Page 66 of Theoretically Straight

I snort a laugh. “Depends on the project. According to him, this project’s pretty low-key.”

“Is that Wren?” Lola asks from the living room. “Just warn me now if they’ve got you painted to look like some hideous alien before you round the corner and give me a heart attack.”

“Oh, uh, it’s not Wren!” I call back, shrugging my shoulders at Theo who’s laughing.

“Hi, Freddy!” Lola yells, making another assumption. “I saw your post today. That new boyfriend is a cutie!”

“Not Freddy, either!” I respond. Theo’s shoulders bounce with laughter as he covers his mouth.

There’s a punctuated pause before Lola replies, “Well, are you talking to the wall then? Who is it?”

I wave for Theo to follow me, and we walk through the dining room, rounding the corner to the living room. Lola is sitting on the middle cushion of the couch, her laptop open on the coffee table and a textbook in her lap. Her coppery hair is pulled back off her face, and she’s actually wearing her glasses, which means she must have been reading all day.

“You’re new,” she says as we enter the room, eyeing Theo over her thick frames.

“Lola, this is Theo. Theo, this is my sister, Lola.”

Theo waves one hand, sticking the other in his pocket. “Hey, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Lola says, smiling, but she’s looking at me, not him. “What have you two been up to this evening?”

“Just chilling,” I answer, suddenly feeling like I’m on the stand and Lola is getting ready to cross-examine me. “Grabbed some dinner. We’re gonna go hang out upstairs.”

Lola’s smile doesn’t fade. “Mhm. Well, I’ll just be down here, doing homework and reminiscing on the years I used to have a life….”

Theo lets out a nervous chuckle, and I hook my arm through his, pulling him back toward the hallway. “Have fun!” I call over my shoulder to Lola as I lead Theo to the stairs. A bolt of panic shoots through me as we climb because I don’t remember what state I left my bedroom in this morning, but it passes once I open the door and remember that it’s mostly clean. Except for the bed, but I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve made it voluntarily.

“This is me,” I say, walking him into the room.

“Nice,” he says, admiring the stack of manga I have on my desk. He picks up the top volume, examining the cover. “Elise mentioned this one before. Is this one of those creepy series that you guys were talking about in the pool?”

The skin along my cheekbones ignites as I take the book from him. “No, nothing like that. It’s just a story about a guy who runs a bakery. But you know, it’s BL, so there’s plenty of drama to keep things interesting.”

Theo raises a brow. “BL? Isn’t that some sort of Brazilian plastic surgery?”

“That’s a BBL,” I correct him with a laugh. “This is a ‘boy love’ series. It’s just what they call it when the love interests are gay.”

Theo nods. “Ah, I was way off.”

“Yeah, they’re kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. They're just fluffy and adorable, and I can’t resist them.”

Theo watches me for a moment, one side of his mouth twisted into a half smile. And even though we’ve been one-on-one all afternoon, here in my bedroom, with no one else around, the air between us feels charged, like any second a crackle of lightning could jump between us.

“You're judging me, aren’t you?” I ask, setting the book back on top of the stack.

“Nah, no way.” He takes a step closer, and it’s like my lungs forget how to expand for a second. “I was just distracted by how cute you are.”

“Wow, that was bold,” I tease, even though my face is on fire.

He reaches for my hand again, and I let him, pulling him over to the foot of my bed. I sit on the edge, reversing the difference in our height as I look up at him.

“I’ve been feeling kinda bold lately,” Theo says, his thumb tracing the back of my hand in small, steady circles. “At least, when I’m around you. I guess you bring that out in me. Hell, you even got me to dance–or at least try to.”

All I can think about is how it felt when we were tangled on the floor.

“Yeah, that was kind of a disaster.”

Theo’s crooked smile slowly fades, and he licks his lips.

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