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He steps out of his room and closes the door behind him. “You look really nice,” he says.
“You’ve seen me in all this.”
“Shut your mouth and let me compliment you on ourdate.”
Fuck, this is so silly.
But I’m eager to share my news. “I told my Mom and Dad I’m going on a date.”
“With me?”
I nod. “Yup. Dad almost kicked me out of the house for dating a rival frat.”
“I’m not justarival frat,” he says. “I’mtherival frat. But it sounds like they took the whole me-dicking-you-down thing well.”
“Shut the hell up. You know I didn’t mention that.”
He beams. “I’m glad it went well, Lance.” He hooks an arm around me and tugs me close, offering a firm kiss. When he pulls back, he says, “Reminds me that I need to tell my mom about this cool guy I’m going on a date with.”
“Do I know him?”
“Maybe. You familiar with Alpha Theta Mu?”
“Isn’t everyone?”
“You cocky little fuck. Have me hooked on you, and now you act like you run the world.”
“I mean, I do have Ty Lancaster going on a date with me, so it’s earned.”
He squints. “Fair.”
Despite the nerves, being able to play around with him like usual emphasizes what’s important—it’s just Ty. I don’t need to stress or worry about impressing him. Evidently, he’s already into me.
While Ty and I wait for an Uber to take us to the festival, I catch him up about some of the other stuff Mom and Dad talked about—work and their social lives—and when we arrive, we grab wristbands and head in.
As we enter the festival, I notice Ty keeping some distancebetween us, glancing around uneasily. I must admit, it’s making me insecure. “You sure about this?”
“Huh?” he says, as if pulling himself out of a daze.
“You know, it’s okay not to be a date-y guy.”
“Sorry, I’m overthinking it. I really don’t know what to do right now. And this is not me at all.”
“Let’s put on the training wheels. How about we hit some rides, and you can stand closer than a foot away from me, to start.”
He snickers, though I can tell by his expression he’s still uncomfortable. And I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge I’m worried that maybe he’s realizing this whole dating thing isn’t for him. Maybe we should have stuck to fucking around.
But then he takes my hand, playing with it, interlocking our fingers, and I see him visibly relax.
“There,” he says. “Feel better already.”
There go my cheeks again.
We start through the festival, and I feel a jolt of pride in being the guy he’s holding hands with. As much as I enjoy our nightly fun, it’s nice being out with him in daylight, knowing that everyone’s seeing my hot Ty holding my hand.
“Maybe we hit the bumper cars first,” he says.
“How about we do that after the jumbotron?”