Page 54 of 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love

“Did it myself,” he says proudly. “C’mere.”

Brad doesn’t wait for me to step forward, instead swooping in to wrap the fanny pack around my midsection. It clicks into place, and he tugs my shirt a few times, as if needing to make sure everything is settled just so.

I look down at the ridiculous piece of adornment. I want to hate it. I want to hate it so bad.

“Pretty snazzy, right?” Brad asks, peeking around my shoulder. “Hey, your place is nice.”

“I’ll, uh, give you a tour sometime.”

“Maybe later if we get lucky, huh?” he says, waggling his eyebrows before his face does something complicated. “Wait, no. That doesn’t make sense. I wouldn’t stick around if Logan came back here. Heh. No, that’d be weird. Let’s go!”

I follow Brad to his car in a bit of a daze. It takes me longer than I’d like to admit to realize Brad isalsowearing a fanny pack. A neon green one. And on the front…

“Bub,” I say slowly. “Does that have my name on it?”

Brad grins, stopping near the front of his vehicle.Joeyshines in gaudy jewels on the front of his fanny pack. “Yeah, man! We match. Matching packs.”

“Shouldn’t we be wearing our own names?” I ask, more than a little bewildered.

He scoffs. “No way. Like this, everyone will know we’re besties. Bros gotta look out for each other’s fannies, dude.”

I…have no words.

“Did you get Logan one?” I ask, not sure what I want his answer to be. Frankly, I know hardly anything about this Logan, but Brad assures me he’s a winner.

Brad looks abashed. “I didn’t think of it. Do you think he’ll mind?”

Will Logan mind that his date is wearing the name of another man? A man who happens to be attending said date like an overprotective chaperone, who’s touchy-feely and cares so damn much it’s palpable, even though his feelings are painfully platonic?

“Should be fine,” I assure Brad, despite knowing we’re bound for disaster.

As it turns out, Logan seems…nice. His eyebrows rise as Brad greets him near the entrance to the stadium, his gaze flicking down first to Brad’s fanny pack and then to my own. But there’s a smile on his face when he and Brad embrace as if they’re best of friends.

Logan steps forward once they part, introducing himself before Brad has a chance to do the honors. “Logan Carmichael.”

I accept his outstretched hand, unable not to take him in at least a little. He’s handsome; I’ll give Brad that. It’s as if Brad took a list of his own attributes and found someone who matched. Logan has dark hair, stubble, what appears to be a leanly muscled build under his team t-shirt and jeans, and his eyes are green.

In any other circumstance, I’m sure I’d find Logan quite appealing. But with Brad standing beside him, smiling at me in that way he does, there’s simply no comparison.

“Joey Delgado,” I say, trying to offer my best smile.

I have to at leasttry, right?

“Nice to meet you, Joey,” Logan replies, his eyes roaming over me. A smile quirks his lips. “Should we head in?”

Brad produces our tickets from his fanny pack with an excited grin. “Let’s do it.”

We make our way through ticketing and past the concessions to our seats on the main concourse. Unsurprisingly, I end up sitting in the middle, between Brad and Logan. The stadium hasn’t quite filled up yet, but it will soon enough.

“Brad tells me you work for your uncle’s construction company,” Logan says.

I give him a nod. “That’s right. We do residential work, mainly remodels and custom jobs, like cabinetry. You’re a tax preparer?”

His smile tips up on one end. “I am. Exciting stuff, huh?”

I chuckle. “Hey, I never said it wasn’t. Do you enjoy it?”

“I do, actually. In a lot of ways, it’s predictable, which I like. It doesn’t keep me at the office after five.”

---