Page 89 of More Than Pen Pals

He lifts a hand to cup my cheek. “Of course I am.” He almost looks relieved, although I’m surely only imagining it. “I won’t pressure you to do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing. Not now, not ever.”

Tears prick behind my eyelids. “How are you for real?”

“How areyoufor real?” He strokes my cheek with his thumb.

“It’s crazy that a week ago, you still thought I was a boy,” I say.

“It’s crazy that a week ago, you weren’t in my life.” Now he searches my eyes. “Leslie, you need to know I haven’t dated much. I’ve not had a ton of interest in it until you. I’m not very experienced at any of this, and I honestly don’t have a clue what I’m doing.” He takes a deep breath. “I don’t know how to be a boyfriend.”

Now I feel worse about yanking him around. I tighten my hold on his neck. “Thank you for trusting me with that. I would have no idea if you hadn’t told me, because you’re doing an excellent job so far.” I kiss him again to show him how much I appreciate his efforts.

We jerk apart when someone pounds on the door. Ash yells out, “Come in, Randall,” but he doesn’t move away from me.

“How do you know it’s him?” I ask.

“Jeff would’ve buzzed up if it was anyone else,” he explains. “Plus, nobody pounds on a door quite like my siblings do.”

A few seconds later, Randall and Wendy appear in the kitchen doorway. Ash turns toward them but keeps one arm around me.

“Looks like everything’s going well,” Wendy states unnecessarily.

“Yes,” Ash says, “we’re about to go on our first date.”

I shift my gaze from Wendy to him. “We are?”

“We are.”

I bite my lip. “Your shirt is a mess.”

Randall snorts and Wendy giggles. Ash’s shirt is not only wrinkled but also has various makeup stains on it. I’m not entirely certain how they all happened, considering their locations. I also wonder about the state of my face.

Ash glares at them. “I don’t care about my shirt.”

“If it’ll make you feel better, Leslie, he can borrow one of mine,” Randall says. “Although it might be a tad short.”

“I have a clean one in the car,” Ash states.

“Of course you do,” his brother replies.

“Are you both going to keep standing there staring at us?” Ash asks the two of them.

“It’s my house.” Randall crosses his arms over his chest. “I can do whatever I want.”

I laugh because it’s such a sibling thing to say.

Ash now shoots me a glare, but his mouth twitches. “Don’t encourage him. He’s not funny.”

I giggle. “I’m going to enjoy figuring out which of the two of you is the funniest.”

“Me,” Randall says. “No contest.”

Wendy raises a hand. “I’m voting for Randall on this. Sorry, Ash. But we’ll stop staring at you.” She tugs on Randall’s arm. He tries to stand his ground but soon gives in when he realizes she’s not relenting.

Ash turns back to me. “You okay with going out now?”

“I’d like nothing more. I think I need to fix my makeup and hair first, though.”

His hands move up to cup my cheeks. “You look perfect.” I can tell by his eyes he truly believes what he’s saying.

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