Page 14 of His Secret

I shake my head, smiling as I watch him. “Anyway. Yeah, you could go there and see if, you know, anyone catches your eye.”

He watches me for a while, his eyes assessing. “You’d do that for me?”

With a nod, I say, “I can be a good wingman.”

It takes a second for him to respond. “Hmm. Okay. Sure.”

“No pressure,” I tell him. “You don’t have to.”

“I know.” His eyes scan my face again. “Why not, though?” he says with a shrug.

“Right.”

“Wait. I thought you hated social scenes and parties. You go to clubs?”

“I’ve only been a couple times. It’s really not my scene. Loud music, loud people, crowded spaces, but yeah, I’ve been.”

“Okay, so, next weekend?”

“Sure.”

“Perfect. You’re the best.”

I smile and roll to my back where the smile slowly slips from my face.

CHAPTER FIVE

MATÍAS

I’ve seenAdrian more than usual this week. Not only in class, but he’s opted to eat lunch with me a couple of times, asking me questions about the bar and basically panicking the way I was when he invited me to his party. He’s been adorable…if a six-foot-four, two-hundred-and-something-pound football player can be adorable.

I’m seeing a different side of Adrian since he told me his secret. He’s opened up even more, and in doing so, allowed me to be more myself around him. I felt like I was carrying my own secret, not wanting him to know because I was afraid he’d not want to be my friend, and now I’m at my most authentic self with him.

He walked to my dorm with me after class one day, simply because we were so caught up in conversation. Once we were at the door, he was like, “Oh. I guess I should leave you alone now.”

I wanted to invite him in. I never want our talks to come to an end, but I know that they must, so I simply nodded and said goodbye.

It’s now Friday, and I’m in my car heading toward hishouse to pick him up. My stomach is in knots, and not for the reason I’d like it to be. Instead of first date nerves, it’she could potentially find someone to hookup withnerves.

I’m wearing dark blue chinos and a white Henley with white tennis shoes. My brown hair is a mess of loose curls on top of my head, and I took extra time to trim up the small amount of hair on my face and spritz some cologne on. Maybe he won’t be the only one looking for a hookup.

When I park outside the house he shares with his friends, I send him a text to let him know I’m here. He jogs out five minutes later and makes me want to drive off, because I don’t want to be the person who delivers him to someone else.

Good god, he looks sexy. He’s wearing a long-sleeved, white shirt and a pair of black pants. It’s not even the clothes that are special, it’s the way he looks in them. He’s muscular, and there’s no hiding it. The shirt isn’t tight, but you can still tell how well-built he is through it. He’s got a nice watch on his wrist, his hair is freshly buzzed, and his beard is neat and trim.

When he gets inside, I breathe in his scent. It’s a mixture of whatever he uses in the shower, and subtle citrus cologne.

“You—” I almost sayyou look goodbut quickly change it up. “You cut your hair.”

He runs a hand over his head. “Yeah, just wanted a change. It’ll grow back.”

“I like it,” I say, and then immediately feel embarrassed. “Anyway, you ready?”

“I think so.” He pats down his legs. “Wallet, phone, and hopefully I find some courage in one of these pockets.”

“Oh please,” I say with a laugh. “You’ll be fine.”

The hour-long drive is filled, not with music, but with a lively discussion about which breakfast food is better. Adrian swears you’re not eating breakfast if you’re noteating eggs, bacon, and sausage, but I say, you need to have some pancakes or waffles. After that, we laugh for about fifteen minutes while simply talking about some TV show we both watched and how funny we thought a particular line was.

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