Page 85 of The MC's Little Brother

The same kid from that day came up to our table, a bright smile on his face. “Hey, again! I’m glad you’re back.”

Xander’s menu came up so fast, he almost smacked himself in the face with it. I wasn’t sure why at first, not until Mel distracted the kid and I glanced over the edge of the menu. Xander’s face was bright red, and he winced when the kid looked in our direction. I smothered a laugh, hiding my smile by pretending to rub my mouth while I studied the menu.

“What can I get you to drink?” the kid prompted.

“A Coke is fine,” I answered blandly. I was trying to play it cool, but Xander was making it really hard. Mel kicked me under the table, but she was just as bad as I was.

“And you?” The kid was now looking directly at Xander, who was blushing so hard the tips of his ears were red.

“A-Anything is fine,” he rushed out, sinking a little lower in his seat.

That wasn’t really something you could say to a server though, so I came to his rescue. “He’ll have a coke too.”

The kid nodded and wandered off to grab our drinks. Once he was out of earshot, I snorted and Xander punched me in the arm.

“Shut up!”

It felt like a huge weight was lifted off him. He didn’t flinch or panic, waiting for my reaction, he didn't clam up and stop speaking. He was just a kid, embarrassed about his reaction to a cute boy, and trying hard to climb under the table to avoid us.

“Aw, don’t be mean, Mattias, or I’ll tell him how the entire crew knew you had a crush on me for years,” Mel said, backing him up.

That made Xander grin, and when she threw her arm around his neck, he leaned into her with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes with a smile. “They noticed you too. Don’t act like you were any more subtle than I was.”

She lifted a shoulder. “I’m adorable and can get away with it. The next club party, you’re going to be poked at the entire night.”

My expression darkened. Shit. She wasn’t wrong. I hated being the center of attention in general, but having my whole club tease me didn’t sound like a good time.

“Maybe we should avoid club parties for a while.”

46

Melissa

Mattias could only avoid the crew for so long. I had something epic planned, and the guys ended up arguing so much about who got to join this particular excursion that more than half of them were going to be there. I fully planned on throwing Wyatt under the bus to draw the attention off Mattias if necessary, though. He didn’t notice it either.

At this point, Xander knew almost everyone in the crew. We were tackling big groups since that discomfort hadn’t yet faded. He hadn’t mentioned yet if he was ready to come out to the crew, but he was a lot more open and happy since coming out to Mattias. I didn't notice the level of tension he carried with him everywhere until he could finally let go of it and just be himself.

Getting an entire weekend off was a task and a half, and I had to pick up a few extra shifts to pull it off, so when I got off work on Friday night, I was wiped out. I trudged inside, dropping onto the couch beside Xander and Thor, and leaned my head against his shoulder.

“Bad shift?” he asked curiously. He wasn’t at the dramatic teen stage yet where he would shrug me off.

“Not bad. Just long. Please tell me there’s something good to eat. I haven’t eaten more than a bag of chips in fifteen hours.”

He hummed, his attention on his phone. “Mattias said something about burritos.”

God, I loved that man. He made coming home less of a chore, knowing there was good food waiting for me. Usually, I’d have a bowl of cereal or have to summon enough energy to either wait for takeout to arrive or make a bowl of mac and cheese. I was too tired to do much else.

“What’d I tell you about stealing my girlfriend?” Mattias grumbled from over our heads.

Xander made a face. “Gross.” He looked at me and wrinkled his nose apologetically. “No offense.”

I snorted, releasing him from pillow duty. “None taken? I guess? Who are you texting, anyway?”

His cheeks flushed, and he ducked his head, but Xander didn’t keep secrets anymore. He said they were too much work.

“I, uh… I made a friend at school. He’s nice.”

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