“Both of your best friends?” Nate questioned. He only knew about Wes. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked; maybe he didn’t really need to know any more about Ramsey than he already did, but hewantedto know more about Ramsey.
It was a similar kind of alarm ringing in the back of his head that had sounded when Ramsey had casually suggested they fake whatever this relationship was between them. But just like then, it didn’t stop Nate at all.
“You know Wes,” Ramsey said, and Nate nodded, fully aware that Ramsey was hesitating.
“If we’re accusing anyone of being a shitty date, agooddate would at least be willing to tell me something about himself,” Nate said.
Ramsey made a face. “You’re going to meet him in a few weeks.”
“I will?”
“Well yeah. He’ll be coming here with his boyfriend, who plays for the Riptide. Dean Scott.”
“You know the guy who’s dating Dean Scott?” Nate told himself the awe in his voice was only a casual sort of appreciation for the guy’s insane football skill, and Ramsey wouldn’t make more of it than that.
But of course, Ramsey only rolled his eyes. “Not you too,” he said.
“What?” Nate replied self-consciously.
“Don’t tell me you’ve got a crush on that guy.That guy, ugh,” Ramsey muttered. “You think you’re gonna do your friend a solid, get him a good roommate and maybe dislodge, just a little, the stick that’s crawled up his ass. Instead, he ends upfalling in lovewith the guy and quitting hockey so he can moon over him all over Southern California.”
Nate raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Ramsey repeated with emphasis. “I’m still annoyed about it.”
“He really quit hockey so he could follow Dean Scott?” It really said something that this was the most interesting and most remarkable part of everything Ramsey had just said.
“Well,no, not technically. Technically Brody quit hockey so he could go be a brilliant doctor.”
“That’s a little different,” Nate pointed out.
Ramsey smacked him lightly on the shoulder. “Not you too,” he complained.
“Just saying.”
“Anyway, they’ll be here, and I’m sure they’ll want to meet you. I can only imagine the texts Wes has already sent him.”
Nate raised both eyebrows. “Texts?”
“Oh, Wes is just . . .torn between insane excitement and complete disbelief and feels like he has to share that with someone or he’ll explode.”
“Over you pretending to casually date?” Nate supposed he shouldn’t be surprised.
Ramsey rolled his eyes. “Notpretendingaccording to him.”
“Right.” Could anyone blame him for tacking onpretendingevery single time his brain stuttered overdating? His heart and his brain and his cock kept wishful thinking the opposite.
“Back to our date.” Ramsey fluttered the eyelashes over those lethal blue eyes in his direction. Even in a T-shirt and jeans, he was so beautiful Nate could barely believe he was even real and standing next to him in his apartment.
Surely he was a mirage that would vanish as soon as Nate touched him.
But Nate reached down, hand curling around his hip, half because he wanted to, and half because he wanted Ramsey to push him off, and Ramsey just leaned into it.
“You want anything else?” Ramsey asked instead, gesturing towards the phone.
“You ordered half the menu,” Nate bitched.
But Ramsey just shrugged and kept clicking through, holding the phone up so Nate’s Apple Pay would recognize his face.
