Page 64 of Hale Yes
He mock pouts. “I’m going to be in Seattle that weekend or I totally would. Plus, I really wanted to check out that Cowboy Yoga class you were talking about.”
I swirl one of my french fries in ketchup. “It’s fine. I’ll just go by myself.”
Helix, who’s sitting to my right, turns his head with a scrunched brow. “Where are you going by yourself?”
“Stefan and Lukas’s drag club. It’s in a couple weeks.”
He purses his lips. “Hmm, I’ll go with you, if you want.”
I gape at him with the fry halfway to my lips. “You don’t have to do that, Helix.”
With a nonchalant shrug, he replies, “I don’t mind. I like drag shows.”
“You’ve been to a show?” Artie asks him, skepticism edging his tone.
“Yeah, when I was a freshman at MIT, my roommate had just come out. He enjoyed going to the shows, so I would go with him.” His lips bump up at one corner, forming his cute, dimpled half-smile. “Mark was still a little skittish and wasn’t ready for anyone to approach him yet, so I was there as kind of a buffer. But I had fun.”
Popping the crispy potato into my mouth, I chew and think. It couldn’t hurt anything, right? “Okay, if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“Not a bit, queenie. After all, what are fake boyfriends for?” He winks, and I’m pretty sure he heard what we were talking about earlier.Great.
“Oh. My. God,” Lehra says dramatically the second we’re in the restroom. “Helix is so hot. Tell me what’s going on with you two.”
“Nothing, I promise,” I say, holding up one hand like I’m taking the witness stand in a trial.
She huffs her displeasure. “You should date him for real.”
“He’s my boss,” I remind her, going into one of the stalls.
As soon as I pull my shorts down and sit, I hear my friend in the one beside me. “That only makes it hotter,” she sings. “He’s so perfect for you. Smart and sweet. I mean, really, Nic. He volunteered to go home with you and pretend to be your boyfriend when your sister was acting like a bitch.”
“He was just being a good friend.”
“And,” she goes on, ignoring my argument, “he’s taking you to dinner every Friday night. Not to mention that bit about him going with his friend to a drag club in college. That’s a really good man. He’s not some intolerant boob who thinks going to that type of show would lessen his manhood.”
“Great. Now I’m thinking about his manhood,” I say dryly, and Lehra snorts out a stream of giggles.
“He definitely has a crush on you, and I think you might just be crushing on him as well.”
I let that statement hang in the air, grateful to have the excuse to flush so I don’t have to answer right away. While I’m washing my hands, my friend exits her stall and meets my eye in the mirror while she takes the sink beside me. She’s not going to let me get away with not responding.
“Okay, fine. He’s attractive.” When she tilts her head, I admit, “Veryattractive, okay? But I’ve sworn off dating other scientists. You know this.”
She rolls her pretty blue eyes. “I think he could be different though. I bet he could light your Bunsen burner right quick.”
“Oh my god, you’re so ridiculous,” I scoff, though I can’t say I haven’t thought about Helix’s big hands all over my body, setting my skin on fire with every touch. “He’s just a really nice guy.”
“Mmmm, I bet he’s got a hidden dirty side though.”
I cut a side-eye at her. “What makes you think that?”
Lehra dries her hands and then taps her temple. “Kinky recognizes kinky, and I think Helix Hale is a freak.”
Super. That's just the image I need in my head when I have to share a bed with this man for another night.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Rah-rah, motherfucker
