Page 3 of Just Bromantically Invested

There’s a pause. “O … kay?”

“I might have gotten myself into a tiny bit of a predicament.”

“Of course you did.”

“The guys were here with the excavator—” I explain.

“As they should have been.”

“The clients weren’t home?—”

“Not liking where this is going …”

“And the guys might have taken off with my clothes, the clients are here, and I’m hiding in their backyard so that they don’t see my willy.”

The silence is even silenter.

“Don’t judge me!” I whisper-shriek, drawing a small chuckle from him. The kind that makes my heart all blippy even when it’s galloping with fear.

“I’m not, I’m not. It’s just taking me a minute to work out how my day got to this moment.”

I glance back up at the house. “Right. Well. You might want to take a moment when I’m not crouched in a stranger’s yard with dirt all over my balls. Can you bring me some clothes?”

He hesitates. “I’m not supposed to finish up here for another half an hour.”

“You can’t leave me here for half an hour!”

“You really don’t have any clothes there? Nothing?”

I remind myself that I need him to do something for me so now isn’t the time to point out that he’s asking stupid questions.

“I have nothing except my bag and my phone. Can you please figure something out?”

“What? None of yourBerthabrothers available?”

I roll my eyes. “Penny …”

“Urg, fine. I’ll be there. And for the love of my sanity,stay hidden.”

Stay hidden. Right. Back into the dog kennel, I go.

“Thanks, man.”

He hums which is a combination of “you’re welcome” and “why am I still putting up with you again” before he hangs up the phone, and I dart back into my hiding place.

I love Penn Jackson.

We’ve been best friends since high school, went to the same college on the East Coast, and then moved to Seattle andeventually combined our talents into this business. He’s been there for me through my baseball injury, dealing with my parents, coming out, and while I embraced my calling as a nudist. It’s been a process, but he’s always had my back.

I sometimes worry that I get more out of our friendship than he does and that he’ll get sick of me one day. I don’t think I’d ever recover from that. I need Penn. He’s my best friend.

I love him … too much.

Chapter 2

Penn

It would be all too easy to leave my best friend to his naked shenanigans instead of rescuing him again, but … well, I sort of like rescuing him.

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