“For the love of fuck, man, I’m notinterested,” I yelled as I flung the door open…
“Hey,” Brian said in a soft voice. He wore the same shorts and t-shirt he’d been wearing earlier, but he clutched a plastic Target bag in his hand. He looked me up and down, taking in my naked chest and knotted towel, and looked like he might throw up. “Oh, shit. I’m too late.”
“Brian.” I looked beyond him, out into the driveway and over the crowded sidewalk, expecting to see Mark, but there was no one else there. “Too late for what?”
“I’m sorry.” Brian’s gaze swept my living room the same way mine had searched the street. “Are you alone?”
“Yeah.” I scowled. “Of course.”
“Notof course. Moira said—” He shook his head. “Never mind. Can I come in?”
“What happened with Mark?” I asked instead of answering. Because if he was coming in to tell me how amazing Mark was in bed… I couldn’t handle it. I’d reached my limit.
“Nothing! I mean, he’s nice.Sonice. I really like him. You’ll like him too. And you were totally right about me just talking to him, you know? Though, me being me, I did end up being a littleextra. Seriously, can I come in?”
I stepped back, letting him inside just far enough for the screen door to close but not enough for Brian to get past me, and scowled. “DidMarksay you wereextra?” I’d kill the asshole.
“No! In fact, he was so nice, he drove me here, and um…” Brian licked his lips nervously. “You are, like, so very almost-naked right now.”
I raised an eyebrow. “We’ve been swimming a million times. You’ve seen me in less.”
“Have I?” Brian pressed his free hand to his forehead. “Maybe not at this, like, proximity?” He cleared his throat. “It’s really quite warm tonight, isn’t it? Do you find it warm? Sometimes I find it warm when it’s not objectively warm. Temperature is a funny thing!Ha ha.”
The man was nearly vibrating with manic energy in a way I’d never experienced firsthand. He was like this withotherpeople—the Marks of the world—but never with me.
I could only imagine shit with Mark had somehow gotten fucked up for him to behere, acting like this. I should never have left him.
“Spill, Brian. Because if Mark hurt you—"
Brian shook his head. “N-no! No.” He took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay, here’s the thing, Dare.” He rolled his lips. “Mark is nice.”
“Yeah, so you fuckingsaid,” I snapped. “And?”
“A-and I took your advice, and it totally worked. He’s gonna be in town for the whole summer, at least, and I promised to show him around. I might even take him up to Rochester one weekend for the film festival.”
“Wow.” My heart sank. “Well. That’s… just…great. I’m… happy you’re happy.” That was true enough. I was pretty sure. I suddenly felt a pressing need to do drunk karaoke for the first time in my life. “I was actually on my way out, though, so—"
“No, wait! You can’t leave yet.” Brian grabbed my wrist and held it. He was inches away from me, close enough to smell his citrus hair gel and to feel the warmth of his body. “I had a problem. With the thing you and I practiced.”
“With the… oh.”Fuck. “You kissed him, huh?”
I figured, at a certain point, I had to stop feeling like the bottom was falling out of my stomach. Right?
Brian’s eyes caught mine and held. “No, Dare. That’s just it. Ididn’t, because—”
I frowned. “Because you were nervous?”
“No!No, Dare. And stop interrupting, because otherwise I’m going to vomit all over both of us.” The plastic bag in his hand rustled as he gripped it tighter. “I didn’t kiss Mark because I don’t want to kiss Mark. At all.”
“You don’t.” I was pretty sure I was missing something major here. “Since when?”
“Since you kissed me! Since you made me realize exactly why none of my other relationships have ever worked out. Why no guy has everreallyfallen for me, and why I’ve never really fallen for them, no matter how hard I’ve tried. Because it’s beenyouall along.”
“Me,” I repeated stupidly. “What’s been me? Because I seriously havenotbeen jinxing you, Brian. That’s not even a real—”
Brian clapped a hand over my mouth. His lips twitched up on one side, and those big, brown eyes of his held all the magic in the universe. “Imean, I only want to kissyou, Dare.”
Yeah, no, I wasdefinitelymissing something, because it sounded like Brian, my best friend Brian, had said—
