Page 37 of Finance Bros

I decide it can’t hurt. He’s got something like thirty thousand followers on TikTok just for being so damn pretty while he talks about how cute he looks in the clothes people send him. That’s his hook, trying on clothes and popping his ass out as he looks at himself in a mirror. His Instagram is more refined, mostly professional modeling photos, but he’s a slutty little thing on TikTok.

“It’s just his name. CalyxTeal. With an X.”

“Calyx?”

“It’s the outside of a flower,” I say. “Did you take biology in school?”

She makes a pissy cat sound like I’m being rude.

I ignore it. If I tried to smooth out my rough edges all the time, I’d have no time to think about anything else. Anyway, Bailey doesn’t take it personally.

“Whoa—this is aguy?”

“Pretty, right?” I ask.

Malcolm’s scowl is visceral. I feel it in my soul.

“Yep, he’s a real boy.”

“Not trans?”

“Nope.”

“Lemme see.” Mal grabs the phone while Bailey is mid-scroll. His scowl deepens. “Who the fuck is this?”

“A guy at my gym,” I tell him slowly like I’m explaining it to a child.

“Is this your?—”

“I’m not fucking gay, Malcolm. Jesus Christ. Get the fuck over yourself.”

Bailey jolts and looks from me to Malcolm.

He doesn’t seem to notice her strong reaction. “Well, what am I supposed to think when you?—”

I give him a harsh warning look and lift my hand off my leg,ready to shut him up with my fist if he brings that shit up in front of Bailey.

“Called him pretty,” Malcolm self-corrects.

I pivot quickly and gesture at the screen. “Do you not think he’s pretty?”

“Objectively,” Bailey says, “He’s beautiful.”

“I mean if he’s a model…” Malcolm mumbles, studying the screen where Calyx is showing himself off in a mint green swimsuit that barely covers his ass. Mal’s cheeks are pink, and his breaths are heavy. He shoves the phone back into my hand, from which, Bailey promptly takes it back to keep scrolling.

I meet Mal’s eyes, and the pit in my stomach doubles in size. “You’re straight,” he says bluntly, a clear challenge in the words.

I gesture at Bailey. “Do you fucking mind?”

“She doesn’t care,” he says.

“I’m actually listening very closely, so if you two need a minute…”

“We don’t,” I say.

He gives his head a small shake like I’m not getting off that easy.

“It’s okay,” Bailey says. “I wanna work on this from home. No offense, but this place is the worst. I also want to send a blast email out to everyone I went to college with to comment on the video so we get some early engagement.”

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