He set his menu down and smirked. “Fine.”
When the server arrived, we each ordered beers and a shrimp and calamari appetizer.
Glancing through the window, I thought about the past few weeks. “Hey, have you heard from Sara?”
With his brows raised, he said, “No, actually, I haven’t.” He fingered his plate. “That’s odd, because she’d said she wanted to stay friends and still needed some tutoring.”
“Maybe you should check in with her?” Or maybe not. Why did I say that? I shifted in my seat.
“I suppose I should. I could ask her about the tutoring.” He pressed his lips together. “Or maybe I should leave it alone. I never mentioned it, but she asked me if there was anything between you and me. She accused me of being gay again.” A pinkish hue swept across his cheeks.
“She did?” I gaped. Why had he never mentioned this? “And what did you tell her? Does she know you’re bisexual?”
With a slow shake of his head, he said, “No. She asked if I were gay and I simply said no.” He sipped his beer. “She dropped it after that. But she noticed something between us.”His gaze crept to mine and the edge of his lips rose. “Is it that obvious?”
“Maybe to people who know us well.” As my heart bloomed with warmth, I drank some beer, the refreshing bubbles gliding across my tongue. “I’ve said nothing to my roommates about us.” I scratched my cheek. “Well, they’ve teased me, but I tell them we’re just friends.” Would he relax a little and let me tell them the truth?
“Good. Theyarestudents at ASU.” He leaned back as the server dropped off our appetizer.
We ordered our main dishes, with me getting a pesto chicken flatbread and him ordering pork and spinach ravioli.
“But Evan knows about us.” I plucked a fried calamari ring from the plate and dunked it in sauce. It would be nice if I could confide in Malik and Grey.
“He’s not a student at ASU.” He ate a piece of calamari and then wiped his hands on his napkin, resting in his lap. “When the semester is over, you can tell them. Okay?”
With a single nod, I said, “Okay.” Thanksgiving was coming up. “Are you going home for the holidays?”
“Not for Thanksgiving. But I don’t know about Christmas yet. It depends on my dad’s schedule and if he’s traveling for work or not.” He washed his food down with beer.
“Your dad wouldn’t have time off for Christmas?” I picked up another ring. I’d planned on having a week in Austin. It would be too soon to invite him, wouldn’t it? But the semester would be over. We could tell people about our relationship.
“I don’t know.” He swiped his bangs off his face and stared through the window. “I’ll talk to him and find out.” His gaze swept to me. “Why, are you going home?”
“I’d planned to, yes.” I ate more food. How odd would it be to leave him here alone for Christmas? No, I couldn’t have that. “You could, uh, if your dad is working, you could come to Austin with me. Sixth Street is a lot of fun.”
His brows snapped up. “You’re inviting me to meet your family at Christmas, when we’ve barely been together?”
“Maybe…yes.” I squirmed in my chair, my heart flickering. “You shouldn’t be alone at Christmas.” Plus, I really fucking liked him. Was I falling for him? Yes. I didn’t see this ending anytime soon, especially if we could be together in the open after the holidays.
“Let me check in with my dad.” He drank more beer as a grin teased his lips. “This is crazy. We met like, what, a month ago and it feels?—”
“Like we’re more than friends with benefits?” He hadn’t said no. Warmth spread inside me. I might bring a boyfriend home for Christmas if I played my cards right.
“Yeah.” He ate the last of the calamari, and his breath caught. “Isn’t your ex coming to town soon?”
“He is.” I drank some water. “I worked it out with Malik and Grey, so he can have Malik’s room while he’s here. He arrives Friday afternoon and leaves on Sunday.” I’d been so focused on Colton, I’d thought little about Dante. “Coach is letting me skip the team dinner so I can hang out with him Friday night.”
Wrinkling his nose, he said, “What do you have planned with him?”
The server stopped at the table, removed our empty plates, and set our dinners down.
“Uh, don’t know yet.” Usually, we’d hit the gay bar, but I couldn’t drink or stay out late the night before a game. “Maybe have dinner somewhere on Mill Avenue and watch a movie at home?” I took a bite of my flatbread, the pesto in the garlic mixing perfectly with the seasoning on the chicken. It was heavenly.
“So, the same sort of things you do with me.” With a scoff, he hung his head. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be possessive of you like this.” He picked up his fork. “You have every right to spend time with your friend and do whatever you want.” His gaze locked on mine. “He’s a friend now, right?”
My heart ached for Colton. What I’d give to touch him some way to reassure him, take his hand, anything. “Yes, we’ve been friends for years now. No benefits whatsoever.” Shit, should I introduce them? But Dante would surely see we weren’t just friends. But he wasn’t a student here. “Can I tell Dante about us? Would you like to join us Friday night?”
He dropped his jaw open. “Um…”