“And I’m on the dead-end side. No butterflies, warm and fuzzes, and certainly no interest in smooches or cuddles or rubbing bodies together.”
Rus rolled his eyes. “Point made.”
“Why don’t you just try both?”
Rus snorted. “They aren’t ice cream samples.”
“Of course, not. More variety there,” Daysha said, focusing on disassembling her station. “Just grab one of them tonight, pull him aside, and give him a kiss. See if you have those electrical sparks or whatever. Then excuse yourself, grab the other one, and test out his lips.”
“With another kiss?”
“Or whatever else you wanna try.” Daysha shrugged. “I know where those dirty lips of yours have been.”
They both broke out into laughter, and Rus nudged Daysha, playfully knocking away her concentration from her game.
“You are terrible at love advice.”
“And you’re terrible about following your heart.” Daysha’s matter-of-fact comment stumbled Rus.
She’d been friends with him since orientation, when they mockingly joked about all the campus policies and were both annoyingly too edgy to care about the school spirit of the college. That evolved over time, much like their friendship. In fact, Daysha was the person on campus who really knew how little Rus dated, how he avoided it after the messiest high school breakup ever. Still, he chased his feelings most days, but unfortunately, his follow-through often fell short.
It was easier not to take a chance on romance than to risk it.
“You ready?” Dylan squeezed Rus’ shoulder as he wrapped an arm around him. He held Kaiden in the same embrace with hisother arm, ushering the trio out of Himbos and into the streets of downtown.
Maybe it wasn’t a risk. Maybe it was a chance. An opportunity. A possibility. Only, Rus didn’t know with who.
He kept close to Kaiden and Dylan, carefully eyeing the street as they barreled out into the night. Downtown had mostly died out at this point, with drunken stragglers roaming from one greasy restaurant to the next, slowly pouring themselves into rideshares, or simply passing out on a friend’s shoulder.
Kaiden’s smile kept Rus afloat. Seeing the joy of the evening had taken hold and kept him vigilant. All Rus wanted was to ensure this night would be cemented as fun. Mostly, he wanted to keep his friend safe, wash away the bad taste of bitter memories, and swim in this good time a bit longer.
“A perfectly drama-free evening,” Dylan said with a bit of a swagger.
The sway of his hips kept Rus’ attention fixed.
“No drama at all.”
“I can wrangle up a little drama if anyone wants,” Rus said, mimicking Dylan’s swagger.
“Wrangle?” Kaiden asked. “You a cowboy now?”
“Maybe I always was,” Rus said with a dreadful Southern accent while tipping his imaginary hat.
They all broke out into laughter, following Dylan back to his car, where he drove to Rus’ apartment to close out the evening.
When they arrived at the complex, Rus caught Kaiden lingering, staring at his beat-up car.
“Come on in,” Rus insisted, then turned his attention to Dylan, who still sat in his car. “It’s late. Sleepovers are no biggie.”
“Hmmmm.” Kaiden pondered loudly. “On the one hand, I do have work in the morning, so I should head home. On the other hand, I’d rather not get yelled at for slipping through a window again.”
“I can’t believe you have to break into your own home.” Rus scoffed.
“They keep it locked and tight for safety.”
“But they know you break in,” Rus added. “What’s the point then?”
“The point is obstacles.” Kaiden gestured with arms, quite dramatically.
