Page 92 of Him Lessons

The grin immediately flat-lined when Flannel Dude spied Luke in the entryway.“Who the hell are you?”his dark eyes seemed to convey as they mugged each other.

“Luke,” Luke said succinctly. Then, “Who the fucking hell are you?”

“Gray!”

The excited feminine shriek had Luke shifting out of the way just in time for Andy’s roommate to swoop in. Reacting with impressive reflexes, the guy ditched the bag and flowers in the entryway to scoop her up.

“Oh my god, you came!” Kory cried, raining kisses on his face. Which was a similar shade of brown to Dylan’s, only if Luke had to guess, this dude probably had more Latino blood than Pacific Islander.

“Of course I came,” Gray said, palming the back of Kory’s pink pajama pants as he carried her through the living room like a man who’d done it plenty of times before. “What’s Yosemite got on a week spent with my woman selling merch to a bunch of cos-playing fantasy nerds outside Hall H?”

Kory’s answer to this was more kisses.

The two disappeared down a hall near the end of the kitchen island. Seconds later, there was the sound of a door shutting and music firing up in the bedroom beyond it.

“That’s Kory’s boyfriend,” Andy said unnecessarily.

“I gathered.”

“Gray’s from Sacramento. They have a long-distance thing going on. It’s not easy, but they really love each other, so they make it work.”

Welp. Too bad for Dylan.

Then again, Luke’s friend probably hadn’t shared more than a few conversations with Kory, and most of those had involved pickup orders for piña colada milkshakes, so Luke didn’t think the man would be too heartbroken.

He shrugged. “Awesome. Glad your roommate’s not depressed anymore.” Returning his full attention to Andy, Luke arched a brow. “So…you have a bird, Bird.”

Andy shot him a harassed look before striding into the kitchen with the chirpy little creature.

Luke followed them in. “Can I hold it?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“She’s an attack bird. She’ll peck your face off.”

Immediately, the ferocious beast fluttered from Andy’s shoulder to his and sidled up near his neck. There was a split second where Luke did wonder if the animal might actually go for his jugular before it simply bobbed its head and let out a series of excited-sounding squawks.

“Seriously, Petals!” Andy griped. “He’s not a freaking tree.”

Amused, Luke stroked the bird’s warm gray-brown feathers. “Don’t mind her, Petals. She’s had a long day. Why don’t you give me the tour?”

At the sink, Andy rolled her eyes as she washed her hands. “Drink?”

“Whatever you’re having,” Luke said, cockatiel twittering in his ear as he wandered the living room.

The space was a bit of a surprise. Soft taupe walls, carved mahogany furniture, plush purple sectional topped with beaded throw pillows in varying shades of cream. None of it fit what he knew of Andy style-wise — least of all the frilly pillows.

Catching his gaze, Andy sighed. “My mom picked those out. She and I moved in here when she was on a reset with my dad.”

“A reset?”

Another eye roll. “It’s a long story that ended with her moving back in with my dad and me staying here with Mis— I mean my mom’s friend Tiffany.”

“What happened to Tiffany?”

Andy made a face. “She ran off with a motorcycle dude.”

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