Page 12 of The Bro Date (Best Bros Forever #2)

CHAPTER TEN

SHANE

I ’m on edge tonight, worried about Toby going to a popular gay bar known for some pretty wild nights, so I snuck my phone into Raúl’s kitchen.

Glancing over my shoulder, I make sure the coast is clear before reaching underneath my apron and slipping my phone out of my front pocket.

I quickly scroll my news feed to see if either Toby or Tate has posted.

Sure enough, Tate’s profile picture is lit up, so I tap on the tiny circle and a dark, shaky video fills my screen.

Loud club music blares from my phone, and I curse under my breath, quickly turning it down.

Toby’s smiling face comes into view, and he blows a kiss to the camera before it zooms out to show him dancing and putting on a show for half the bar.

I can’t seem to pry my eyes away from his body and that fucking outfit. Or lack thereof.

I swallow the uncomfortable lump in my throat and adjust the slight bulge in my pants.

What the hell is he wearing?

And why is my body reacting this way?

I’m not gay, but I think I might be crushing on my best friend, and I have no idea how this even happened.

“Holy shit,” a soft, surprised voice murmurs next to me, and I immediately click my phone off, slipping it back into my pocket.

“What are you doing peering over my shoulder, Jaycee? Thought you weren’t a gossip?” I ask, flipping the burgers I almost burned while I was watching Toby and Tate drinking, dancing, and being the centers of attention at Stick Shift.

“First of all, I’d have to be like seven feet tall to peer over your shoulder, and second, I already saw your bestie on a date with a guy, so this isn’t a big shock. He looks hot as hell, though, but you know I would never say anything.”

“Fine. Thanks, or whatever,” I mumble.

I have more important things to worry about.

When Jaycee leaves the kitchen, I click on Tate’s Live and find him showing half his ass on the dance floor while Toby giggles behind the camera. Two guys much bigger than them enter the screen, and they share a look I can’t decipher before one shouts that it’s time for shots.

Over my dead body.

Quickly untying my apron, I rush out of the kitchen with Jaycee hot on my heels. I fully empty out my locker, stuffing everything into my ratty old backpack. Consequences be damned.

“Shane! Don’t do this,” Jaycee cries, stepping in front of me. “I can’t cover for you in the kitchen. Raúl’s going to be pissed if you disappear again.”

“Don’t care.” I’ve always said Toby is more important than some job, and I stand by it.

“ Hey! ” Raúl shouts at us, and her sad eyes slowly close as she takes a big breath.

“Shane, please,” Jaycee tries one last time.

“I gotta go.” There’s no changing my mind. She’ll be fine here. Raúl doesn’t treat her like garbage. “See you ’round.” I step past her, ignoring the commotion behind me.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going, Shane?” Raúl yells at my retreating back, but I don’t answer, especially when he’s shouting at me in front of everyone.

Raúl grabs my shoulder, spinning me around and yelling directly in my face, nearly triggering me into a flashback of the years leading up to my parents’ divorce, and all my mom’s shitty boyfriends since.

I take a deep breath, knowing it’s even worse if you give someone like him a reaction.

I stare right through him instead and speak calmly. “Take your hands off me.”

He immediately lets go and takes two steps back. “You can’t just leave during a shift whenever you feel like it. This is the second time.”

“It’s an emergency, and I have to go,” I say matter-of-factly. The details are none of his business.

“You’re fired if you leave,” Raúl sneers, throwing the ultimatum at me like a live grenade and not giving two shits about me as a human being.

My jaw clenches, even though I knew this would happen.

Raúl smiles like an evil fucking villain thinking he’s got me right where he wants me. But I’ll figure out something else. I have to. Because right now, Toby fucking needs me, and he will always be more important than a job.

“Guess I quit.”

I pay the twenty-dollar cover and walk into the first gay bar I’ve ever been to, searching for my best friend.

It isn’t hard to find him on the dance floor, grinding against a guy who looks like he just won a spelling bee instead of someone who’s humping my best friend’s ass in front of a packed house.

My jaw clenches. Toby is pretty drunk and almost naked. A tight leather harness crosses his chest and hugs his shoulders, accentuating his slim yet toned build. Tiny leather shorts reveal his entire upper thighs, drawing every pair of eyes in this fucking club to his ass.

Fuck me. His outfit is even hotter in person.

Mr. Spelling Bee Champion slips away from the dance floor and goes up to the bartender with a slimy smile on his face. He orders another drink for Toby and water for himself.

Not fucking happening.

I weave through the crowd until I reach Toby, who’s dancing by himself, completely unaware of his surroundings. I sneak behind him, but he catches me off guard, sticking his ass out and pressing it against my crotch.

Stilling his hips, I stop him from grinding against me further.

My hands slowly slide up his sides, caressing his bare skin before bracing his upper arms. I spin him around, peering down into golden eyes that sparkle like glitter in the flashing club lights.

The unique color is heightened by black eyeliner and shimmer on his cheekbones.

It’s striking.

“Shane?” he asks in confusion, his brows creasing in the center. “What are you doing here?”

I shake the strange lust from my brain, focusing on my mission and getting Toby the hell out of here.

“You’re coming with me,” I demand calmly. “Where’s Tate?”

Even though I’m pissed at our friend for encouraging all of this, I’d never leave him behind. Tate’s coming with us whether he wants to or not.

“Coming with you?” Toby asks, blinking up at me.

I nod, not wanting to make a scene. We can talk at home.

“Oh my God, Shane!” Tate suddenly shouts, pushing his way over to us where we’re standing still in the middle of the crowded dance floor. “What are you doing here?!”

“Taking you home.”

Tate tips his head back, laughing loudly and drawing more eyes than I’m comfortable with. He’s dressed similarly to Toby, with a shiny leather harness and matching curls, only blonder. I’m not into guys, but I can’t deny they look good standing next to each other.

“I’m deadass serious,” I inform him. “Let’s go.” My gaze darts to Toby. “Both of you.”

If I have to toss them over my shoulders and carry them out of here kicking and screaming, then so be it. It’s for their own good.

I’ll always protect my friends.

“What’s going on over here?” Mr. Spelling Bee Champion suddenly appears behind Toby, wrapping an arm around his midsection and splaying a large palm across his bare belly.

My nostrils flare, and I clench my jaw, but I won’t let this fuckboy know that he’s getting under my skin. “Toby,” I say, ignoring the rando who thinks he has a claim over my best friend. I hold my hand out, silently asking him to come with me.

Toby grabs Tate’s hand, then places his other hand in mine. “It was nice meeting you, Landon. I’ll text you later!” he says sweetly, because he is too nice for his own good.

“No, he won’t,” I inform Landon, tugging both Toby and Tate away from the dance floor.

“Hey! What the fuck?!” Landon shouts at our backs. “I just bought you drinks all night! You’re seriously gonna leave with some other guy?”

I pause in my tracks, seeing red. This fucker thinks he’s entitled to something over a few free drinks? Pathetic. Reaching into my back pocket, I pull out my wallet and slip two twenties from it before spinning around and throwing them at Landon’s feet. “Cry me a fucking river.”

Tate bursts out laughing, and Landon lunges for me, but his friend grabs him and holds him back. I smirk, making him struggle to get free. He’s lucky his friend’s smart enough to stop him. It wouldn’t be a fair fight.

“Tate, call me!” The friend yells as we start to walk away.

“That won’t be happening either!” I holler, not bothering to look behind us again.

“Why am I being dragged into this love triangle?!” Tate laughs as we weave our way through the cocktail tables that line the dance floor. “Or is it a pentagon now?”

“There is no triangle or any other shape,” I growl, completely appalled by the idea of fighting for my best friend’s attention with some fucking douchebag stranger. “I don’t want you to ever see that guy again, Toby.”

Tate snickers, whispering something to Toby that I can’t quite hear. I push through the exit with two harness-clad twinks under my arms, completely aware of how this situation looks.

As we step off the curb, we draw the eyes of the bouncers working the door. “Drive safely! That’s some precious cargo you got there, buddy!” the burly older man yells.

I look over and give him a death glare, leading my drunk friends around the side of the building where I parked.

Opening the passenger side door, I fold the front seat down and help Tate up first. He climbs into the small back seat, and I adjust the front seat into an upright position.

Toby climbs into the passenger seat, and I shut the door, running around to the driver’s side.

“Can we stop for burritos?” Tate whines from the backseat once we get buckled in. “It’s right down the street before the highway.”

“Fine,” I grunt, glancing over at Toby, who’s resting his head back against the seat with his eyes closed. I unzip my hoodie, shrugging out of it and draping it over his exposed body. Feeling someone watching me, I glance at the rearview mirror and find Tate smiling back at me.

I immediately stop fussing with Toby and start the engine. “What’s the name of this burrito place?” I ask, ignoring the knowing look in his eyes.