Page 40 of Becoming Us

“Not even a little. Att’s like a little brother to me.” His lips twitched.

“What?”

“I was just so sure you thought that. You always got clingier when I was around.” He pushed his glasses up, his smug smile ever-present.

“To be fair, I was always hanging off him anyway.”

He dragged the ice cream container toward himself. “Well, I was still right—and you weren’t always wrong.”

My eyebrow rose. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ezra—the asshole—took his sweet time scooping another bite, then finally answered, voice teasing and cryptic. “Your jealousy wasn’t always misplaced.”

We stared at each other. He waited, clearly expecting me to catch on. I wracked my brain, and then it hit me like a slap.

“You’re serious?”

He nodded, laughing. “Chase has such a huge crush on Att.”

“Has? Like, currently?” I reached for the pint, trying to pry it from his hands.

He shrugged one shoulder. “He knows he missed his chance. He’s also in a relationship, so I don’t know if it’s still active. But it’s one of those things that doesn’t just disappear.”

“Atty’s convinced he’s the straightest guy on the planet.”

“Yeah, but Att’s oblivious as fuck, so.”

“Does he know about you? That you’re into guys too?”

Ezra’s eyes flicked up to mine. “Yeah. We’ve talked about it.”

“So, you and Chase never…”

He let out a raspy laugh. “No. He’s also like a little brother. I would never.”

I toyed with the spoon, dragging it through the softened top, then let a slow smirk spread across my face. “What about Col?”

His eyes widened slightly before his expression snapped back to neutral. “What about Colin?”

“Nothing going on there either?”

“No. He’s my best friend?—”

“So, no family entanglements? Curious. Very curious.”

He narrowed his eyes again as I laughed.

“Colin’s not into…I mean, it’s not like that between us. We’re friends, and he’s not…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We’re not interested in each other like that,” he finished, but the damage was already done.

I had never seen Ezra Tate flustered.

And god, was it a beautiful thing.

“I see,” I said, letting it hang in the air.

“No, you don’t see. There’s nothing to see. Colin’s a total dog, and…” He huffed. “Not that it matters, because it’s not like that.”

“That’s rough.”