Page 57 of Switch Pitching

Woah. That’s huge. “You do?”

He shrugs. “Why not? I basically sleep in your room full-time now. Thought we could make it official.”

“Yeah, that could work” I try to sound casual, even though I’m barely able to contain my excitement.

“Definitely, we’ll keep my room the way it is in case anyone comes over and questions anything.”

“And we should get separate blankets.”

James nods in agreement. “Good call, I don’t want to wake up freezing when you hog the covers.”

Incredulous, I scoff, pointing a finger at James and jabbing it into his left pec. “Youwake up freezing? I’m not the one who engulfs myself in blankets and wraps my body like a burrito!”

Not backing down, James grabs my wrist and wrestles me over the counter, laughing. “Stop projecting, buddy,” he teases, surrounding me in a bear hug. “You and your giant frame need, like, fifteen blankets just to cover yourself properly!”

“You calling me fat, James?” I joke, flipping him around and pinning his arms against the fridge.

James wriggles out and cups my chest. “Nah, you’re all muscle, which makes you a good space heater.”

I chuckle and sit back. “Alright, no offense taken. Either way, separate blankets are a good idea.”

“No matter who the thief is,” adds James, giving my head a playful pat.

As we finish breakfast, a thought pops into my head. “Hey, don’t forget we invited Will over for dinner tonight.”

James’s eyes widen and he sits up straighter. “Shit, I totally forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me.”

I chuckle. “No problem. Between the two of us, I’m the one who has a calendar.”

James runs a hand through his hair, looking a bit sheepish. “Yeah, I’m trying to be better, but I’m glad you’re on top of things.” James pauses, running through something else in his head. “Do you think we can manage to keep things under wraps tonight? Will’s cool, but still.”

I nod, understanding. “We’ll be careful. It’s just a normal dinner between friends, nothing to worry about at all.”

James relaxes a bit and smiles. “You’re right. Who knows, maybe I’ll get drunk and tell him.”

I laugh and roll my eyes. “Whenever you’re ready, you can go ahead and do whatever you want.”

“Speaking of dinner,” I say, standing up and stretching, “we should hit the store and get some ingredients.”

James groans playfully. “Fine, let’s hit the store for all the ingredients that I’ll end up using.”

Smirking, I cross my arms. “That’s because you always get to the kitchen before me and take over.”

There’s a sparkle in James’s eyes as he walks toward me. “I’m the only one in the kitchen because you can’t cook for shit.”

“Excuse you, I can totally cook,” I fire back, knowing that my cooking skills are limited to pasta, potatoes, and some meat.

James brushes past me to grab his wallet and keys from the dining table. “Let’s face it. Between the two of us, I’m the better cook.”

Resigned, I throw my hands up. “Yeah, I’m not gonna argue with that.”

I grab my wallet and follow James to the entryway to put on shoes and grab shopping bags. James insists on driving again because he thinks driving a truck in the city is douchey. I admit that it isn’t the mostphysicallypractical option, but it’s paid off and works fine. Not gonna say no to being a passenger, though.

The grocery store is surprisingly crowded for a weekday morning, but we manage to find everything we need and get out. Back at the apartment, as we’re putting everything away, I notice James glancing at me. “Are you sure Will won’t notice anything?” he asks.

“Yeah, we should be good as long as we aren’t too obvious.”

James smiles. “Yeah, I’ll keep things subtle. Don’t you worry.”

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