Page 17 of The Bro Date
Daija is beautiful inside and out. Her makeup is perfectly applied after a long day of classes, including her lip gloss, and her long box braids are flawlessly twisted into a bun on top of her head. Most of the guys on campus would kill for the chance to spend a Friday night with her. Especially Jake.
I smile, sitting next to her and accepting a handful of colorful candies that I immediately pop into my mouth.
“Come on, tater tot,” she coos at Tate, patting the bed on her other side.
With a half-smile and full eye roll, Tate crawls to his spot on the other side of Daija.
“So, Toby, I have to ask. Does Shane know you’re doing this?” Tate suddenly asks, catching me off guard.
“Uh . . .”
My lack of an answer tells him enough, and they both erupt into a fit of giggles.
“Oh boy, you’re gonna be in trouuuble,” Tate singsongs.
“What?” I gasp, my brows creasing with worry.
“Like,bigtrouble.”
“Oh, stop. Don’t listen to him, Tobes. All he means is that Shane cares about you, and it’s no secret that he’s super protective of you,” Daija explains with a soft expression.
My stomach does a backflip at her words, knowing it’s true, but still feeling the flutter deep down.
“It’ll be okay, babe. You like guys, and he’ll just have to learn to deal with it and share you.Now, hand it over,” Daija says with a stern smile, holding her palm out and wiggling her long, pointed nails. “Let’s get this party started.”
I reluctantly place my phone in her hand, and she starts tapping away, setting up my new profile.
On a gay dating app.
I almost can’t believe it’s happening.
“Girl, I don’t know how you do that so fast with those talons,” Tate chuckles.
“Oh, shut it. You’re just jealous,” she snaps back at her best friend.
“Yeah, bitch. I am,” Tate laughs. “They’re fab.”
Daija smiles wide and kisses the air. “Thanks, babe. Now, let’s focus. We’ve got a profile to slay, starting with the perfect pic.”
She goes to my camera roll and begins scrolling through my photos, finding one of me on the beach in Key West that Gran took. I’m smiling in my short, flowered trunks, showing off my lean body while looking completely happy and carefree. I like it.
“Oh, yeah. The gays are going to drool all over you,” Tate declares with glee. “You’re a twink, honey.”
“Mhm,” Daija agrees, “and we haven’t even gotten to his bio yet.”
“They’re gonna eat him alive,” Tate says with an evil chuckle, like I’m not even here.
I swallow hard and bite my lip while my two best friends cackle like criminal freaking masterminds. I’m not sure if I should be terrified or excited for what’s to come.
Well, it didn’t take long forGrindrto work. It’s Saturday, and I have a coffee date this afternoon. My first ever date with a guy.
I was flooded with messages as soon as my profile went public last night, and I honestly had no idea there were so many local guys that were . . .well, into guys.
Andy, my date, goes to Crescent Bay University, too. He’s a junior in Communications, but I’ve never seen him around before. When he messaged me the name of the coffee shop, Ialmost made up an excuse to bail when I realized that it’s right across the street from The Salty Sandbar.
Shane reacted better than I could ever have imagined when I told him I’m gay, but that still doesn’t mean I want him to see meflirtingwith a guy. But I also don’t want Andy to think I’m some picky, whiny bitch, so I can’t ask him to change the spot either.
I mean, Shane’s always in the kitchen, so I’m sure he’ll never see me anyway.
