Page 42 of The Pretender

“Hey.”

His head pops up, a smile spreading across his pretty face. “Hey. Everything good?”

I nod. “Yep. How’s shopping going?”

“Brogan has a stack of things.”

“Be right out,” Brogan calls.

Just a few seconds later, they swish the curtain open, stepping out in what I can only describe as a unique outfit. Brogan is wearing a black dress with bold pink flowers on it, but the dress is short, so underneath it, they’re wearing rippedbell-bottom jeans. Over the bodice of the dress, they have on a salmon colored velvet jacket. Somehow it works.

“What do you think?” Brogan asks, strutting in front of us.

“You look fantastic, as always,” Deo says. “I don’t know how you pull stuff like this off, but you do.”

Brogan preens, flipping their hair off their shoulders. “I scored big time today. Let me get changed and then we can go somewhere normal and boring.”

Deo playfully shoves his cousin as Brogan sticks their tongue out and disappears inside the dressing room again. He turns to me, grinning.

“Brogan keeps us all on our toes.”

“I see that. Unique fashion sense, but like you said, it works.”

“Yeah. Brogan helped me a lot with finding my own style. I’m not as quirky, obviously, but thanks to them, I really learned how to embrace what feels good.”

“It definitely works on you too.”

“Thanks.” Deo plays with the collar of my coat. “Bet you’re excited to get into some fresh clothes.”

“I am. You’ll have to help me though. My casual wardrobe skills are limited at best.”

“Lucky for you, me and Brogan are up for the task. If we let them, Brogan will have you in an entire new wardrobe and persona.”

The idea is oddly comforting. The farther I am away from the way Vin and the guys know me, the better.

“I’ll remain open-minded.”

Deo rises slightly on his toes and kisses me. It’s brief, but the promise of more behind it stirs my cock.

“The great thing about cold weather,” Deo says, grazing his bottom lip with his teeth, “is getting warm later.”

“I agree.”

Brogan pulls the curtain open again, a pile of clothes tucked over their arm. “I’m ready.”

As Brogan checks out, I’m surprised that the stack of clothing comes to less than a hundred dollars. That’s pretty impressive.

Deo rubs his hands together. “Okay, there’s a shop on State Street that I want to check out. From their website, it looks like they have a good mix of things.”

“That place is very popular,” Brogan says, tossing their bag onto the back seat. “A little too posh for my taste, but it’ll be your vibe.”

“Are you calling me posh?” Deo asks, raising an eyebrow.

Brogan shrugs. “If the designer label fits…”

“I’m stylish. Not posh.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, cuz.”