Page 109 of A Stealthy Situation

My palms are damp, and I’ve already changed my shirt once, but as the people for my event filter in, Benny throws me a thumbs-up from where he’s checking tickets. We sold fifty, which was all I could do for this space, and I’m overwhelmed we even managed that.

Since Benny dropped stats, I’ve been sitting with Jordan, and the sneaky guy bought a ticket without even telling me. Benny looked like he’d chewed on rocks when he saw Jordan’s ticket and checked it about three times.

My snarly man just makes me love him more every day.

There are a few other familiar faces here too. It’s blown my mind to be getting so much support from not only Claribel’s team but from people here on campus too.

Professor Nottering reached out to some people who might be interested in helping, and a newer FU transfer, Ryan, jumped on the opportunity. He’s quieter, but we’ve bonded over video games and wouldn’t have had everything set up on time if he wasn’t so efficient. Then there’s Dex, who’s a poli-sci major and was really interested in what I was doing.

The thing about charity work is that people want to help. I was hesitant to reach out at first, but between Claribel and Professor Nottering helping me with contacts, and some local organizations in San Diego, I’ve been able to pull together people for audio/visual, catering, setup, and plant maintenance.

I tug at the button-up I’m wearing. It’s a cooler December night, but the greenhouse temperature and my nerves aren’t the best combination.

“Hey,” Jordan says, approaching me with a champagne glass in each hand. He holds one out to me that I wave away. There’s no way I’m drinking before I have to run this evening.

Jordan looks doubtfully at the glass. “Guess I’m going to have to choke down two, then.”

“Not a champagne guy?”

“If champagne’s the vibe of the evening, I’ll go with it, but damn, it tastes like piss.”

I laugh and take both glasses before setting them down behind me.

“Your boyfriend growled at me,” he says.

We both turn and see Benny done with the tickets and glaring our way. I blow him a kiss and love the way he tries so hard to fight the smile he wants to let out. “That sounds right.”

“He’s kinda cute. You said he has a twin, right?”

I’m still unsure how much of that to talk about, but Jordan has met them both, and he’s never said anything. I change the subject instead. “What about your girlfriend?”

“Ah. We broke up.”

“Damn.”

“Still unsure how I feel about it.”

I look Jordan over again. “Is that maybe the reason for this sudden bulking up?”

“It felt like the time.”

Benny pops up beside us. “Yes, yes, Jordan is so hot and muscular and whatever.”

Jordan gives an adorable laugh and nudges Benny’s shoulder. “Relax. I was just asking Harrison about your twin?—”

“Off-limits.”

It’s my turn to laugh.

“Well, damn. Still no clue if I’m queer, but you guys have nice genes. Thought it was worth a try.”

“I’ll give you a hint,” Benny says, less bite this time. “If your go-to is ‘nice genes,’ you probably don’t want to fuck the guy.”

“Right. I’ll leave you guys to it.” He claps me on the shoulder. “Good luck.”

“As far as I’m concerned, the night’s already a success,” I say, looking around at the people reading the cards on each plant. The naked-man orchid has gotten a few snickers and closer looks, Stacy has understandably gotten a lot of attention, and even Rich—with the whole history of roses laid out for people to read—has gotten the respect he deserves.

“You are so clever,” Benny says, wrapping his arm around me as Jordan leaves us.

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