I get control of my laughter so I can grab a bowl and taste the food. “It’s great.”
“I burn the wok when I cook stir-fry,” Emory says.
Casey sniggers. “That’s why you keep me around, isn’t it?”
“One of the reasons.”
Casey nods to me. “But Auggie is the best cook.”
“In the world,” I agree, which makes us all laugh.
The tension I was feeling when I arrived is lifting off my shoulders. Things seem relaxed and comfortable, which I’m glad about. Even so, banter and laughter can’t alleviate all my worries or my guilt.
“I’m sorry,” I say, unable to contain it any longer.
“For what?” Emory asks.
“Casey knows.”
Casey tilts his head. “I do?”
“What happened on Saturday.”
Emory looks between us. “You saw each other on Saturday?”
Casey widens his eyes a fraction in a ‘shut up’ kind of way. “We bumped into each other in town.”
Oh, shit, yeah. Our birthday present-buying expedition is meant to be a secret.
“Yeah. We bumped into each other, and I was an idiot and tried to kiss Casey.”
Casey dips his chin. “Tried?”
“Okay, I did kiss you.”
“You did?” Emory’s eyes are big as he looks at me and then Casey like he’s watching a tennis match. “Does that mean—? Do you two want to—? Are we going to—?”
“You might want to finish a sentence,” I say.
“It’s something we should talk about,” Casey says. It looks like he’s better at understanding Emory’s unfinished sentences than I am. “It was a nice kiss.”
Except for the part where I tried to put my tongue down his throat. I know he didn’t like that.
Emory splays his fingers over his thigh. “I know it’s only been a week, but we’ve made a vee relationship work so far. Haven’t we?”
Casey and I nod.
“There’s been no jealousy?” Emory asks.
“No. Which I wasn’t expecting, to be honest. I thought I would feel jealous, knowing you two were hanging out and probably doing stuff I’ll never be interested in.” Casey takes a breath as he moves his stir-fry around the bowl with his fork. “A week ago, I was convinced that we’d start as a vee but that you two would end up as a couple and I’d be friend-zoned.” He stares at his half-eaten food.
“And now?” Emory asks.
“I’m more confident we can make this work. Going on a date helped.”
Emory smiles. “Doing something romantic?”
“Yes. If we’d acted the same all week, I’d have wondered what the point of the vee was. But we didn’t. And being romantic with you was really, really nice.” He shovels some noodles, vegetables, and chicken into his mouth and stares at the floor while he eats.
