Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 87439 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87439 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“With me?”
I nod. “Yup. Dad almost kicked me out of the house for dating a rival frat.”
“I’m not just a rival frat,” he says. “I’m the rival frat. But it sounds like they took the whole me-dicking-you-down thing well.”
“Shut the hell up. You know I didn’t mention that.”
He beams. “I’m glad it went well, Lance.” He hooks an arm around me and tugs me close, offering a firm kiss. When he pulls back, he says, “Reminds me that I need to tell my mom about this cool guy I’m going on a date with.”
“Do I know him?”
“Maybe. You familiar with Alpha Theta Mu?”
“Isn’t everyone?”
“You cocky little fuck. Have me hooked on you, and now you act like you run the world.”
“I mean, I do have Ty Lancaster going on a date with me, so it’s earned.”
He squints. “Fair.”
Despite the nerves, being able to play around with him like usual emphasizes what’s important—it’s just Ty. I don’t need to stress or worry about impressing him. Evidently, he’s already into me.
While Ty and I wait for an Uber to take us to the festival, I catch him up about some of the other stuff Mom and Dad talked about—work and their social lives—and when we arrive, we grab wristbands and head in.
As we enter the festival, I notice Ty keeping some distance between us, glancing around uneasily. I must admit, it’s making me insecure. “You sure about this?”
“Huh?” he says, as if pulling himself out of a daze.
“You know, it’s okay not to be a date-y guy.”
“Sorry, I’m overthinking it. I really don’t know what to do right now. And this is not me at all.”
“Let’s put on the training wheels. How about we hit some rides, and you can stand closer than a foot away from me, to start.”
He snickers, though I can tell by his expression he’s still uncomfortable. And I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge I’m worried that maybe he’s realizing this whole dating thing isn’t for him. Maybe we should have stuck to fucking around.
But then he takes my hand, playing with it, interlocking our fingers, and I see him visibly relax.
“There,” he says. “Feel better already.”
There go my cheeks again.
We start through the festival, and I feel a jolt of pride in being the guy he’s holding hands with. As much as I enjoy our nightly fun, it’s nice being out with him in daylight, knowing that everyone’s seeing my hot Ty holding my hand.
“Maybe we hit the bumper cars first,” he says.
“How about we do that after the jumbotron?”
“The bumper cars are right there.” He indicates the line with his free hand.
“Exactly. And the jumbotron is on the other side of the festival, so unless you wanted to get rid of my hand right away, maybe just trust me on this one. I know how to date.”
“Yes, sir. You know I love it when you’re bossy.”
I take the lead, and we enjoy some rides before he says, “You wanna go ice-skating? They already got up the indoor rink for when it transitions to the winter festival.”
Tension twists up in me, but when I see how excited Ty is, I can’t say no.
It should be a fun thing, but when I get to the rink and start putting on my skates, uneasiness rises within me. I try to push it aside. I want to enjoy my day with Ty, but when I look out at the rink, I could swear I see a familiar face among the others, and I search desperately, not because I think he’s really out there, but because I just want to see that face again, even if it’s an illusion.
“Lance? You good?”
I notice his skates are already laced up.
“Uh…yeah. Fine.”
He glares at me.
“Just had a moment.”
“About Kacey?”
I’m not surprised he could tell with just a look what I was thinking about. Not when he has something similar in his past.
“Yeah,” I say, and he reaches out, resting his hand on top of mine. “We took ice-skating lessons together when we were kids.”
“Oh my God,” he says, pulling his hand away, and starts unlacing his skates.
I take his wrist. “No, no. Please. I didn’t mean to mess this up.”
He turns to me, his eyes wide. “You think you’re messing this up by having an emotional reaction to something that meant a lot to you and your brother? Nothing is worth putting you through that, Lance.”
“But it’s not just that. Earlier when I was telling Mom and Dad about you, I was thinking how much I wish I could have told him. It would have been nice to have him there today.”
As his expression turns serious, I feel like I’ve ruined our date, but he says, “I know the feeling. Anytime anything good happens, I pull up my uncle’s number. I want to call and tell him what’s going on. I want to tell him about you, just like you want to tell Kacey about me.”