Page 31 of If You Say So

Now it’s my turn to laugh. “Don’t sweat, your gaydar is functioning just fine. Iamgay, I’m just not dating him…anymore.”

“Ah, now that makes much more sense. Unresolved issues, underlying sexual tension—it’s all clicking now.”

I tilt my head, studying him as he studies me.

He shrugs. “What? I’m an expert at body language.”

Sitting forward, I rest my elbows on the table and lean his way. “Are you now? What’s my body language saying now?”

Jay grins and leans himself closer, grinning. “It says you’re trying to act cool and flirty but you’re failing miserably because you can’t even relax your shoulders long enough to make it convincing.”

Son of a…

Another inch closer. “You’re bracing for his reaction,yearningfor it. You want him to be jealous of this little conversation.”

Fuck. That’s exactly what’s happening.

He flits his eyes to where I know Nate is standing and then back to me. “It’s working, just so you know. He can’t take his eyes off you, not even with Laura running her fingertips over his toned forearm.”

I grit my teeth at the image and suddenly feel a weight pressing in my stomach.

“Relax,” Jay insists. “He’s not paying her any attention. He’s tuned in to you.”

He moves in even closer, his mouth mere inches from mine at this point.

“I’m going to laugh obnoxiously and touch your arm. Don’t flinch.”

I nod, and then Jay bursts into laughter and brushes his hand over my arm. I do well—I don’t flinch, not even when all movements come to a halt at the other end of the table.

Jay throws me a sly wink and sits back in his chair, a smug grin on his face.

Nate and Laura find their way back to the table, and Nate practically slams my glass back in front of me.

I hate to admit it, but his actions cause my lips to twitch in victory.

Then I feel like an idiot. I’m not supposed to be down here making Nate jealous. I’m not meant to be thinking of him at all. We’re friends. We’re working on getting our friendship back. That’s all tonight is supposed to be—fun among friends, not petty games.

I’m an ass.

Instead of each taking a game piece, we decide to break off into teams of two, that way there’s more of the board open for playing. Carsen and Elliott, Cate and Chris, Laura and Nate, and me and Jay make up the teams.

We roll the dice to see who goes first then it’s off to the races.

We’re shoving money back and forth, cursing over missed properties, and basically throwing down the gauntlet whenever we get the chance. Not one of us is playing fair, and that’s why an hour later, we’re on the verge of collectively flipping the table. There is no way any one team is going to come out on top fairly.

“You owe me $600.”

“I do not! You oweme$200 so I only owe you $400. I passedGo, you brat!”

The worst part of it all is that I’m not even invested in the game. I couldn’t tell you which square we’re sitting on, or even which game piece is ours. I’ve let Jay handle everything because the only thing attracting my attention right now is the way Nate’s arm feels brushing against mine.

I can’t peel my eyes from him. The smile splashed across his face, the bright green of his shining eyes. The way his tongue hangs out of the corner of his mouth whenever he’s concentrating. The subtle way he mouths the dollar amounts as he counts his bills. The way his long fingers curl around the edge of the table when he’s nervous someone’s going to pass up his space and he won’t get paid.

Everything he does, no matter how little it is, captivates me.

It’s the first real spark of anything I’ve felt in a long time.

I’m going to explode if I don’t do something about it…and soon.

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