Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
“I am not,” he grumbled.
“Do you know you?” Corbin asked.
“They have a point,” Declan added, and I let out a sigh of relief. I didn’t want to get into this again with all of them. I’d told them I wanted their support, and they’d said yes. I wanted it to stop right there.
“Make up your mind. One minute I’m an asshole, the next a mother hen,” Marcus replied.
“You’re both,” I said. “But come on, Marcus, you know you try to take care of all of us. You say I’m the heart of us, but you’re the backbone—our protector.” And he was. When I’d wanted to know what it was like to kiss a boy, Marcus had been my first. Corbin’s too. He hadn’t done it because he wanted us, but because he wanted to make us happy. We’d congregated at his home a lot as kids, and then later on he’d helped us with our businesses. We recorded at his place and spent most of our time here. Marcus was our glue, even though he would never see it.
“You guys are crazy.” He rolled his eyes, and we let it go.
We chatted for a few minutes, getting comfortable. I always sat next to Declan—and Marcus and Corbin beside each other. We prepared the equipment and got everything ready, testing our mics.
“We gonna talk about how we’re doing this or just go for it?” Marcus asked.
“Just go for it. I don’t want it to sound too rehearsed, and we play off each other well.”
Declan looked at me with a kind smile. “You got this.”
I reached over and squeezed his hand.
Three…two…one…the timer counted down in the background.
“Hello, queer people and allies,” Corbin began. “Welcome to The Vers, where four best friends who rarely agree on anything give their versatile opinions about everything. I’m Corbin Erickson, The Charmer.”
“Parker Hansley, The Romantic.”
“Marcus Alston, The Realist—and I can’t believe Corb didn’t add something about how much better he is than the rest of us.”
“Because this week isn’t about me, and unlike you, I understand that,” Corbin joked.
“Pfft, you understand it my ass,” Marcus countered.
“Yes, you are an ass. I totally agree.” Corbin smirked.
We always spent half our time on The Vers nitpicking at each other, but for some reason, people loved it. Maybe because we were just us, because the bond between us could be felt in every word, and we kept it real. The way we acted on The Vers was how we acted in real life as well.
“Can I introduce myself now, or do you guys plan to keep this going?” Declan interrupted Marcus and Corbin’s banter.
“I was thinking we’d keep it going,” Corbin replied.
Marcus shook his head at him. “Didn’t you just say you know when something isn’t about you?”
Finally, Dec cut them off, or they’d never stop. “I’m Declan Burns, The Loner.”
“Who isn’t a loner anymore because he has a super-hot movie-star boyfriend. But enough about everyone except Parker now.” Corbin winked at Declan.
I mustered all the courage I could and plastered my happy face on to get myself in the mood. “Yes, let’s talk about me now. Declan’s old news. I have something exciting to share.” I was surprised how real that sounded. If I didn’t know myself, I’d think I was truly stoked to share about getting married.
“You’re in love with me?” Corbin asked.
“No.”
“You’re having Marcus’s baby, then?”
“Do you ever shut up?” I teased my friend. He pretended to wipe tears from his eyes.
“I’ll be a good boy now.” Corbin turned to Marcus. “I promise, Daddy M.”
I rolled my eyes, but what he was doing helped. The lighter and sillier Corbin made this, the more it eased the thunder of anxiety sounding off in my head.
“Really, though…I’ve been keeping a secret from you, Vers listeners. There’s a guy…and he’s a good one. No surprise threesomes, or getting stood up, or showing up for our date dressed like a chicken… Do you guys remember that?” I chuckled.
“Yeah, I mean, what the fuck?” Marcus replied. “Do we even know why he did that?”
“Nope. I took one look at him and walked out. He chased me down the street. Clucking.” There was a round of laughter in response.
“What is it about you that attracts such assholes and weirdos?” Declan asked.
“I don’t know, but the good news is that I don’t have to worry about that anymore because of The Guy. We’ve been dating for a while now, but because of my bad luck, we decided to keep it quiet. We were in Las Vegas and had…well, a great night. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard or had so much fun, and we decided to just do it—we got married! It’s been a whirlwind since, but I wanted to share the good news with you all. You’ve been such a support to me over the years.” And I was lying to them. Ugh. This was harder than I’d thought it would be. “So thank you for everything. The Romantic has finally found his Prince Charming.”