Page 8

EIGHT

BANE

Date night: check.

Granted, Jerryn doesn’t know it’s a date, but that’s kind of the point. He’ll be comfortable with me and we can just enjoy the evening. I still haven’t quite figured out how to work the romance in without freaking him out, but I will.

Now it’s just a matter of counting down the hours until we can head out. I already booked us a car to get to the city, made reservations at Tutto, and bought the museum tickets online, so the evening should go nice and smooth.

It’s been ages since I’ve been on anything even resembling a real date.

I gave that up right about the time that I decided I didn’t want to pursue a relationship if it wasn’t with Jerryn.

I came to loathe the dating game—the awkward getting to know each other talk, the false behavior, the whole dance of it—but with Jerr, it’s totally different.

I’m excited to show him what we could have.

Actually, what we already do have. I just need to reframe it for him.

When he joins me at the bar where I’m talking with Florian, I can tell he’s excited from the gorgeous pink blush on his cheeks and the sweet smile on his lips.

“Ready to get out of here?” I ask.

He nods happily. “Yeah.”

“What are you guys doing tonight?” Florian asks.

Jerryn’s face lights up. “We’re going to the museum. There’s an exhibit I’m excited to see.”

“Oh yeah? Which one?”

“Titanic. I was really into the movie for a while and I watched all the documentaries. It’s gonna be so cool to see what they have on display.”

“Sounds like a fun date.”

Jerryn’s smile falters slightly. “It’s really nice of Bane to go with me. He’s a true best friend.”

Jerr’s response irks me, but I pat his shoulder. “It’s not a hardship to spend time with you, whatever we’re doing.”

Jerr turns and searches my eyes as his bright smile slowly returns. “Thanks.”

“Have fun,” Florian says as he turns to greet a customer.

With my hand still on his shoulder, I guide Jerryn out the front door and down the sidewalk toward home.

“Quick shower and change? The car will be here in about an hour to get us.”

He nods, glancing at me as we walk. “Thanks for doing this.”

“I’m happy to do it.”

At the house we go our separate ways to our bedroom suites.

I hop into the shower, running through how I want the night’s events to go in my head.

My plan is definitely to treat this like a date, but I gotta play it cool too.

If I go too hard, he’ll ask questions, and if he figures out what I’m up to, who knows how he’ll react.

After my shower, I gaze at my reflection while I run gel through my hair. I can’t believe it’s taken me twenty years to get up the nerve to romance my best friend, but I guess it’s better late than never, right?

If everything goes the way I hope it does, we’ll end the night in my bed, his body curled up next to mine.

Is it hard to keep my hands in safe places when he’s wrapped around me?

Yep, but I’m an adult who can handle myself, and I’d rather have him in my arms than not. I can jack off in the shower later.

I dress in dark slacks and a light blue button-down shirt. Date appropriate attire complete. After fastening my watch to my wrist, I glance at my reflection one last time, then exit my room to go right next door to Jerr’s.

I knock and then let myself in. “Jerr?”

“One sec.” He appears a moment later in the doorway to his bedroom, wearing nothing but navy blue briefs and one sock. He’s holding a shirt in one hand and a pair of pants in the other. “Is this okay to wear?”

I look down at the clothes again, smiling when I see it’s a baby blue shirt and dark pants. “We’ll look like twins, but I’m okay with that if you are.”

He blinks, looking at my outfit, then chuckles. “Okay. Be right out.”

“I’ll be here.”

While I wait, I look around his space at the shelves full of video games he’s collected over the years.

He’s got an impressive movie collection too.

On another bookcase, books he’s been amassing since he was still a kid are neatly lined up, organized by title so he can always find the one he’s looking for.

There are touches of Lowen’s designer influence in the space, from the super comfortable couch to some of the decor, but mostly I just see Jerryn.

All the things he enjoys are on display.

“Okay, I’m ready,” he says from behind me. He’s still tucking his shirt in when I twist to face him. “Been awhile since we dressed up.”

“It has.” I glance at my watch. “Good timing. The car should be here in a few minutes.”

Jerryn nods, walking over to me and straight into my arms. “I’m really excited.”

“It’s gonna be fun.”

With my hand on his lower back, I guide him out of his room and downstairs. It’s still nice out, so we don’t need jackets just yet. I finish locking up just as the car arrives.

Now it’s time for me to move into date mode. I skip ahead a few beats so I can open the back door for Jerryn, and when he doesn’t react to that, I realize with some amusement that I always grab the door for him.

I join him, greeting the driver as we confirm our destination.

Jerryn practically vibrates with excitement.

Dang. I should have figured this one out sooner.

He really wanted to go but played it off to me, afraid I wouldn’t want to.

I wonder if there are other things he’s keeping from me because he thinks I wouldn’t like them.

That’s okay though. I’ll just pay even more attention to the things he says. I got this.

I put my hand on his thigh and squeeze gently. “Excited?”

He nods, smiling sheepishly. “It might be lame.”

“Probably not though. This exhibit has been touring the world, so it must be pretty impressive.”

“Maybe.” He bites his bottom lips for a second. “It’s nice that I can totally geek out with you.”

“Always.”

He turns to me, his pretty hazel eyes illuminated by the setting sun and city lights as we pass.

Jerryn is by far the best looking person I’ve ever met, and that’s saying something.

His attractiveness is so real and simple.

He’s completely unaware that he’s so gorgeous too.

He never catches the head turns or the way customers fawn over him.

As close as we are, he has zero clue that he’s the center of my universe. It’s kind of sweet.

But I can tell something is on his mind. I know his body language well, and as he fidgets, chews on his bottom lip, and exhales loudly every few seconds, I just know.

“Something else on your mind, Jerr?”

He startles slightly, like he forgot I was next to him. “No, not really.”

“Okay.” That’s a lie, but he’ll tell me when he’s ready.

About thirty minutes later, we pull up in front of the New Onyx History Museum. Jerryn exits the car and waits on the sidewalk for me to join him.

“Let me pull up our tickets.”

Jerryn nods, gazing up at the massive feature covering the front of the building with the famous ship on it while I open the email with our tickets.

A few minutes later, we enter the museum and follow the signs to the exhibit. We’ve got three full hours before dinner to make sure he isn’t rushed at all. I know how he likes to read all the plaques and spend time looking at the details.

When we get to the spot, I’m surprised to find a bridge that looks like one you’d used to board a ship. Jerryn giggles, gripping my arm.

“This is so cool.”

“It is.”

We walk onto the bridge and pass through red velvet curtains that take us into a darkened room. Other people join us, and as we wait, the sound of dripping water fills the space. As the lighting brightens, the projection on the walls makes it look like we’re surrounded by water.

Then the narration begins, telling us about what happened that fateful night before more curtains open and we begin an immersive experience that starts with the grandeur of the ship, leads us through the lower levels, and shows the stark differences between the classes.

“In real life, I don’t think Jack could’ve gotten close enough to Rose to romance her,” Jerryn whispers.

“Probably not.”

We continue the tour, traveling through rooms with projected images that feel so real, I’m tempted to reach out and touch the items around me. Jerryn is a kid in a candy store, whispering facts to me in between the narration.

We end in a room where we take seats and watch how the ship met its doom, but it’s done in such a way that it feels like we’re there too. Voices scream around us, calling out for help. Children cry, the waves smash against the ship, and I even flinch once or twice, expecting to get wet.

Jerryn grabs my hand, squeezing it in anticipation of the moment the boat splits in half and sinks below the water, taking all those souls with it.

I have to admit, as many times as I’ve watched something about the Titanic with Jerr, this experience makes it feel new again.

In front of us on the screen, the massive ship slips below the water, and the screams become splashes and gurgles until we’re left with nothing but eerie silence and softly sloshing water.

The narrator comes back on, telling us how many people were lost, how many were rescued, and ending with real footage of the ship sitting on the ocean floor.

We file out silently into the next part of the exhibit where there are more details, photographs, and artifacts from the wreckage and survivors.

We walk through each display, reading the plaques and viewing the items. Jerryn keeps a tight hold on my hand the whole time, completely immersed in this experience.

When we reach the end of the exhibit, he sighs happily.

“That was way more than I expected.”

“Me too, actually. The interactive part was really cool.”

“Did you think so?”

“Definitely. You enjoyed it?”

“It was incredible. I’m glad I didn’t miss it.”

“Me too.” Date mode. “Let’s go see what the gift shop has.”

His face lights up. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Still holding hands, we navigate through the crowds to the gift store and find the section on the Titanic. It’s pretty picked over, unfortunately, but on a bottom shelf I spot something I think might make Jerryn happy.

I bend over and grab the box. “Hey, look at this.”

Jerryn turns and peers at the box in my hand, his lips moving as he reads what it is, then gazes up at me. “Do you think it’s hard?”

“Maybe, but I’ll do it with you.”

The smile on his face right now is everything. Building a model of the Titanic with Jerryn sounds like a perfect way to spend my free time.

“Okay,” he says. “It might be fun.”

“We can make it fun.”

I head to the register, playfully shoving Jerryn’s hand away when he tries to pay for it.

“I got it.”

He tilts his head, but nods, waiting for the cashier to put the box in a bag and hand it to him. Once we’re done, I glance at my watch.

“We have thirty minutes before we need to go to the restaurant. Want to walk around a little more?”

Jerryn nods, searching my eyes. “That sounds good.”

I offer my hand and he takes it, smiling sweetly at me as we head back into the museum. So far, romancing Jerryn is going just as planned.