Page 10

EIGHT

PATRICK

I stepped out of a cloud of deodorant in the bathroom and walked around my half of the room, picking and choosing.

I tossed a few pairs of underwear onto the bed, debating whether I felt like wearing something a little more flashy.

You never knew when a hot girl could drop her jacket, and you had to bend down to pick it up, impressing her in the process.

I ultimately chose a pair of simple black cotton ones with a well-known brand’s name embedded along the waistband.

For my pants, I went with classy dark blue and paired them with a shirt, the lightest shade of minty green, with a stiff collar.

Leaving a couple of buttons undone made me look like a gift on a silver platter, sent straight from Heaven.

My hair was just the right kind of messy that it complemented an uninterested half scowl that people found irresistible.

With that, I slipped on my double-strap black shoes, picked up my blazer, and stepped out of the dormitory and into the cool fall evening.

I basked in the attention of the three girls stepping out of the library and giving me a thorough scan. A job great done, if I could be that self-congratulatory.

It was a special evening. My friends were so into their relationships that I never saw them these days outside of practice and games. We used to work out together and hang out before and after practice. Hell, I used to share my room with one of them.

And Shane was coming, too. I’d asked him three more times over the days just to make sure.

We ditched Lumière for a nice indie bar downtown. It wasn’t often that we had a reason to leave the campus. Everything was here, then a few good ideas for dates. And since I didn’t do dates, I rarely went far. Dates got in the way of fun, in a manner of speaking.

Until tonight, triple trouble was about to be released upon this good town, and I was all in.

I strolled to the metro and hopped over to the place just fashionably late.

Shane had texted me when he left his room, but I hadn’t been ready, so he would wait for me outside.

I didn’t nudge him to go in without me. He was shy and awkward, and he knew me the best, so it was a solid plan.

As I walked down the street toward the bar, I saw him.

A few people stood on one side of the door, smoking and chatting with drinks in their hands, but Shane was keeping a distance.

His black-rimmed glasses were pushed high up his nose, framing his face in a wholly handsome way.

He wore a blue shirt that actually fit him to a dot and a pair of white pants that did wonders for his figure.

My fingers twitched for a second as I neared him. “Pop that button and you’ll be a ten,” I said, regretting it even as the words were coming out of my mouth.

“Crass,” Shane pointed out, and I couldn’t grudge him.

“Nah, you look great,” I said. “Let go in.”

He inhaled and visibly forced himself to relax before stepping into the bar. Three short steps led us down into the spacious open place with candles, lamps, and comfortable chairs surrounding smooth wooden tables. In the far corner, sitting at a booth, my friends and their boyfriends were chatting.

Naturally, Easton was in the middle, the center of gravity of our little group, flanked by his brooding better half.

Jace, a tattooed guy with a sharp and calculating gaze, did something that might be called lighting up if he didn’t wear such a menacing aura when he spotted me.

On the other side, Elio rested his arm along the back of the booth, and Jaxon was leaning into its fold.

I walked up to the booth and thrust Shane to Jace’s side, then sat next to him.

“And the boys’ night begins,” I announced.

“Here, here,” Easton said.

Shane introduced himself to the boyfriends, and a waiter picked up our orders and returned with drinks. Jace ran his fingers along his sharp jawline and pointed at us conversationally. “How’d you two meet?”

I almost choked on my red ale and shook my head quickly. The way Jace had shot us that inquisitive look and question wasn’t even suggestive but all-out presuming.

“We’re not, um, together,” Shane said.

Jace nodded understandingly. “First date, then?”

I kept shaking my head, leaving it to Shane to explain how he was shadowing me for a project. I was pretty certain Jace knew this already, but he chose violence tonight.

It was Shane who blushed the fiercest, but my fingers trembled regardless. A sort of discomfort filled my chest, like tickles rising from within, and I squirmed a little, especially when Jace flashed one of his wolfish grins and said, “You make a nice…pair.”

Easton stabbed his elbow in Jace’s rib cage, which directed the conversation elsewhere. Elio talked about the season and the first win of the predicted streak. I offered some input on how to get there while drilling the younger pups and not letting them cost us victories.

Easton scratched his head. “I don’t think they were the ones costing us victories.”

I held my breath for a short while and then exhaled. “That’s probably right.”

“How so?” Shane asked.

I could see him writing it down behind those cute glasses and analytical eyes.

“Infighting,” Elio said with a shrug, then leaned his shoulder against Easton’s arm. They were their old selves, and my heart did a little dance.

“Ancient history,” Easton assured him.

“Do you think it’s going to be a winning streak?” Shane asked.

“You saw us play,” I said. “Don’t you think we’re good?”

Shane’s lips trembled into a brief smile before he nodded. “I wasn’t supposed to be watching the game. I was supposed to be watching you.”

His words, although nothing out of the ordinary due to our agreement, dialed up the heat in my stomach.

The conversation moved on to me complaining about how I never hung out with Easton and Elio these days, but it somehow went into a broader discussion of dating and relationships.

With all of us together, it was impossible to have a long conversation on any one topic.

Serious words were flipped on their head to provide a dirty meaning, and banter spiced up all the topics.

My dating history seemed to be a dart game for them, sans Shane, and they took their aims and hits like a well-oiled machine.

“There isn’t much you haven’t tried to flirt with,” Easton pointed out, making me want to shrink into myself. Odd. Any other day, I would have beamed with pride.

“You can’t even turn it off for the librarian, and she’s nearing retirement,” Elio pointed out.

“I was being nice,” I said.

“You don’t know the difference,” Elio said.

“Remember when you flirted with that red-haired girl at the bar all night, went to the toilet before leaving, and invited her to your place on your way out?” Easton asked.

My face drooped with a scowl. I hadn’t realized this was the Roast of Patrick Callahan.

“Why is that funny?” Shane asked.

Easton laughed for a moment longer, then caught enough breath to say, “Because he picked up the wrong redhead and didn’t realize until they were in his room.”

“I was a little drunk, and she did me no favors,” I said.

“I feel like everyone’s like that around you,” Shane said. It wasn’t a tease, and I adored him for being on my side.

“Is that a professional opinion?” Jaxon asked.

Shane shrugged. “Sort of. You can’t not notice that people turn their heads after him. Some people just have it .”

“Alright, that’s enough about me,” I said. “These two were adopted brothers before hooking up.” I pointed at Jace and Easton, a mean little smirk flashing on my lips and matching Jace’s fascinated gaze.

“It’s not a secret,” Jace said.

“It’s hard to go around it when people ask how we met,” Easton explained.

“And we spent the last seven years apart,” Jace said. “Those kids? They were nothing like us.”

“You sneaky little fuck,” Easton said with an impressed smile.

“What about you, Shane?” Jaxon asked. “Do you match his freak?”

Shane choked mid-sip and shook his head quickly.

“Cut it out, guys,” I said. “Shane’s too sweet for this table.”

“I don’t think he needs you to rescue him, straight guy,” Elio said. “Let the guy speak.”

“No, that’s alright,” Shane said. “I get tongue-tied. Um, Patrick knows this.”

The guys didn’t tease him for it, and I was grateful. We joked around for a while longer, and then Shane yawned and shrugged, saying he might have to leave. I realized it was midnight already. “I’ll walk you back,” I said.

“No, you don’t have to,” Shane said. “Metro’s just outside.”

“Sure?”

He chuckled. “Patrick, I can walk a few paces on my own.”

I scratched the back of my neck. “Right. Of course.” But worrisome images filled my head anyway. It was midnight, and we were downtown, and he had to go down underground.

I wanted to make up to him, too. I’d freaked out a little a few days ago, and I absolutely didn’t want to talk about it, but it felt like he wasn’t going to take my offers of cavalier politeness as an apology for my odd behavior.

Whatever had come over me that evening was in the past. A momentary loss of focus, probably, that had knocked me off my game and tossed me into a weird fever dream. I was fine again.

But as Shane left, silence settled around the table. I looked at their blank faces and wondered if there was beer foam on my face. They just blinked and let the silence linger until I was ready to snap, and then Jace said, “Your boyfriend’s cute.”

“What?” I huffed. “We’re not…”

The four of them burst out laughing.

Easton leaned over to me. “Dude, you’re so dating that guy.”

“‘Let me walk you home, baby,’” Elio paraphrased.

“Shut up,” I said, slapping him with a pout since I couldn’t reach him across the table.

They all laughed, but my heart still squeezed a little at the thought of Shane being alone in the underground.

“We’re not a couple,” I said. “I’m…straight,” I said, but it didn’t sound convincing even to myself. “I think.”