Page 52 of 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love

“I found you a date,” I tell him excitedly. “A really good one. I’ve been talking to this guy for over a week, and I think you’ll really like him.”

Joey is quiet, his hand suspended mid-twist on his water bottle cap.

“Unless you already have plans?” I say tentatively. “We could probably move it to another day. I haven’t bought the tickets yet.”

“Tickets?” he says, voice even.

“Yeah, a baseball game. Thought that’d be fun. I know you’ve been watching some of the games since moving here, and Logan is a big sports fan.”

“Logan,” he repeats.

“Yeah,” I say again, giving Joey’s foot a nudge with my own under the water. “Everything okay?”

He finishes uncapping his water, downing a couple sips before facing me. “You really want me to go on this date?”

I frown. “Of course. You didn’t think I’d forgotten about being the best wingman ever, did you? I’m not planning on letting you down, Joey-roo.”

He searches my face for a moment before nodding slowly. “All right. I’ll give it a try.”

“That’s the spirit,” I say, tousling his wet hair some. It’s so much fun I do it again, running my fingers through the strands until they’re sticking up straight.

Joey, I realize, is watching me with an odd expression.

“Sorry,” I mumble, smoothing his hair back down. “So, Thursday?”

“Thursday,” he agrees.

I mentally pump my fist. Thursday night, Joey and I will meet Logan. And who knows? Maybe my friend will fall deep in love.

It’s late when Joey drops me off. We stayed at his family get-together all afternoon and into the evening. Everyone was so nice and welcoming, and I completely understand why Joey is happy to be here with them.

It makes me happyforhim.

I take a quick shower to wash the pool off me before plopping onto my couch and calling Jason. He’s been busy all week, so we haven’t had a chance to talk.

“Hey,” he says.

“Birdieeeee,” I crow.

“Oh Lord.”

“Guess what? I swam in a pool today. Well, sorta. I didn’t swim so much asassisted glide, but it was awesome. Joey’s teaching me. He said we can go back anytime.”

Jason is silent for a beat, and I pop a chip into my mouth.

“Teaching you?” he finally asks. “What do you mean?”

“He’s teaching me how to swim.”

“You…you don’t know how to swim? How didn’t I know that?”

“I dunno,” I say with a shrug. “Guess it never really came up. Not like we ever went to the beach or anything.”

“I…” He trails off with what sounds suspiciously like a growl. “The fuck. I feel like a terrible friend for not knowing that.”

“Hey, man. It’s okay. Not your fault. I bet you didn’t know I like having my face sat on, either. Some things just don’t come up in conversation.”

“Bee,” my friend says slowly. “The fact that you’re putting queening and not knowing how to swim in the same category is—you know what? No. It’s not weird at all. I don’t even know why I’m surprised. So you saw Joey again today?”

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