Page 74 of The Bro Date
“Good,” she says, holding her head high and returning to her seat across from us and blowing me a kiss.
“Well, now that that’s settled,” I giggle. “Everyone dig in!”
Shane’s risotto is perfectly cooked and deliciously creamy, filled with fresh seafood he picked up from the pier himself. The tender lumps of buttery lobster are my favorite thing about it.
“Mmm. That was amazing,” I say to Shane, rubbing my full belly. The entire table agrees fervently, nearly licking their bowls clean.
“Thanks, guys. I’ll go grab dessert.” Shane rises from his seat and disappears into the kitchen with a stack of empty bowls.
I’m so full, but I always have room for Shane’s banana pudding.
It’s my absolute favorite dessert.
“So, does this count as our first date?” Jake asks Daija with hearts in his eyes.
“Did you pay? Or cook?” she asks with a raised brow, swirling her wine around her glass and peering at him out of the corner of her eye.
“Uh, no?” Jake replies with a question, looking confused as if he’s unsure of the right answer.
“Then no, this doesn’t count as our first date, Jakey-poo.”
“Are you saying I have a chance, though?” Jake’s face lights up like I’ve never seen before.
Daija shrugs noncommittally, pushing her braids off her shoulder and taking a sip of wine. Jake clasps his hands together and looks up at the ceiling, mouthingthank you, Jesus.
“You need to watch your boy before he ends up heartbroken,” I hear Tate whisper to Spencer, and I can’t help but listen in.
“Jake’s a big boy; he can handle himself,” Spencer chuckles.
“And what about you?” Tate asks, lowering his voice.
“What about me?”
“Are you a big boy?” Tate’s question is so breathy, I almost don’t hear it.
Rolling my lips inward, I press them together to stop from laughing. I don’t know why Tate has always had a thing for straight guys, but Daija confirmed he’s been like this since high school.
What I’mnotexpecting is Spencer’s husky response. “I can show you later and let you be the judge.”
“Challenge accepted,” Tate murmurs, sucking on his lower lip.
“Dessert is served,” Shane announces, and I quickly shut my gaping mouth before my friends notice my eavesdropping.
But seriously though, what the fuck is going on?Does this old house have some sort of magical powers to turn straight boys gay?
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
TOBY
Things are going great.
Shane and I are officially boyfriends. The dinner party with our friends went better than expected, and when we hold hands on campus, no one cares. Even though I know I need to tell my parents before they find out on their own, I just haven’t been able to face them yet. College is a lot to handle, and I don’t need their added stress.
Besides, I’ve been so busy with my classes and practicing violin that I’ve hardly even seen my boyfriend. Finals are coming up, and it’s been pretty all-consuming for both of us, especially with Shane’s work schedule added in.
Even though we live in the same house, I miss him, so I asked him to take the weekend off. I decided to plan a getaway for us. We deserve a break from how hard we’ve been studying, and Shane deserves a break from work. After all of the fun dates he’s planned for us, now it’s my turn.
“You gonna tell me where we’re going?” Shane asks while I lie on my stomach, half on him and half between his legs. We’re relaxing in bed after he just got off work, watching some old comedy.
