Trey grunted. “Well, too bad for him, because I don’t like assholes.”
This time Dominic cracked up.
“You know what I mean,” Trey said, smiling so hard his cheeks hurt. God, talking to Dominic was fun. “Shut up.”
“Dude, you said that with such a straight face.” He got control of himself with a few deep breaths. “So you were looking forward to this, huh?”
“Definitely. Weren’t you?”
“Absolutely. Fell asleep at ten, because my sisters wore me out, so I’m glad I set my phone alarm.”
Trey swallowed a bit of jealousy over Dominic’s perfect relationship with his sisters. His had only ever treated him like he was a pain in the ass, someone to be tolerated rather than treated with a shred of love or kindness. When he was six, his oldest sister’s boyfriend at the time—now husband—used to punch him in the back for kicks, and she’d laugh about it.
Yeah, there wouldn’t be any Cooper family reunions in his future.
Ever.
“What did you guys do today?” Trey could live vicariously through Dominic for a while, pretend he had a functional family that didn’t treat each other like dirt.
“Played Monopoly for almost four hours. That’s what I was doing when you called. Starr made everyone wait until I got back, because it was still my turn and no skips allowed.”
“Hah. I’ve never actually played that game to the end. Whoever I play with, we either get bored or too drunk to keep going.”
“Starr won’t let you quit on a game. If you try, it’s not pretty, so we only break out Monopoly when there’s nothing else to dofor a while. Then Mom made braised short ribs for dinner, which is one of my favorite things.”
“I’ve never had that.” Trey didn’t like the “never”s. Did he and Dominic have anything in common besides a passion for music?
“It’s amazing. Beef that just melts in your mouth, in this red wine sauce. Over mashed potatoes? Heaven.” Dominic licked, then smacked his lips in a very appealing way. “What’s one of your favorite foods?”
“I don’t really have one. My parents were very basic. A lot of frozen meals and takeout. On holidays Mom would bake a turkey but buy all of the sides from Applebees or someplace.”
“There’s gotta be something you love. Cookies? A soft drink?”
Trey tried to think of one food he’d go out of his way to find or make. “Thrasher’s Fries. It’s a place on the boardwalk. A little salt and a lot of vinegar. Best French fries ever.”
“I’ll have to check them out next time I’m down your way.”
“Planning another vacation already?”
“Maybe. Linc texted me earlier and said he might have another gig for us down there late next week.”
Trey’s heart skipped at the idea of seeing Dominic again so soon. He figured the next time they actually interacted in person would be if they crossed paths at Unbound. Next week was ten times better, especially if he could steal Dominic for a few hours. “Think you’ll be able to get away from the boys for a little one-on-one?”
“If I have to lie, cheat, beg, or steal, I’ll make time for you,” Dominic said. “That’s a promise.”
“Good.” Never more than in that moment had Trey prayed for the ability to fast-forward time. “So are short ribs your very favorite food?”
“Not top favorite. Don’t laugh.” He leaned closer to his phone. “Stouffer’s mac and cheese. Total guilty pleasure food.”
“Cool.” Trey was not admitting he’d never had that, either. He seriously needed to try more things. And not just food. Dominic had been to a bazillion places, and Trey had barely made it out of the Midatlantic.
“So you wanna jam, or what?”
“Absolutely.” Trey expanded the size of the keyboard image, careful to keep the video screen from being covered. “What first? I mean, I know Evanescence is, like, your spirit animal. Who else do you love?”
“Imagine Dragons, Trust Company, Breaking Benjamin, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, classic Madonna. Taylor, of course. I could go on and on.”
“Okay.” Plenty of choices for material. “Let’s try Taylor’s ‘Champagne Problems.’”
