Page 241 of Delicious

“Cool. Be right back.”

ChapterThree

Bas

“Pick up, pick up, pick up,” I murmur into the ringing phone, keeping one eye on Dylan in the distance to make sure he doesn’t take off. He seems too sweet to blow me off like that, but he’s definitely shy enough to overthink things and decide to bolt.

“How’d it go?” Tony says instead of a ‘hello.’

I huff out a laugh, my belly quivering with nerves and my heart beating double time.

“Uh… well, you know you said you’d owe me a huge favor?” I keep my voice low even though I doubt Dylan can hear me from all the way over here.

“Yeah…” my brother says slowly, clearly suspicious of what kind of huge favorI could want to cash in this fast.

“Right, so here’s the thing… You know that regular customer I’ve been low-key crushing on for ages?” I rake my fingers through my hair and glance over at Dylan again. He’s still sitting on the bench, folded forward, petting his dog. The park lights are just starting to come on around him, giving him an otherworldly kind of glow.

“Low-key?” Tony scoffs. “His blush is so cute, his lips look so soft, he said the funniest thing today,” he mocks in a poor imitation of my voice.

I blow out a breath and chuckle. Yeah, guilty. I’m crazy about the guy, even if I hardly know him. Tonight’s my chance though. I’m not the taco guy and he’s not my customer; we’re just two guys with no plans for dinner.

“It’s him,” I say quickly, like ripping off a Band-Aid.

“Who?”

“Your date. Dylan.” I might feel guilty asking for a favor like this if Tony actually knew Dylan, if they’d met and he’d asked him on a date in a real way. But this was just a setup. They haven’t texted or talked, they don’t even know each other. It’s not like I’m asking him for his blessing to take out someone he’s into. “I know Robbie set you up, but I want to ask him out. I want to see if there’s something more than a passing crush there.”

My brother is quiet for just a second before he wheezes out a laugh. “Of course, Hermano, go for it. I hope you know I’m going to tell this story at your wedding though—that the only reason he’s marrying you instead of me is because of the stomach flu.”

I know he’s only teasing, but a flurry of butterflies erupts in my belly at the possibility that somewhere down the road I could marry Dylan. This could be the last first date I ever have. It could be the start of something real for both of us.

“Deal,” I rasp, unable to take my eyes off of Dylan, who’s grinning and talking to his dog.

“Shit, I’m gonna puke again. Good luck.”

The call cuts off abruptly. Technically, this makes us even, but I think I’ll owe him one anyway. If this works out, I’ll owe him a million, actually.

I stuff my phone into my pocket and gather my courage before heading back over to where Dylan is sitting.

DYLAN

“Sorry about that,” Bas says, his smile a little more shy than usual.

I wave my hand dismissively. “No worries. Thanks again for letting me know Tony wouldn’t make it. Guillermo and I should probably?—”

“Do you want to grab dinner?” he blurts out. “It doesn’t even have to be tacos.” He chuckles at his own joke.

An excited jolt ricochets through my body, making my fingers tingle and my heart race. Is he asking me out? Or… wait… This is a pity thing, isn’t it? He feels bad that his brother blew me off and he’s trying to be nice about it. That has to be it, right?

I tug my bottom lip between my teeth and shake my head slowly as I start to stand.

“That’s sweet, but you don’t have to.”

“Have to?” he echoes, his lips tugging into an uncharacteristic frown. It looks all wrong on his face where that sunny, friendly smile usually lives. “Precious, I just called my brother to cash in a favor to get his blessing to ask you out.”

“Ask me out?” Now I’m the one with the echoing problem. “Like, on adate?”

His grin is back in full force, the flirtation in his hazel eyes making my knees quake and my cock stir.

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