Page 63 of Pitcher Perfect

Ethan, Dom, and Tyler said goodnight and started another episode.

“I’ll rinse this for you.” Austin picked up the empty container that once held a full batch of cheesecake bites.

I could rinse it at home, but if he wanted some private time before I left, I wasn’t about to argue. I ignored Tyler’s eyebrow waggle as I followed Austin to the kitchen.

I noticed details I hadn’t last time, probably because I was less nervous on the second visit. A short shelf hung above the coffee machine with four mugs dangling from it—each with one of theGolden Girlson it. There were small labels above each hook with the guys’ names.

“You’re the Sophia of the friend group, huh? She’s my favorite.”

Austin laughed. “We’ve had those for years.” He walked over to stand next to me and pulled his mug off the hook. “When I first moved into Aunt Carolyn’s house, I had a hard time sleeping. I shared a room with Ty and worried I would wake him, so one night, I went to the living room and found Aunt Carolyn watching late-night reruns ofThe Golden Girls. She always had a tough time with sleep, too, so she let me watch it with her. I loved it. Ty joined us a few nights later. Then we started watching on our own. He, of course, insisted he was cool like Blanche. He said I was like Sophia because I acted like the mom to him and his brother, Seth. He also said I was too honest sometimes. I think that was because I told him his baseball socks stunk up our room.”

I laughed. “Were Ethan and Dom already fans of the show before you met?”

Austin turned so his hip rested against the counter as he faced me. I mirrored him, watching as he hung his mug back up. “No, that was me and Ty all the way. I shared a room with Ty, but our dorm was set up so every two rooms shared a bathroom and tiny living room. Ethan and Dom were roommates and shared the space with us.”

“That’s awesome you guys met right away and hit it off. My dorm roommate had a weird thing about chewing erasers off his pencils. That shit can’t be good on a digestive tract.”

Austin laughed. “That’s nasty.” He sobered. “It really was awesome that we all got along. College was a hard adjustment for me because my childhood was over and any chance of my parents returning was gone. I was on my own. Meeting Ethan and Dom and forming our own little family was exactly what I needed. One night, Ty and I were watchingThe Golden Girls. Dom and Ethan joined and loved it. We all agreed Dom was Dorothy.”

“Obviously.”

“And Ethan was Rose because he’s so sweet but has a fierce, protective side when pushed.”

“Worked out perfectly.”

Austin laughed. “It did. The show became an escape for us. One of us fucked up on a test?Golden Girlsmarathon. Someone got dumped or ghosted?Golden Girlsmarathon. Aunt Carolyn bought us these mugs, and Uncle Larry made the shelf as a gift when the four of us got an apartment off campus our sophomore year. It’s stayed with us since.”

“That’s amazing. It’s been too long since I watched that show.”

He smiled. “Maybe we could fix that sometime soon. Dinner then someGolden Girls?”

“That sounds perfect. I could cook something.”

Austin tugged his bottom lip between his teeth. “Or maybe we could go out somewhere.”

“Like a date?” I regretted the words as soon as they came out of my mouth. We weren’t putting labels on things. We were going slow. We were having fun.

Austin didn’t frown or backtrack. Instead, the most wonderful thing happened. The corners of his mouth turned up into a beautiful smile. “Yeah. Like a date.”

CHAPTER20

CALEB

Caleb:which of these look better for dinner in a nice restaurant? [photo of Caleb in a tight black V-neck shirt and gray slacks] [photo of Caleb in a dark-blue button-up and black slacks]

Charity:who you going to dinner with?

Caleb:does that matter?

Charity:I need to know the vibe you’re going for

Caleb:or you want dirt on my personal life and you’re holding your opinion hostage?

Charity: soit’s a personal dinner? Iiinteresting

Caleb:dammit. Yeah, it’s a date

Charity:with Beer Babe?

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