a romantic way? Hell no!”

“Only for make-believe.”

“That would be too strange. I can’t even imagine…”

But I admit the idea makes all sorts of thoughts spring up. It would be kind of funny—and hot—to see Dex act lovey-dovey when his brain isn’t wired for romance.

To shake the feeling, I turn the tables. “How did you and Angelica meet?”

Kael doesn’t reply right away. We walk across a grassy area that’s busy with students sitting everywhere and blasting music. Eventually, he says, “Being trans adds an extra layer of doubt to dating because you never know someone’s intentions or preferences.”

“Damn, I’m sorry.” I feel guilty for complaining about my woeful ineptness. “Guess that hasn’t occurred to me.”

“No problem. It all works out one way or another.” Suppose he’s right about that too. “Anyway, Angelica and I became friends first, and then she took a chance kissing me.”

“Sounds romantic.” I sigh dreamily. “I want something like that.”

He bumps my shoulder playfully as we head inside our dorm. “You never know. Things can happen when you least expect it.”

“Doubtful,” I mutter.

Once in bed, I turn on my Kindle, and it opens to the last passage I read.

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