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I’ve been putting off thinking about it too much since the idea first came up all those months ago. It’s not because I didn’t think it would work. More that I couldn’t see Austen blindly agreeing to something, especially when I’m such a public figure and he’s not… into dudes. Or girls. I don’t know.
“I can’t chill out. This is hilarious. I was just about to tell Corrin about your dilemma of the day.”
As if he’s only just realized I’m here, Austen’s whole body goes tight. It’s literally so powerful, I can see the muscles in his back clench.
With a graceful slowness, he rises from the table to face me. His mouth opens and closes a few times before he finds the words he’s looking for.
“Welcome to Boston, Corrin.”
Tenn shoves his shoulder. “Don’t be a dick, little brother. You’re not a concierge or anything.”
I give the pair of them an easy smile, even as I feel anything but easygoing. “No need to be formal. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on instead? That way I can get the facts, and Tenn won’t make you look bad.”
“Hey! I’m a nice guy,” my friend cries before bursting into laughter.
Austen shakes his head, a smile forming on his gorgeous lips as he takes in his ridiculous brother. I want to stare at him all night, but I force myself to keep things simple and normal. He doesn’t need me lusting after him to go along with whatever else happened today.
It also does me no good to scare him in the event I do actually ask him if he wants to help me. Yeah, right.
“According to my brother, the problem I’ve been having is simply a misunderstanding between me and the girls on campus.” He says it calmly, like this isn’t as bad as Tenn has made it out to be.
Speaking of which — Tenn takes the moment to jump in.
“He’s not going to tell the whole truth because he’s embarrassed. Poor guy had no idea he was being hit on every time he left the house. He just thought they were annoying.”
My eyes widen at that. Austen buries his face in his hands, so he misses the expression. Tenn is too busy laughing at whatever jokes he’s telling himself to pay my reaction any mind.
“Umm… so I guess that’s not good. Can I ask the obvious question?” When neither of them speaks up, I continue ahead. “How did you not realize they were flirting?”
Austen groans loudly right as Antonia returns with his drink. I could use a few of those. “Sounds like you need this. Starters will be right out.”
Tenn calms enough to thank her, then leans on the table. “My brother here is a fucking genius with business and schoolwork. He's not as smart socially. He missed all the cleavage and heavily perfumed hints since he doesn’t date.”
“At all?” I ask incredulously.
The younger Page brother frowns at me. “There’s nothing wrong with abstaining from dating. I have a busy schedule. Prior to this year, I was also a collegiate athlete.”
I lift my hands to show surrender.
“I’m not saying that. I’m merely curious. We've never talked about your dating life. I didn’t know what was going on there. Just getting a baseline.”
“Baseline? There is no baseline. If I didn’t know better, I’d say bro was a virgin with how little he interacts with others.”
“Not cool, Tenn. No need to speculate,” I tell my friend firmly. He has the good sense to apologize to his brother while also looking like I put him in timeout.
Chips, salsa, and a few various plates of delicious looking food come out of the kitchen before I can probe any further. It takes several minutes of eating and general discussion before I get the nerve I need.
Funny, considering I get on stage in front of thousands of people to perform for a living. Yet, somehow, he makes me a mess with just a few glances my way.
“So, I have an idea that might be a little strange. You have to hear me out until the end before you shoot it down though.”
They share a look before they nod along. “Hit us with it,” Tenn tells me eagerly.
“I think Austen and I might be able to help each other out. As Tennyson knows, my parents are on a tirade to tie me down with someone. I don’t need to get married or anything, but they’re adamant about me dating.”
“They’ve built a rolodex of young, eligible country club girls for him, bro. It’s wild.”
Austen looks appalled at the idea. “Sounds terrifying.”
