He chuckles. “Man, you sure know how to bring a man down to his knees.”
“Apparently, it’s what I do best.”
“Apparently, I like that about you, though.” He moves his teeth over his lip before saying, “So, Lia, what did you think about tonight? Have fun?”
“I had a lot of fun.” Not wanting to sound like too much of a loser, I gently say, “It’s been hard meeting people here, you know, people who are on the same level as me. I just recently transferred, so not coming in as a freshman and making friends has been a challenge. Although”—I glance around his room—“I do feel comfortable here, despite these dwellings belonging to a mustache.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment. And meeting new people is hard. Took me a second to figure it all out too. They always say college is where you get to reinvent yourself and find like-minded people. Well, they don’t tell you it doesn’t happen immediately. I’m a junior now and feel like I’ve just hit my stride.”
“Same. No one seems to like spending countless hours poring over a game of Scrabble or knitting hats for cats.”
“Hats for cats?”
“Quite fetching. I sell them to old ladies who think dressing up their cats is fun.” I shrug. “Started it for some side cash, but now, I’m invested. But yeah, tonight reminded me that there are like-minded people out there for me, making me feel like myself for the first time in a long time.”
His expression softens. “I’m glad, Lia.” He strokes the hair under his nose and says, “I bet a lot of you feeling comfortable has to do with the mustache.”
“It’s not the mustache,” I answer with feigned irritation.
He chuckles. “Do you have a boyfriend?” When I eye him skeptically, he holds his hand up. “Not because I’m getting all pervy on you, just genuinely curious.”
“I did until he broke up with me and told me I was lame because I started a fan fiction forSupernatural. I was into different things than he was, so it was hard to connect. Doesn’t seem like I can find many people at all who understand the desire to make Sam and Dean not brothers, but rather . . . secret lovers.”
His eyes widen, and he lowers both legs to the ground as he says, “Hold the fuck on . . . you’re the author ofLovers, Not Brothers?”
“Wait.” I sit up taller. “You’ve heard of it?”
“Heard of it?” he nearly shouts and then lowers his body to the ground, so now we’re at eye level. “Lia, that shit is addicting. I’m not even gay, but Jesus Christ, their first kiss was the best fucking thing I’ve ever read. I had actual sweat forming on the back of my neck while Dean slowly rubbed his nose along Sam’s jaw, waiting for the cue that Sam was ready. And then . . . when their mouths collided, I let out a fucking wallop of a cheer. The sexual tension was unnerving.”
“And you didn’t think it was weird that we know them as brothers in real life?”
“Isn’t that what fan fiction is all about? Creating a world that’s separate from the original?”
I smile. “You get it.”
“Of course I get it. I’m not a moron.” He pushes his hand through his shaggy hair. “Christ, you need to write some more. That was some good shit. I’ll never forget the scene when Dean is naked, gripping his penis, and singingEye of the Tigerto Sam as he closes in.” He kisses the tips of his fingers. “Chef’s kiss.”
Jokingly, I ask, “Are you fanboying over me?”
“Got a problem with that?”
I shake my head, then whisper, “I can’t believe you’ve read it.”
“I can’t believe youwroteit.”
And then we stare at each other for a few moments. Silence fills the room, an unspoken truth forming between us—this is the start of something new.
“Breaker?”
“Yeah?”
Shyly, I ask, “Will you be my friend?”
That smile of his I’ve grown to know tonight widens. “Are you asking me to start a . . . friendship with you?”
“I believe I am. Is that weird? I mean, we barely know each other. I find your mustache absolutely repulsive, but our commonalities are endless at this point. The fact we can agree that the Winchester brothers being lovers is erotic is unprecedented. I believe that means we need to be friends.”
He slowly nods. “I believe it’s imperative.”
