Page 60 of 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love

Joey inhales a sharp breath, his stomach dancing under my fingertips. I’m not sure when my hands moved to his front, but his stomach is just as warm as his back. He feelsgood. Solid and strong. But comfy, too. I wonder if he’d be up for cuddling again. Maybe he’d even let me get rid of his shirt this time so we could be skin to skin. I could crawl on top of him, soak up his warmth.Lie on that cozy chest of his and trace his abs with my fingers or the tip of my—

I still, my thoughts coming to an abrupt halt, my heart pounding so hard in my chest I swear I can hear it.

“Joe?” I croak. “Would you excuse me for a minute?”

“Yeah,” he breathes.

Slowly, I pull my hands out from under Joey’s shirt and take a step back. I don’t meet his gaze as I slip past, heading out of the bedroom. I make my way swiftly down the stairs, walk outside, and jog around to the back of his small garage where I’m out of view. My hands shake as I pull my phone from my pocket.

Jason doesn’t answer my call.Fuck.

Okay, okay. He’s probably working. It’s fine.

I let out a breath and try Cas next.

“Hello?”

“Oh, thank God,” I whisper. “Cat-man, you’ve gotta help me.”

“What’s going on?” he asks, sounding calm. Cas is always calm. I appreciate it more than I can say at the moment.

“So, uh…you know Joey? My gym-dude? My…othergym-dude?”

“Yeah,” Cas says. “We met, remember? At the 5k?”

“Right,” I say on an exhale. “Um. I think I like his stomach.”

There’s a pause on the other end of the line. I’ve never done well with pauses.

“Like, I want to taste his belly button?” I explain. “Or come on his abs. Maybe both?Oh shit.”

“Okay, breathe,” Cas says. “You know that’s perfectly fine, right?”

“But he’s my friend,” I hiss. “It’s pretty rude to imagine painting his stomach, don’t you think?”

“Painting his stomach with… No, I got it,” he says. “You know a lot of relationships start as friendships, right?”

“Sure,” I say slowly. “But… I’ve never wanted to come on a dude before. What if it’s just…I don’t know. Some kind of primal urge? Like, some sort of cavemanthis is my friend so I’ll mark him as minething?”

Cas is quiet for a couple seconds. “I really don’t think that’s a thing.”

I groan.

“It kind of sounds like you might be attracted to him,” Cas points out.

Yeah, it kinda does.

“Jason is going to be pissed he missed this,” he goes on, sounding fond.

“Yeah,” I mutter. “He’ll yell. Lovingly, of course.”

“Of course,” Cas agrees.

I heave out a breath. “Cas… I don’t get it. I’ve never been interested in a guy before. What’s going on?”

He’s quiet for a moment. Finally, he says, “I think sexuality is a lot more fluid than people assume. And even if you do swing primarily one way, I think there’s always room for the exceptions. The people that just…doit for you. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. Have you talked to him about how you’re feeling?”

“No,” I admit, voice quiet. “I just realized, so now I’m hiding between his garage and a shrubbery. I don’t know what to say.”

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