Page 45 of Pretty Dogs

"Good,"Romansays, smiling warmly atDallas.Thenhe goes back to picking hair off his brush and piling it on the floor.

Myoldest friend sticks out his lower lip. "Wait, you weren't together already?Ineed to return your one-year anniversary present."

"Scout."Romanthrows his brush across the room with terrifying precision, nailing his boyfriend in the shoulder whileScoutcurls up in a laughing ball.

"Thatwas easier thanIexpected,"Dallasmurmurs.

"Itold you so."

Hepries his fingers out of mine and pokes me in the chest. "I'mstill going to hurt you.ButI'mgoing to do it with clean hair."

16

DALLAS

“Whoseidea was this?”Imutter, eyeingBeckas he circles the packed parking lot in search of an open space.Itwas mine, butInever claimed all my ideas were good.Igot so excited about having a real boyfriend thatInever stopped to consider whether going on an actual date was more fun than just watchingNASCARnaked in bed and eating cookies.

“Yourshirt is giving me an anxiety attack,”Iadd. “Ithasbuttonsdown the front.”Ithought the suit he’d buy for our wedding someday would be the only collared shirt to ever touch his body, but he pulled this one out of his ass and sprung it on me.

“Oh,I’mvery fucking aware.”Hecuts the engine, then slumps back in his seat and admires me. “Youlook hot, though.”Reachingacross, he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear that must have escaped from my braid.Hisrough fingers linger along the shell of my ear, then slide down to hook behind the top button of my pale blue shirt and tug gently.Hetilts his head, eyes glinting in the twilight as he drinks me in likeI’ma brand new miracle every single day.Asmile curls the corner of his mouth. “Mypretty boy asks for a date, he gets a date.”Thegrin widens. “Andhe doesn’t complain about it.”

Craningmy neck,Ipeer across the lot to where dozens of classic sports cars are lined up with their hoods open.Itwas the most interesting free event with food that we could find.Ifeel weirdly fidgety and bashful tonight, andIcan’t getMomout of my head.Shewould have acted likeIwas going to prom or something, fussing with my clothes and taking a photo ofBeckandIin the foyer.Herlittle boy’s first date is something neither of us knewIcould have, not like this.Atthe end of the night, she’d be waiting up in her robe with two cups of tea to hear every detail of how it went.

“Hey.”Iblink atBeck’svoice.Hecame around the car to open my door, and his puzzled stare makes me realize my eyes are all wet.Ihuff a breath and swipe my arm across them.

“Sorry.I’mfine.”

Hesteps back to let me stand up, but keeps his arms on the car so thatI’mhemmed in by his body, protected from the busy crowds. “Yourmom?”

Inod, then study the uncharacteristically quiet, shadowy depths of his eyes. “Yourstoo, huh?”

Hetilts his chin up in assent. “Ithink she would have been okay with me being gay.AndIknow she would have liked you.”

“Shewould have said you look handsome.”Hesmiles hesitantly whenItug at the front of his black dress shirt. “Shealso would have told you your buttons are mismatched and fixed them for you.”

“Fuckinghell.”Hespreads his hands and glares down at himself. “Whoinvented these damn things?”

Asappy giggle bubbles up in my chest beforeIcan stop it.It’sbeen almost a week since our night in the forest, andI’mstill utterly giddy that this man who has been the center of my world for two yearsbelongsto me now.Beckwaits with his hands on his hips asIquickly slip open the buttons.Bythe timeIdo them all up again, his hands have shifted to my waist, and his nose is brushing through my hair.Itip my head back and let his mouth find mine.Kissingis so new that each one feels like my first.Ormaybe every kiss withBeckhamAlexander, for our entire lives, will feel as fiery and curious and tender as the first.

“Startwith food?”Iask hopefully.BeckandRomanare made of muscle andScoutis just greedy, soIalways let them eat the most.Nowthat we’re here,Ifully plan on having two or three of the free burgers promised on the flier.

“Howis that even a question?”Heslides his arm around my shoulders and steers us toward the smell of charred meat.Neitherof us wants trouble, especially whenI’mstealth, so we break apart as we approach the buffet tent and walk side by side.ButIcan feel him right there, as strong and possessive as if he were gripping my hand.

He’sso busy watching me that he almost crashes into the couple in front of us in the food line and has to apologize. “Shutup,” he mumbles, grinning as he watches me try not to laugh.

Thisshow has more classics than muscle cars, so everyone is at least ten years older than us.Someof them eyeBeck, whose rolled-up sleeves and open collar do nothing to hide the tattoos and scars.Gangviolence has impacted most people in this area, leading to a general sense of mistrust and resentment.Yetanother reasonIwant him out, before some misunderstanding ends in disaster.

Rightwhen we get to the buffet table,Beck’sphone rings. “Hey,Scout?”Cradlingit to his ear, he grabs two blue plastic plates.Amoment later, his eyebrows furrow and he hands them both to me, mouthingsorry.Worrystirs in my gut asIwatch him step out of line and walk a few paces away, but my boyfriend and my stomach will both hate me ifIleave without any food.Scootingboth plates down the table,Iheap them with beans and macaroni salad as quickly asIcan.OnceI’vesecured two burgers,Ibalance everything in my arms and search forBeck.Hewaves me over from the edge of the lot, and the look on his face tells me our date just got canceled.

“Arethe guys okay?”

Henods, squeezing the back of my neck since no one is watching. “It’sTheoandCalvin.”

Icouldn’t getTheoin at the grocery store, but based on his sporadic updates he’s been taking odd jobs for the last week while they live in the trailer.WhenCalvincame up one evening to visitHobbes, he gave the impression that sleeping under a roof, even a shitty one, has made his brother a lot less grouchy.Evenso, they’ve been weighing on the back of my mind.Theycan’t stay in a rickety sex camper forever, but no one has any answers about where they should go next. “Whathappened?”

“TheocalledScout.ApparentlyCalvinbroke his arm and got taken to anERdowntown, but he’s alone.Someoneneeds to go get him, and we have the car.”

“Howdid he break his arm and why was he by himself?”IhandBeckhis plate, and he shovels in macaroni salad with a fork as we walk back to theCivic.

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