Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
He lived by the motto I licked it so it’s mine.
He’d seen it on a T-shirt somewhere and it’d stuck with him ever since. Perfectly accurate for his mental state, especially in regards to Fitch. Plus, he’d never done the whole dating thing and he didn’t want the boys to start with their squealing and clapping.
After all, he was still convinced it wouldn’t work out in the end.
In fact, after his last conversation with Fitch, he was one hundred percent sure their arrangement was going to go down in a ball of flames.
He was also sure he was going to hold on until the very last minute. Because Fitch made him laugh without being sarcastic. Fitch made him smile without being rude. And when they were together, he didn’t feel the need to act like someone else. He’d always been himself around Fitch. The guy looked at him with those warm brown eyes and made him feel like he had wings. Like, if he wanted, he could fly to the moon and bring back stars.
“Earth to Ansel! Jesus, where is your head?” Z snapped his fingers in front of his eyes.
“Bitch, get out of my face before I punch you in the throat and make you taste the rainbow.”
Tam snickered. “You were daydreaming, Ansel.”
“Seriously, first you ask to take five so you can answer a mysterious phone call then you zone out in the middle of Tam’s instructions?” Lirim let the questions hang.
“Not to mention I haven’t seen you this sober since we met.”
“Shut up, Z, that makes me sound like an alcoholic.”
Z’s dark brow rose, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.
“You have been acting strange,” Tam said.
Ansel pushed hair off his face. “It’s nothing. Christ, I’m just sort of seeing someone.”
“I knew it.” Z punched a fist in the air then gave Lirim the finger.
Lirim shook his head. “Dick.”
“Who?”
“Duh, it’s that guy. What was his name? Phillip?”
“Fitch. And you’re an idiot.” He picked at the chipping polish on his thumb.
“What do you mean ‘seeing’? Like seeing, seeing? Or just seeing?”
He tried to puzzle out Lirim’s question. “I have no idea what you just asked.”
“He means are you fucking or dating?” Z translated.
He crossed to the speakers. “Dating. Are we going to stand around gossiping like a bunch of high school cheerleaders or are we going to finish this choreo?”
“Dating? For real?” This was accompanied by Tam’s big doe eyes. “Exclusively?”
He sighed and rested his hands on his hips. “Yes. Jesus, it’s not a big deal. He doesn’t sleep around so, yeah. We’re going to try being exclusive. Really, it’s not a big deal.”
“You said that already,” Z said with a smart-ass grin on his face.
“If I didn’t love you so much, I’d kick your ass.” Instead, he flipped him off. “Can we please get back to work now?”
“Bless my heart, I never thought I’d see the day that Ansel Becke didn’t want to talk about his sex life. It’s a goddamn miracle.” Lirim held his hands up as if he were praying to the heavens, and everyone laughed.
A minute later, they were running through Tam’s dance to Gaga’s “Applause” and he didn’t have to hide his smile.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Lars called for the first time that night. Ansel clutched the phone and smiled into the mirror as the guys rushed around behind him in the dressing room getting ready for their performance.
“Hey,” Lars said. “Sorry it took me so long to call you.”
“No biggie, how are you?” Ansel asked.
“Okay. Looks like I have to take a few extra classes in the summer to be ready for Columbia in the fall, but it’s not so bad. There’s a girl in my study group who likes dancing and she got all excited when I told her about you.” Ansel could hear the smile in his brother’s voice, and laughed.
“Is she pretty?”
“Oh yeah. Thanks for being a great wingman.”
“You’re welcome. And all without being there. Just wait until you’re in the city, I’ll introduce you to all the girls. If not me, then Z will be more than willing to help.”
From the corner of the dressing room Z snickered. “Between the two of us he’ll have more dates than he knows what to do with.”
Lars chuckled. “I heard that.”
“I think that was the point.”
“Where are you? It seems loud.”
“We’re backstage at the club. Our show starts in about twenty minutes.”
“Oh, do you need to go?”
“In a bit, it won’t take me too long to finish getting ready. So, tell me, what else is new?”
“Not much, I’ve mostly been studying. I got a C on my last American Lit test so Mom has been on me. I have a makeup exam next week.”
“Is Mr. Hine still teaching American Lit?”
Lars groaned. “Yes, the guy is as old as the poems he’s teaching us. I swear he’s a vampire or something.”