Page 133 of 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love

“Now I can see your boyfriend’s—Ahh.Joey! Get him off me. Mercy. Mercy!”

Jason drops back to the floor, punching me on the shoulder—hard—before skulking off.

“Geez,” I mutter, rubbing my arm. “Strong dude. Excuse me.”

Joey nods, giving the side of my neck a quick squeeze before heading over to chat with some of the guys. I watch him for a moment, smiling softly, and then I go search for my friend. I find Jason sitting at a table in the back of the room and plunk down on a stool beside him.

“You know I’d never actually do that,” I tell him seriously. “I respect your relationship with Cas, and I know you don’t like people objectifying him.”

“You make it really hard to stay mad at you,” he mumbles.

I snort. “I’m lovable. I think it’s my face.”

“It’s something, all right,” he says before sighing. He nods toward the other partygoers, and my eyes shoot straight to Joey. “You really love him, don’t you?”

“Fuck, Birdie. I do. He just… He makes everything better, you know? It’s like…”

“Like what?” he asks when I don’t go on.

I let out a breath. “You’re my big love, Jason. You know that. You’ve been my closest friend since kindergarten. My brother. You’ve always been there for me, no matter what. But Joey…”

I look at my boyfriend again, my chest feeling so damn full it’s a miracle it doesn’t burst.

“Joey is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. He’s my other half in a way I didn’t know was possible. It’s not that he completes me. We just…worktogether, like we were always meant to find one another and become something bigger than our individual wholes. Which…sounds weird when I say it like that. I’m not talking aboutholes, like our—”

“Yeah, no, I got it,” Jason says quickly.

“I just love him,” I go on. “Different than how I love you, but just as meaningful. He’s going to be the person I live with. Start a family with, maybe. He’s going to be there in the mornings as I drink my first cup of coffee and at night when I need a warm pair of arms to help me fall asleep. I’m going to grow old with that man. And I’m going to love him every step of the way.”

“Goddamn it,” Jason mutters, swiping at his face. “Fuck, Bee.”

“Iknow. I’ve gone soft. Well…notsoft. Joey makes me harder than anyone, I swear. The other day, he put on his safety goggles and proceeded to rub my hardwood until—”

“Ahh,” Jason says, shaking his head and covering his ears. “No. Nope. I don’t need to hear it.”

I pull his arm down. “Let’s just say my sawdust gotallover him.”

“I hate everything,” he mumbles.

I give my bestie’s head a pat. “Oh, look! Emil and Christian are here.”

I hop out of my seat to greet the newcomers, both of whom work at Elite 8 Studios. Like Dixon and Niko, they’re dating and often film together. Emil has the nerdy look down pat, glasses included, whereas Christian is a total femboy and rather toppy, from what I’ve heard. And like usual when I see him, he’s wearing…

“Oh my God,” I whisper to myself, beelining for Joey at the last second. He looks over at me as soon as I attach to his side.

“Yes?” he says in amusement.

“Joey, look,” I hiss, nodding over to Christian and his thin silver belly chain. “I couldchainyou, dude.”

“That sounds…concerning.”

“Isn’t it pretty?”

“Itis,” he says slowly. “But…”

“But what?” I prompt, letting Joey go as he reaches for the hem of his sweatshirt. My pulse spikes. “But what, Joseph?”

He tugs the material off over his head.

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