“I knew it was too good to be true,” I sigh.
He snorts and puts the car in park before turning it off. “What do you mean?”
“This is how every episode ofCriminal Mindsbegins,” I state and follow him out of the car. “An attractive man lures a young, beautiful woman with a bright future ahead of her to a secluded park, they hit it off, but then out of nowhere he kills her and leaves her body for some poor, unsuspecting old man to find.”
The trunk shuts with a thud and Brandon’s laugh.I love that sound. “I gotta find a way to block that show from your TV. Maybe put an age restriction on it.”
“Ha ha. By the way, you’re the one who brought me here,” I say, but still follow him to the picnic table.
“I did. It’s also the only park without a play area and an unobstructed view of the sunset.”
“Huh. Romantic. But still toeing the line of aCriminal Mindsepisode,” I tease, but help him lay out the blanket he snagged. Which is actually just a king-size comforter.
“You really do have a wild imagination.”
I help him unbox the food and drinks. “Only on my good days. But that’s what you like about me.” I look at the smorgasbord of food that’s laid out and have no clue where to start. “What’s in that box?”
“Gluten-free funnel cake.”
My mouth instantly starts watering and I contemplate eating dessert first. “You thought of everything.”
Silence falls over us as we eat dinner. It’s my favorite part about being with him. Brandon doesn’t need noise to exist.When you’re surrounded by people who think talking is a way to keep you engaged, you eventually lose the need to always have something to say. But with Brandon, I like that we can sit in silence and just enjoy each other’s company.
“How was your day?” I ask once we finish our dinner and dessert before placing the bag off to the side.
“Busy. But really good. My brothers came in to help with beta testing the game, and I asked them for brutal feedback since they’re now of the age to play the games James and I used to play,” Brandon says with a fond smile. And slowly, it’s gotten easier for him to talk about his brothers around me without pause.
“And did they give you that brutal feedback?” I ask, treading lightly.
“Oh my god, I thought my team was going to cry.” He and I both laugh.
“So you’re close to launch day? That’s what it’s called, right?”
He nods and looks at me affectionately.
“What?” I ask, suddenly self-conscious that I have something on my face.
Brandon takes my hands in his and rubs the tops of them softly. “I like that you’re invested in my job.”
“What’s important to you is important to me,” I tell him.
“I think I wanna tell my brothers about us,” Brandon says, shocking me.
“You do? When?” I ask as my heartbeat kicks to life at the notion of us going public.
“Yeah. At least they’d be good testers for when I tell my parents. Maybe around the holidays? So we’d still have some time for just us.”
I nod as I think about finally being out and about with him. “How do you think they’ll react?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. On one hand, I know they’ll be confused and likely upset. But on the other hand, I’m hopeful they’ll be happy for us.”
“Can I be there when you tell them?” I ask hesitantly.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” I say with more confidence. “They’re your brothers.”
“Then, yes. You can be there.”
