Jessica sat up and told Ethan all about their afternoon one town over in Cartlon. They’d walked around the downtown, then gone to this all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. Ethan checked his phone once more, but didn’t see any text messages from his friends about the excursion.
“I knocked on your door around eleven-thirty-ish,” Jessica said. “But you weren’t there. I thought your law class was over by then.”
Ethan stared at the tiled floor. No, he’d not been in his room then. He’d been in the library. Very much in the library.
“So. Much. Food. Never forget.” Blake rubbed his flat stomach. He laid atop Preston, who stroked his hair.It’s okay, Ethan told himself.I had an afternoon I’ll never forget either.
“Did you guys get the chow fun?” Blake asked. He brushed nonexistent bangs out of his eyes. “It was ah-mazing. I’m probably retaining about a bucket of water, but it was so worth it.”
“Only you got the chow fun,” Preston said, “and every other type of noodle.”
“Carbs for the win!” Blake shot a fist in the air. Preston massaged his shoulder.
“What were you up to this afternoon?” Jessica asked.
A curtain of red drew down Ethan’s face. Images from today’s library rendezvous flashed in his mind.
“I did some grocery shopping. I needed toothpaste.” Half of that was true.
“Oh, okay. Sorry we missed you,” Jessica said with a shrug. Ethan wondered if Jessica would’ve looked harder for Anna and Preston. There was this magical thing called text messaging.
“No worries.” A smile took hold of him and wouldn’t let go. He couldn’t help it. He didn’t know why lying to Jessica and his friends gave him a rush. He wasn’t one to lie, especially not to friends, but for once, he had something worth lying about.
“What’s so funny?” Blake asked him.
“Nothing.” He had a secret, which felt like a portal to another world for him. “I just…”
His shoulders loosened. Analysis aside, he’d had quite the day—more momentous and scandalous than a Chinese buffet—but he wasn’t about to tell anyone. (Greg probably would be happier about that than him.) A sober buzz lingered through him, and that grin refused to budge.
“Toothpaste,” Ethan said finally. “I don’t know why I do this to myself. I know when I’m going to run out, yet I still wait until the last possible day to buy more.”
“I wait even longer,” Preston said. “Sometimes I use my roommate’s.”
“Do you ask him for permission, or is that just something you take and figure he’ll never find out?”
“My roommate is anal enough to know, but too passive-aggressive to say anything.”
Ethan’s laugh stretched his mouth to the limits. Not because Preston was that funny, but because he was getting away with this lie!
Toothpaste! If only you knew…
“Sounds like the perfect arrangement,” Ethan said.
“It works.”
“Well, now I know how you get that great smile of yours. Lies and petty larceny.”
Ehtan nearly did a double-take at his words. That was exactly what was in his head, and it came out perfectly. Had he forgetten to think?
And I just called Preston’s smile great. That was a compliment. That was a flirty compliment. Right in front of Blake!
Ethan gulped down the resulting nerves and excitement that bunched at his throat. He didn’t believe he’d actually said that until he saw Blake flash him a glare. “I guess that’s accurate,” Preston said, baring his perfect smile. He and Ethan shared a look that lasted just a second too long and sent a surge tingling through him.
“You know,” Dave said. “I just realized I need to get some toothpaste. Thanks, Ethan.”
Ethan shrugged. “Anytime.”
Φ
