“How does what work?” Martin wasn’t following.
“If I met a girl I liked—when I met Jess—I just knew. You know? I walked right up to her and told her I was buying her a drink. But, if it were a guy...what do you do?”
Martin tried not to be annoyed. “We take our shirts off and flap our arms while we turn in a circle squawking like a chicken. It’s the secret gay mating dance. They teach it to us in a special after-school health class.”
Brian snorted. “Don’t be an ass.”
“Don’t ask asinine questions. We’re not a different species. We spend time with each other. Go out on dates.”
Seb had tried to ask him out on a date. Martin, predictably, had panicked and turned him down by pretending to not understand. Was it too late to take it back?
“So you’re dating someone?” Brian leaned forward expectantly in his chair.
“No. I—we’ll see.”
“Is he cute?”
Martin couldn’t stop the blush that spread over his ears. If he tried to describe Seb, he’d start talking about his freckles and the way his blue eyes were ringed in black on the outsides. “Do you really want to know?”
Brian finished his dinner and leaned back in his chair with a soft belch. “Not really. Dudes don’t do it for me. But whatever makes you happy. I’m sure it will be good. You’re the smart one in the family.”
* * *
Seb was halfway through theAliceproject. He was also out of coffee. In fact, he was out of nearly everything. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he’d been shopping, or if he’d slept the night before. The Cheshire Cat grinned at him maniacally from where he’d perched it back in its tree.
He needed sleep or caffeine, and he wanted to get the caterpillar placed on its mushroom before he called it a day. He pulled on his jacket and made his way downstairs. Martin sat by the cash register reading a book.
“Don’t you ever go home?” Seb asked.
Martin smiled as he glanced up. Seb really liked it when he smiled. “It’s three-thirty. I’ve still got a few more hours.”
Seb checked his watch again. The numbers swam in his vision, but then resolved to show Martin was right. “My mistake. I’m going to Penny’s for coffee. Can I get you anything?”
Martin shook his head. “No, I’m fine. But I was thinking, after I close up, if you’re not busy, we could—”
The shop’s phone rang.
Martin’s interrupted question hung between them. He visibly struggled between finishing it and answering the phone like a good employee. Seb’s heart sank when Martin sighed and picked up the handset.
“Hello, Dog Ears Book Shop, how can I help you?” He frowned as he listened, before his eyes met Seb’s. “Yes, just a second.” Martin placed his hand over the receiver and held it in Seb’s direction. “It’s for you?”
Seb was as baffled as Martin, but he took the phone.
“Hello?”
“Seb, don’t hang up!” Oliver’s words were a rush. Seb’s grip tightened. Twice now his brother had managed to track him down and surprise him.
“Ollie?”
“Please don’t hang up!”
“How did you know to call me here?”
“You told me once you lived upstairs from a bookstore. The only other one in town is a chain. I called them too, but they said they were in a box store and didn’t have any upstairs tenants.”
“What the hell? So now you’re stalking me?”
“Who is it?” Martin whispered.
