"And then I met Ethan, and he's gorgeous—" He catches my expression, and his eyes go wide. "Oh fuck, not like that! I mean, yeah, he's gorgeous, but I don't want him. He's Tyler's guy, and they're so in love it's awesome to watch."
The knot in my stomach loosens slightly.
Gavin reaches over and takes my hand. His palm is warm, a little sweaty. "I didn't ask you to tutor me because of some weird experiment. I just didn't want to ask Tyler certain things... like,I don't need to know those details about my best friend, you know?"
A surprised laugh escapes me.
"And now…This wasn’t planned but… I want to date you," he says simply. "Not have you tutor me. Date you. If you'll let me."
"Even though you're inexperienced?"
"Maybe because of it? Means I get to figure it out with you." He squeezes my hand. "If that's okay?"
I look at this enormous, sweet, brilliant man who's staring at me like I have all the answers, and my walls just... crumble.
"Yeah," I say softly. "That's okay."
His smile could power the entire campus.
"Come on," he says, standing and pulling me up with him. His hand stays in mine as we head for the door, and I let him lead me even though my brain's screaming about how couple-y this is.
"Wait." I tug him to a stop just before we hit the stairs. "Are we... should we tell them we're...?"
"Dating?" He squeezes my hand. "I mean, I want to. But only if you're ready."
Dating. He said dating. Not experimenting, not figuring things out. Dating.
"Yeah," I manage. "Okay."
He practically bounces down the stairs, still holding my hand like it's the most natural thing in the world. The sound of laughter hits us before we even reach the living room.
I stop in my tracks at the bottom of the stairs. My friends have somehow already integrated with the frat guys. Rex is sitting with Leo and Max, all three laughing at something on Rex's phone. Like they've known each other for years, not minutes.
Haru and JP are by the DVD player with Ethan, apparently in a deep discussion about movie options. Leo's in the kitchen withDrew, who's gesturing wildly about obviously into whatever he’s saying.
And there, in the corner armchair, is Elliot. Just... observing. I hadn't even realized he'd come in with us; he's so quiet.
"See?" Gavin murmurs in my ear, his free hand finding the small of my back. "Told you they'd love you guys."
A really tall guy, even taller than Gavin, comes through the door carrying pizza boxes.
"Finally!" Drew calls out. "Jeff, what took so long?"
"Traffic," Jeff says, setting down the boxes. He spots me and Gavin standing close. "This the famous Doc?"
"The one and only," Gavin confirms, his hand finding the small of my back.
We grab a spot on one of the couches, pizza boxes spread out on the coffee table. The frat brothers are surprisingly easy to talk to, asking about our majors, actually listening to the answers.
"So you're tutoring Gavin?" Drew asks, grabbing another slice.
"Sort of," I hedge.
"In gay culture," Tyler supplies helpfully. "Which is hilarious because G's always known more than he lets on."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
Drew snorts. “We never believed you were as dumb as you played, man."
