She waved her hand dismissively, like she was shooing away an annoying fly. “Please, like that’s not the perfect cover story. Besides, watching them try to figure us out is better than any drama series. Did you see Colt’s face? He looked like he was trying to solve a particularly challenging math problem while simultaneously sucking on a lemon.”
I collapsed next to her with a sigh that could’ve moved mountains. Or at least caused a minor landslide.
“Oh my God, stop channeling your inner Victorian heroine and spill.” She nudged me with enough force to nearly topple me over. “What’s got you doing the whole brooding protagonist routine? You’ve been avoiding eye contact with Jaxson like he’s Medusa and you’re afraid of turning to stone.”
I bit my lip, debating whether to tell her about last night. If I did, she’d probably spontaneously combust from pure joy. Her favorite real-life Boys’ Love drama finally getting steamy? She’d never let me live it down. On the other hand, if I didn’t tell her, she’d probably figure it out anyway and then torture me for not sharing the details immediately.
“Nothing,” I mumbled, which was about as convincing as Nico claiming he was on a diet or Colt pretending he didn’t color-code his protein shakes.
She wrapped herself around me like an octopus on a mission, face buried in my neck in a dramatic display that would make soap opera actresses proud. “Please, please, please! I’m dying here, Lan! Your best friend privileges are at stake!”
The door creaked open just as Bree was doing her best koala impression on me. Nico stood there, freezing mid-step like he’dwalked in on something scandalous. “Lan, we’ve got something for— Oh…”
“It’s not what you think,” I said flatly. Though honestly, at this point, I wasn’t sure what anyone thought anymore. My life had become a sitcom without the laugh track. Or maybe with the laugh track, but it was just the universe cackling at my misfortune.
Nico’s knowing smirk made me want to throw something at him. Preferably something heavy. Like a dictionary. Or Colt.
The door swung wider, revealing Ben, Chris, and Josh clustered behind him like paparazzi at a celebrity sighting.
“Are you two making out?” Ben asked, waggling his eyebrows in a way that made me want to staple them to his forehead.
“No, we’re not. Bree is just being… Bree.” I pried her arms off me while she grinned like the Cheshire cat on catnip. “It’s a condition. The doctors say there’s no cure.”
“I’m just trying to extract secrets from my best friend,” she announced cheerfully, like that made it better. “He’s being stubborn about it.”
Nico’s eyebrows shot up so high they nearly disappeared into his hairline. “Secrets?” His gaze zeroed in on me like a heat-seeking missile. “Well, well, well… What kind of secrets would our innocent little Lan be hiding?”
He sauntered in, his friends trailing behind like ducklings, and suddenly my room felt about as spacious as a shoebox. Ben was clutching what looked suspiciously like a stack of magazines, and my stomach dropped. I knew that guilty look. I’d seen it enough times on Nico’s face to know exactly what kind of ‘literature’ they were about to unleash.
Please don’t be porn. Please don’t be?—
“We brought you these!” Nico announced with all the pride of someone presenting a Nobel Prize instead of questionable material.
Ben deposited the pile in the middle of our little gathering like he was making an offering to some deity of dubious tastes.
“I don’t want those,” I hissed, pushing the stack away like it might bite me. “And in case you haven’t noticed, Bree is right here!”
“She’s twenty-one,” Nico shrugged, like that solved everything. “Old enough to appreciate the art form. Besides, we’re all adults here.”
“Some of us more than others,” I muttered, eyeing him pointedly.
Bree’s laugh bubbled up, bright and mischievous. “Trust me, those aren’t my taste.” She reached for her backpack with the air of someone about to trump everyone else’s hand. “Now these…” She pulled out her own stack of manga with a flourish. “These are art.”
She dropped her collection of BL manga right on top of the porn magazines like she was making a statement. Which, knowing Bree, she absolutely was.
“These two are totally going at it,” Ben announced, turning the book sideways as if that would help him understand what he was seeing better. “Is that even physically possible? That angle defies the laws of physics.”
“Oh, just wait.” Bree leaned over, flipping a few pages ahead with the confidence of a professor about to reveal a groundbreaking theory. “This scene is where it getsreallyinteresting. See how the dominant one is all protective but still respects the other’s boundaries? That’s quality content right there.”
Nico frowned, squinting at the pages like he was trying to decipher ancient hieroglyphics. “Hold up—where are the dicks? I mean, if you’re gonna draw guys doing the dirty, at least show us the goods.”
Ground, please swallow me now. Or better yet, swallow them. All of them. Especially Bree, who’s clearly enjoying my suffering way too much.
“Censorship,” Bree explained sagely, like she was imparting great wisdom. “Japanese publishing laws.” Her eyes lit up with that dangerous gleam I knew too well—the one that usually preceded me wanting to find a new best friend. “But if you want to seeeverything…” She whipped out her phone, fingers flying over the screen. “Korean BL webtoons don’t hold back.”
“Holy shit!” Nico’s eyes went wide as saucers at whatever she’d pulled up. The others crowded around her phone like moths to a flame, their expressions shifting from curiosity to shock to something that looked disturbingly like appreciation.
“The art is gorgeous,” Ben breathed, clearly forgetting his earlier discomfort. “And it’s all in color!”