Page 59 of When Ben Loved Jace

Jace shakes his head. “He’s um… baked for me. Homemade fortune cookies, in fact.”

“Wow,” Tim says, sounding impressed. “Were the fortunes inside handwritten?”

Jace struggles to answer before looking to me for help.

“They were,” I say, “but I didn’t realize you were supposed to put them inafterbaking the cookies, so they got charred. So did the cookies.”

Tim snorts.

I roll my eyes.

“It was a very sweet gesture,” Jace assures me.

“Benjamin is an old romantic,” Tim says with a smile. “So how did you two meet?”

Jace tells him, completely comfortable in admitting that it took him months to finally ask me out. He doesn’t shy away from the fact, or feel the need to weaponize our relationship just to torture Tim. He simply professes his love for me by sharing our story. Tim interjects on occasion with praise of his own, which is great for my self-esteem. By the time dinner is over, they really do seem to have found common ground.

“You’re so lucky,” Tim says enviously.

“That I am,” Jace says, shooting me a smile.

Tim eyes him before sighing. “Ben has said a lot of good things about you. Now I see that they’re all true. To be honest, I was hoping you were a jerk so I could come to his rescue.”

Jace shrugs. “Everybody has a bad side.”

“Oh yeah? I’d like to see yours, because you sure seem like a saint.” Tim tosses his napkin on the table and stands, as if intending to leave. “I can tell I’m intruding. You guys do your thing. Enjoy the pizza. It’s even better in the morning.”

“Thanks for stopping by,” I say, mentally adding,Next time, give me more of a head’s up!

Tim nods at Jace. “Take good care of him.”

“I will.” Jace smiles at me again. “We take care of each other.”

“Dude!” Tim spins around when reaching the door. “I almost forgot. A friend of mine—well, he’s more of a friend of friend really—he’s having a birthday party. And believe me, this guy doesn’t know the meaning of subtle. This year he’s rented that big water slide place outside of town. The worst part of theme parks are the long lines, right? Even if he invites a hundred people, there won’t be any waiting. Not with everyone spread out, so it’s going to be really cool. And we deserve a reward for getting our final dissertations done.”

“You’re finished with yours?” I cry in dismay.

“Yeah. Aren’t you? There’s only a few weeks left until—”

“I know!”

“Oh.” Tim looks surprised. “Well, maybe it’ll help you recharge before the final stretch. I’ll text you the info. Okay?”

I nod and rise to see him off, although I don’t follow him outside. As soon as the door is shut, I press my back against it while grimacing. “Sorry,” I say after waiting a moment to make sure Tim won’t overhear me. “I had no idea that he planned on coming by tonight.”

“I figured,” Jace says with a hint of amusement. “I don’t think he expected me to be here. You should have seen his face when I answered the door.”

I laugh and rejoin him at the table. “So what do you think?”

“About Tim?” Jace tilts his head to the side. “I’d only seen the modeling photos you showed me. I figured they were airbrushed or treated in some way.”

“Isn’t it irritating? I don’t think he should go out in public without wearing a paper bag over his head, so the rest of us don’t have to cope.”

“I didn’t find it so difficult,” Jace says with bedroom eyes. “He’s not my type.”

The notion of anyone finding me more attractive than Tim is absolutely ridiculous. “God, I love you,” I say dreamily.

“I love you too,” Jace says. “Now pass me a slice of that pizza. I was dying to try it, but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.”