Page 63 of Except You

“Um, what was the question again?” I ask, and Coop repeats it.

I take a second to process before answering. “I thought he was really pretty and not as gay as some of the guys in the club.”

Coop slaps his leg in response, his face lighting up. “Oh, this is too good.” He scribbles something else on his paper and then clears his throat.

“What are your thoughts on gay men?”

“Oh, um,” I run a hand over the back of my neck. “I like them. Well, I like Beau. And my brother. You’re yet to be determined.”

Coop grins and then points at me. “I like you, Max. I can see what has Beau pining for you.”

“I am not pining,” Beau hisses and then pats me on the arm. “There is no pining going on. Trust me.”

I swallow and nod before taking another sip of my drink.

“How big is your dick?” Coop asks, and I nearly spit my drink out.

“His dick is perfectly normal, Coop. Jesus.”

Coop eyes his best friend and then waggles his hand between us, his eyes lighting up in delight.

“Oh, but Beau, how do you know this?”

It’s Beau’s turn to blush, and I feel slightly better that it’s not just me being interrogated.

“That is none of your business.”

Beau purses his lips and folds his arms across his chest. I lean back and sip on my drink, glad that I’m sort of not in the spotlight anymore.

“Oh, but you have to tell me. Have you seen Beau’s dick, Max?”

I glance at the sheet in his hand and arch an eyebrow. “Is that a question on your paper?”

Coop gasps, his eyes flicking down to the paper in his hand and then back up at me.

“It is not, but I demand an answer.”

Beau leans against me and shakes his head. “No. That is none of your business.”

“Since when are your lays none of my business?”

Beau doesn’t answer, just pretends to zip his lips, which makes it more suspicious, if you ask me. But we didn’t really do anything too gay, right?

It was just a casual jack-off session with a friend.

It doesn’t matter that I was staring at him the entire time. Or that I liked those dirty words that slipped from his lips.

I was just sex deprived.

That’s all that was.

“You both are atrocious. I rescind my offer of dinner and drag night. I’m going to have my bodyguard escort you out.”

“You don’t have a bodyguard,” Beau says, rolling his eyes and popping a piece of food into his mouth before offering me some as well. “And I bet Max could take you down. He’s much stronger than us both.”

I don’t know about that, but Coop does seem a little frail.

I could probably fend him off.

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