Page 112 of His Temptation

“Whoa, what’s with the frown?”

“Well, we’re going to dinner,” I said, biting my bottom lip. “With Jay.”

“Damn, you’re finally going to meet the blond bastard.” Ryan shook his head. “Just try not to smash his pretty face in.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Um, because he and my dad used to bang?”

“Ugh,” I groaned. “Kill me now. Please.”

“Why do you have to meet him anyway?” Ryan asked, eating more candy. It definitely wasn’t on his diet for baseball, but he was a known rule breaker.

“I don’thaveto meet him,” I corrected. “I want to. Emery said Jay wants to meet me too, so here we are. On the eve of my death.”

Ryan laughed. “So melodramatic.”

“You’d feel the same way if you were about to meet the superhot ex of a girl you were in love with.”

“All you gotta do is remember this,” Ryan said. “My dad choseyou. Not him. That has to mean something, right?”

“I guess so.” I played more of the zombie game, running my character around the map and bashing in the brains of the undead. “You dating anyone?”

“Nah,” he answered. “After the whole Lexi thing, I’m happy being single right now.”

“What about…” I tried to remember her name but couldn’t. “Um, the girl from the gym? Y’all were hitting it off last I heard.”

“Turns out she had a boyfriend and I was the side piece. Fucking bullshit.”

“Yeah, total bullshit. You’re not a side piece, Ryan, you’re the whole damn meal.”

He shoved my arm. “If only I was gay. I’d just date you.”

I scrunched up my face. “No, thanks. I’m more into your dad.”

Ryan made a gagging sound and smacked me with a pillow. “Mom called me yesterday. She said to be at her house by four on Sunday.”

Amber hadn’t taken the news of me dating Emery well at first. Like Ryan, she had even been a little pissed. But she had eventually calmed down and accepted it. She’d started inviting me over for Sunday dinner over the past month, and though awkward at times, it felt great to have her back in my life.

“I’m so glad she dumped that cowboy,” Ryan said, scrolling through his Instagram.

“Whydidshe break up with good ol’ country boy Dustin?”

“Because he was a homophobic twat,” Ryan answered. “It’s why I’ve never liked him. After Dad came out, Dustin used to get in my face and ask if I was a little cocksucker too. I never told you about it, because you didn’t know Dad was gay and that was a can of worms I wasn’t ready to open yet. When Dustin found outyouwere gay and started badmouthing you, Mom kicked him out.”

My chest warmed. “Oh.”

“She loves you, Cas.” He nudged me with his foot. “So do I. But if you and my dad ever get married, don’t expect me to call you Daddy.”

A strangled sound left me, a mix between a laugh and a snort. I hadn’t even considered that. Emery and I were still a far ways away from marriage, though.

I left Ryan’s dorm around five and drove back to Fort Smith. We were meeting Jay at Bricktown Brewery around seven thirty, and I wanted to have time to shower and fret over what I was going to wear before going to Emery’s house.

Usually I didn’t put much effort into my wardrobe, going for athletic clothes and simple tees and jeans. However, meeting Jay made me want to look my best. I would never be on his level of hotness, but I didn’t want to look like a creature that had just crawled out of the sewer either.

Back at my dorm, I showered and walked into the room with a towel around my hips.

Vincent came through the door and jumped when seeing me. “Sorry!” He closed the door and went over to sit on his bed. “Oh yeah, you have dinner plans tonight. You excited?”