Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 80102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
I blink, and then blink again. “You are an evil, evil man.” My unrealistic fantasies about a straight guy becoming interested in a gay guy have once again been crushed, but that’s not the reason I’m upset. “Stealing the remote is one of the biggest bro-code laws you could break. Other than sleeping with another bro’s ex—totally not a problem with us—or dating each other’s siblings. And as far as I’m aware, you don’t have a hot, single, gay brother.”
“I don’t. But I have a very married, pregnant sister in Rhode Island. You’re welcome to her, though, if you want to steal her off my brother-in-law. Bros should be supportive of other bros and their love lives.”
“Sometimes I wonder why we’re friends,” I grumble and subtly try to cover myself with the pillow.
“It’s because I humor you into making me watch these dumb films because you hope they’ll spark something inside me, and I’ll suddenly go out and fill my apartment with hockey paraphernalia.”
“Hey, just because it hasn’t happened yet, that doesn’t mean it’s not working.”
“Mm-hmm.”
There is one thing, however, that I’m damn sure is not working—my plan to lose my V-card before my birthday. It’s only two weeks away now, and I’ve wasted precious weekends spending time with Rainn. He’s distracting and funny, and … I really like him. Ugh, I like him way too much.
My schedule is insane, but I realize this ugly thing called friendship between me and him is probably temporary, so I don’t want to spend precious minutes with someone else.
Every time he points someone out at the bar for me to go talk to, I die a little inside, and my excuses for not approaching other guys are wearing thin. I label everyone as being either too short or too tall, not muscular enough, or has the personality of a fish.
He nonstop tells me how picky I am, but I can’t tell him the truth. Which is that every guy has one huge flaw: they’re not him.
I don’t need to be told it’s unhealthy. I already know that, but I can’t stop.
All the warning bells are getting drowned out by laughing with Rainn and talking to him. With him, I feel like I’m being real with a guy for the first time. I’ve never let my teammates and friends see the awkward, unexplored side of me. Rainn has seen it, and more. It’s easy to be self-deprecating around him. I can say things I wouldn’t dare say to an actual date, and in a weird way, I love that he jokes with me about my lack of experience. It makes it seem less like the big deal I’ve made it into in my head.
Hanging out at Vino and Veritas has been helping too. I’m comfortable there now. I feel like I’m getting acquainted with an actual community, rather than standing around a bar guzzling brews and looking for someone to fuck me.
Rainn’s always behind the bar or on the floor serving, and it feels like a home away from home.
What’s even better, is the nights I do stay over, we wake on Sunday mornings and walk to the Maple Factory on Church Street for coffee and pastries.
My stupid body clock wakes me up long before Rainn, and I’ve started reading the thrillers he has on his bookshelves. Each week, I pick up where I left off the week before.
I’m engrossed in Stephen King one morning, when Rainn opens his bedroom door. I jump a mile and nearly fall off the futon.
He snorts. “That never gets old.”
“This book is bad.”
“Aww, is Whit a wittle scared?”
“No. You’re scared. You shut up.”
He runs his hand through his messy hair. “I’ll hit the head, and then we can get some coffee.”
“Let me finish this chapter.”
Rainn approaches and stands in front of me, all tall and hot in sweats and a plain black T-shirt.
He’s so damn good at distracting me, the book is already out of my hands before I can blink. “You said that last week and only put the book down when I got hangry.”
I stand. “In my defense, I didn’t know the difference between your usual grumpy self and when you were hangry. I still don’t know if there’s a difference.”
Rainn pushes past me. “You’re so funny.”
“I think so.”
“At least someone does. Hurry up. I’m hungry.”
Yeah, I’m going to hold on to this friendship for as long as it lasts. Finding someone to have sex with can come later.
9
Rainn
Falling into a routine with Whit becomes so easy it takes a few weeks for me to realize we’ve never exchanged numbers. We’ve gotten into this pattern of friendship where he’d turn up at the bar, and I’d take him home after I finished my shift.
Today when I woke up with allergies and Tanner told me to take the night off no matter how many times I said it was because spring had sprung and I wasn’t actually sick, I realized I didn’t know how to contact Whit to tell him I wouldn’t be at the bar.