Page 120 of Defend Me

I breathed a laugh. “I’m not that easy.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Why are you so basic?”

“Whatever. Why do you hate me?”

“The fact that I answered the phone proves otherwise. I don’t even answer when my grandma calls.”

“Aw. I’m touched.” I heard him let out a feral yawn. “Well, I was thinking.”

“This can’t be good.”

“Will a ball gag shut you up?”

“Only one way to find out,” I replied.

Okay, we had to steer away from that conversation for the time being. It sounded a little too enticing.

“I was thinking,” he repeated with emphasis. “There’s this restaurant in Portland that I want to try-”

“Portland?” I interrupted.

“Just listen. There’s this restaurant that I heard is amazing. Since it’s a few hours away, I was thinking we could take a trip there during spring break. Get a nice hotel, see the sights, a bunch of romance, and all that shit.”

There was a long silence while I thought about what he’d said. It was kind of random and I wasn’t sure why he called to bring it up when he was going to be here soon. I’d come last night, but Brooks had breakfast with a friend, which he’d planned a couple weeks ago before I told him about Alex’s party. He wanted to cancel it, but I insisted he go.

“Now that I think about it, the idea is stupid,” he said.

“Or you’re getting cold feet because you’ve never been rejected in your life.”

“Based but fuck you.”

“It sounds nice,” I ventured slowly.

“Sounds like there’s a ‘but.’”

“No, not really. I was just surprised.” He made a sound, encouraging me to say more. “It’s almost a month away. I didn’t think you’d want to plan something like that when we’ve only been doing this for a week.”

“Think we’re gonna break up before then?”

“Shut up. I never said I don’t want to do it.”

“Wait, you want to?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you surprised?”

“Yes. I keep expecting you to leave in the morning and not come back.”

Fuck, my heart. I’d never wanted to force Brooks to open up; I wanted to make him feel safe enough to do it on his own. It warmed me every time he said something that made him vulnerable.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I assured him. “And neither are you, so don’t get any ideas.”

“Never. Alright, I’ll make a bunch of reservations and plan out all the things we’re gonna do.”

“Uh, no. We’re not making an itinerary. I’ll show you all the places I like in Portland, like Voodoo Donuts. They have a donut called the cock and balls.”

He snorted a laugh. “How can I say no to that? What else?”

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