Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 285(@200wpm)___ 228(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
“He’s my date!” Sunny punctuated her flippant comment with a hearty laugh, tossing her long hair over her shoulder.
“Oh.” Phoenix furrowed his brow and bit his bottom lip.
Sunny narrowed her gaze and cast a curious glance between her brother and me. “Oh.”
A whole conversation was happening under the surface, and I had a feeling they were coming to some negative conclusions. I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I hadn’t been entirely honest either. And if Sunny assumed this was a date, I probably looked like a jerk. I glanced toward Javi and Sarah standing a few feet away with their heads buried in their phones, then back at Sunny and Phoenix.
“My friend’s girlfriend had an extra ticket for the show,” I explained clumsily. “You were great. I know I just said that, but I meant it.”
“Thank you,” he replied softly.
We stared at each other for a moment. I felt like we were having our own private conversation now, but I didn’t think this one was going well. He met my “This isn’t what you’re thinking” look with a dubious, “Yeah, right” that made me anxious to explain myself. I just didn’t know what else to say.
Sunny coughed. “We should let you go. I’ll see you at the cast party. I was going to ask my friends to come too, but—”
“The more the merrier,” Phoenix said with a tight smile. “It’s at Dean Humphrey’s house. His daughter played Titania and he kind of insisted on hosting.”
Sunny inclined her head. “That’s the big house with the wraparound porch on the corner of University Street, right?”
“Yeah. It’s an easy walk from here. I’m going to change into something less comfortable and head over now.” Phoenix gestured at his bare torso before adjusting the ivy crown on his head.
“I’ll send Sarah and the guys ahead and wait for you,” Sunny said.
“I’ll wait too,” I blurted awkwardly.
Phoenix shot a look at me I couldn’t read without a detailed map. “That’s not necessary. I’ll see you later, Max.”
I raked my hand through my hair and watched helplessly as he moved away. Fuck. That didn’t go well.
Sunny glanced over at me with a puzzled frown. “I’m confused, but at the same time I know exactly what’s happening.”
“What do you mean?” I bluffed.
“You’re here because of him, aren’t you?”
I licked my lips nervously. “Um…”
Sunny raised her hand and shook her head. “Well, it’s not the first time this has happened. Don’t freak out. I’m used to being the guardian of queer classified info. My brother tends to attract buff dudes with biceps the size of watermelons who want everyone to think they’re scoring big with the ladies,” she scoffed. “And he has a thing for closet cases.”
“What? Wait. Do I look like a closet case?”
“It’s never what you look like, Max. It’s what you act like. Don’t worry. This is normal for me. I can name at least five instances where a guy has pretended to be into me just to get to Nix.”
“Hey, I didn’t do that. I had no idea you were his sister. And I really didn’t think this was a date. I just…” I sucked in a deep breath and then shrugged when I couldn’t think of anything else to say. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I get it. He’s amazing,” she gushed before stabbing her forefinger at my chest. “But I will kick your ass if you mess with him. Don’t try me.”
Her singsong tone and pixielike appearance should have made her threat seem almost comical, but she looked pretty damn fierce.
I held my arms up in surrender. “I’m not gonna mess with him. I promise. We don’t really know each other well. I met him a few months ago at a club in LA and—”
Sunny gasped. “You’re the club hunk? He told me about you. And he mentioned bumping into you again and…oh my gosh, this is kind of romantic. I mean, it sucks for me, but I like that you’re willing to risk it all to win his heart.”
“I’m not trying to risk or win anything. Honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing,” I admitted, shoving my hands in my back pockets.
“Obviously,” she quipped without heat. “Quick question. Are you single?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Because I want to help you, but I can’t if I think you’re bad news.”
“I’m not bad news. I’m just…confused.”
“I know. Look, I have an idea.” Sunny glanced toward our friends and waved before tucking her hair behind her ear and continuing. “I’ll tell them we’re going to put in appearance at the party.”
“Just me and you? Won’t they think it’s weird if you don’t invite them too?”
“I’ll give Sarah a secret signal, so she’ll think we want to be alone.”
“And then what?”
“That’s up to you.” She narrowed her eyes and cocked her head. “I’m assuming you want to talk to my brother. Am I right?”