Brent noted that she didn’t say Riley wasn’t her uncle. He was fairly sure she did actually think of him that way.
“I am weird. And that’s okay,” Riley responded. “I wish you the courage to tell her how you feel. I know how hard that can be.”
“Thanks, Riley.” Emily smiled at him. “Girls are just so…”
“Pretty? Oh, and intimidating. Also so soft. And they always smell nice,” Riley said. “I mean, I like boys too, but a lot of them are gross and you’re probably better off with girls.”
“All of those things,” Emily agreed. “Mostly pretty.”
“So pretty,” Riley enthused, grinning broadly.
Brent actually hadn’t heard Riley talking about men for a while. Maybe he’d grown out of them.
Not that it mattered. Brent had moved on, and Riley had never been interested in him romantically. Riley had always been his best friend, and that was more than Brent could ever have asked for.
“I probably need to re-pack if I’m not going to a tropical island anymore,” Brent said, standing.
“Keep the bathing suit, there’s a great hot tub.” Riley wiggled his eyebrows. Brent chuckled, stretching his arms high over his head.
A few days away with Riley was exactly what he needed.
