Page 58 of Salacious Star

I ignored the message, though, keeping my attention focused on my friend. Who was looking at me like he expected something out of me.

"What?" I finally asked, sipping my beer again.

Brandon cocked his head to the side, evaluating. "You love him."

The words hit me in the middle of my chest, right where my heart was suddenly pounding, and I scoffed. "That's ridiculous. Wejuststarted dating."

Brandon snickered. "And that means anything? Insta-love is a romance trope for a reason, you know."

The fact that Brandon knew romance novel tropes was ordinarily something that I would have given him shit for, but I didn't have it in me at the moment. A burst of laughter from over at the pool tables startled me enough to flinch, but I turned my feelings over in my mind, looking at them from every fucking angle.

And found a lot of stuff that I already knew, and some things that I didn't.

Like the fact that Xander had a tiny stuffed moose, and he was both embarrassed by it and owned it at the same time. That his brother was a librarian, and Xander was pretty sure that Ethan had a crush on Vincent, based on the one interaction the two of them had had. Like the fact that Xander ate my food like it was the best thing that he'd ever eaten, and then kissed me with lips that tasted of tomato sauce and garlic bread afterwards, a combination that should have been disgusting in a kiss but had made my head spin with joy.

Like the fact that I fuckinghatedthe idea of him fucking anyone else at the studio, though I knew that came with the territory of what we did. Not for me - finding costars that worked well with me was hard enough - but I knew for a fact that Xander wouldn't have the same issue. He was sweet and accommodating and would go along with just about anything that he was directed to do, even if I wasn't the other one on camera with him.

The thought made jealousy and possessiveness flare to life inside of me, andthat,more than anything, made me slump back in my chair with a low groan.

"God fucking damn it. I'm a cliche."

Brandon burst into a violent fit of laughter, laughing so hard that tears sprang to the corners of his eyes, and when he looked at me again, he took one look at my face before he dissolved into giggles all over again.

He laughed so long that people started looking at us funny, and I finally rolled my eyes, kicking my friend under the table and halting his mirth.

"Yes, ha ha. I'm hilarious with myfeelings." I arched an eyebrow at him. "You watch, you're going to be next. Someone is going to come in the front door and just slip right past all your defenses. And I am going to fuckinglovewatching it."

Brandon snickered again before he looked at me fondly. "Yeah, sure, that'll happen. I'll let you know when Perfect Mystery Man appears." He winked at me, and then lifted one hand to gesture at Mark, offering a smile when the bartender looked our way. "Shots, Mark!"

Mark nodded, and I huffed out a breath when Brandon looked back at me. "I didn't plan on getting drunk tonight, you know."

He winked, kicking back at me before he settled back in his seat. "Yeah, but you weren't planning on realizing that you were in love tonight, either. I think that warrants something stronger than beer."

27

Xander

The pounding on my front door came a little after ten thirty, and I furrowed my brow as I glanced at my phone - at the text message that Tristan hadn't responded to, despite how fuckingadorableI was being - and stood up. I set aside Minion the Moose - I was eight when I got him and thought that being a supervillain was Life Goals, don't judge me - and slowly approached the front door, my phone in hand and 911 dialed on the lock screen just to be safe.

The person on the other side of the door knocked again, and then I heard a low giggle that sounded a little too unhinged to be someone trying to hurt me. A murderer wouldn't have knocked on the front door anyway, though I stood by my caution as I approached it.

A glance through the peep hole made me roll my eyes and my heart flutter in tandem, and I pulled open the door to see Tristan standing on the other side with a wide, sloppy grin on his face. "Tris, what are you doing here this late?" I furrowed my brow. "Wait. Hold on. Three steps back. How did you know my address?"

"Babyyyyyyyy." He dragged out the slurred word, swaying forward towards me enough that I almost stepped back lest he bump into me, and then he brushed the tip of his nose against mine. The scent of whiskey drifted across my face, making me wrinkle my nose, and I couldn't stop myself from laughing a little.

"Holy fuck, you're drunk."

Tristan nodded enthusiastically, his curls bouncing over his head as he did so. "Was out w'Brandon. Talked aboutfeelings." He widened his eyes, as if to communicate exactly howawful that was, and then he nodded again. "And you. He knows 'bout us."

I laughed again, reaching out and stroking one of his curls off his forehead. "I know he does, silly. I told him, too. Before the shoot the other day, he came and talked to me."

Tristan furrowed his brow, and then he nodded sagely, as if something made sense. "Thas why he wasn't 'prised..." he mumbled. Then he looked up at me, his smile wide and bright again. "I got your address from Vincent. Got it from texting Ethan. Because he has Ethan'sphone number."

He wiggled his eyebrows at me, and that...that was information that I didn't have before. I was going to have to go and talk to my brother about being a dick and keeping secrets. Twins didn't do that.

"Ah. Okay. Please tell me that you didn't drive, though?" I looked behind him and sighed when I didn't see a car, and Tristan scoffed.

"Ubered, silly." Tristan shook his head, waving a hand around in a loose gesture that was almost too uncoordinated to achieve the nonchalance he was going for. "I can't drive right now! I'm too drunk!"

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