“So what did he say on the post?” she asks while pouring our wine. I bring up the comment again and hand it to her. She reads it silently, then rolls her eyes.
“He must be delusional if he thinks you’re supposed to keep looking at him with stars in your eyes while he fucks half the Eastern Seaboard.”
I lean over and pull her into a tight embrace.
“OK. We are officially best friends,” I say with a laugh, and she joins me.
“By the way…Who were you looking at like that? The rest of the comments aren’t wrong; you were eye-fucking whoever it was.”
I smile slyly and take a sip of rosé.
“You actually know him. It was…Damon. Your boyfriend’s brother?”
She sits back, shocked.
“What?! You’re fucking dating my boyfriend’s brother? Do we need to set up a double date?!”
I laugh and playfully push her shoulder.
“Slow down there, chick. We’re notdating. He didn’t even come home with me that first night.”
“But you wanted him to?!” she asks, gaping at me. “I can’t believe I missed that.”
“I think you were a little preoccupied getting back together with your boyfriend,” I point out.
Her smile turns warm, and I can practically see the love on her face.
“Yeah. We had a lot of making up to do.” She looks at me mischievously. “A lot. Like a whole night’s worth.”
We both giggle and clink our glasses together.
“I still don’t know why Damon didn’t come home with me that night, but he’s been at every event since. He hides in the back, like I’m not supposed to notice the six foot six basketball player standing by the door.”
“That’s hilarious,” Denise says, still chuckling. “I’ve seen how he dresses; I bet he sticks out like a sore thumb.”
“Totally,” I agree. “But, strangely, it’s not creepy. I mean, yeah, he’s been showing up everywhere I am, but he’s not hassling me or anything. He’s just…there. Being silently supportive, I guess.”
A lump forms in my throat at the thought that a near-stranger is more supportive than my own flesh and blood.
“Oh, OK. So it’s onlylightstalking, then. That’s OK.”
I smirk and push her again.
“Whatever, chick! Everyone knows it’s not really stalking if the guy is hot.”
Denise almost spits out her drink, and I hand her a napkin.
“Now, you know that’s not right,” she says. Her tone is chastising, but her grin matches mine. I primly take a sip of my wine.
“I said what I said.”
We cackle at my silliness, and I refill our glasses. Tomorrow, I’ll have to deal with the fallout from “The Look Seen ‘Round the World” and Andre’s comment. Tonight, I can hang with a new friend and gab about boys and dating. Hopefully, Damon will reach out soon. If not, I’ll just have to find another way to ruffle his feathers.
Chapter six
Damon
May
