“I really don’t mind sharing,” I said, still in awe.
Howwas Morgan single? How did he not have half a dozen people chasing after him at any one time, begging him to spend time with them and wrap them up in his arms and let them lie on top of him while they watched TV?
My stomach pulled just at thethoughtof getting to do those things with him.
“Settled, then,” Morgan said, gently taking my menu away as the server came back to us.
I listened to him order in a daze, still processing what a sweetheart he really was. I’d known, I’d seen him being unspeakably sweet before, but it’d never been directed so entirely at me.
Holy shit did it feel good.
“You… aren’t going to haveanytrouble pretending to be my boyfriend,” I said before I could stop myself.
It might not have been the smartest thing to say, but it wastrue. Everyone in this place must’ve thought we were dating. Morgan was being sogoodto me.
I was going to tuck this evening away in my memories and cuddle my spare pillow while I thought about it later. This was already the nicest date I’d ever been on, and I’d started out in tears.
“No?” Morgan asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I mean, uh… if you keep acting like this. This is very believable, is my point.”
Morgan smiled the shyest little smile and picked at a chip in the faded red laminate on the table. “You’re my friend,” he said. “I mean, I think we’re friends, I know we’ve never reallysaid—”
“We’re friends,” I assured him. “I think of you as a friend. A good friend, even.”
Admitting to that made my stomach swoop, but the way Morgan looked up at me, smiling shyly all over again, made any embarrassment worth it.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“Yeah. Please don’t tell me you think of me as a vague acquaintance, I couldn’t handle the embarrassment,” I said, trying to defuse what suddenly felt like an emotionally-charged moment.
Morgan laughed, which broke the tension exactly the way I’d imagined it would.
“I think of you as a friend. A good friend, even,” he said, repeating me with a tiny smile. “I wish we were better friends, actually.”
Oh wow.
Today just kept throwing one thing after another at me.
“You know,” I said, fighting to keep my voice even, fingers trembling under the table as I spoke. “We could justbebetter friends. If we wanted.”
“I get the feeling we’ll either come out of this trip better friends or bitter enemies,” Morgan said, sitting back and sipping from his glass of water. “How long did you say it was?”
“Tuesday night to Saturday morning,” I said. “Alex’s dad—Alex is Chris’ boyfriend—says the place is basically deserted during the week right around now, so he’s letting us stay for free. I think we’re unpaid security.”
Morgan shrugged. “Not the worst idea. That’s why people have house sitters, isn’t it?”
“I guess,” I said. “I’m not sure about details or motivations. And I know you said you’d go, but—”
“I’m going,” Morgan interrupted. “You’re not backing out on me now, are you?”
“No,” I said. “No, I’m not, and I really do want to go, I’ve been looking forward to this competition for a long time. I just feel like I’m asking a lot.”
“You’re offering me a free vacation to a place I’ve never been with people who seem okay. And Brad.”
“He’s okay, really. He’s just… determined. Ambitious, I guess. It’s my fault we broke up. I wasn’t… what he was looking for. It’s fine. I’m fine with it.”
“I won’t argue with you,” Morgan said. I could still hear the unspokenbut you’re full of shitin his tone, but I didn’t want to fight, either. He’d been so sweet. I wanted to keep hanging out and letting him be sweet.
