Page 61 of Studious
“What? No! He’s just giving me some tips. He helped me get this haircut and go shopping, and he took me to a club.” I flush at what happened in the club. I’ve been dreaming about that nonstop.
“Well, that’s very sweet of him. Is he doing it out of the goodness of his heart?”
I shake my head. “No. He has a bet going with Charlie about going viral on social media, so he’s documenting my changes on that.”
Shelby looks like one of those dolls that you squeeze and their eyes pop out. “OMG. Why? Are you okay with that?”
I nod. “It’s anonymous. He’s not showing my face or anything.”
Shelby’s silent for a moment. Then he says, “Alden, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Why do you want to change?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, why do you want Danny to teach you to be more like him? Don’t you just want to be the best Alden you can be?”
“I do want to be the best Alden I can be. That’s the point. I think I’ve been holding myself back out of fear, and I want to not be scared anymore.”
“But do you need to be more like Danny to do that?”
“I think what I’m asking him is to help me be more like myself.”
Shelby gives me a long look. “Hmm. Okay, I think I understand. You’re not trying to copy him. You’re just trying to develop a part of you that’s maybe underdeveloped?”
“Or completely undeveloped. But yes. That’s exactly it.”
He nods. “I get it. Okay. Carry on.” He reddens. “Not that you need my approval. But you have it, just in case.”
“Good,” I say with a smile.
Danny raps on the door. “Hey,” he says breathlessly. He nods at Shelby. “Hey.”
Shelby’s expression goes secretive. “Hey there yourself, big guy.” He waves at us. “I’ll be tootling off. Have fun, you two.”
Danny watches him as he goes. “I told him,” I say. He raises an eyebrow. “That you were helping me with my hair and wardrobe and stuff,” I clarify.
“Oh, cool.” He holds out his phone. “I got us reservations for a couples massage. Will five o’clock work? We’d miss happy hour.”
I don’t really care about happy hour, and the more excuses I have to hang out with Danny, the better. “That’s okay.”
“Then we’ll head out at four thirty. Do you need to let your mom know where you’ll be?”
“I’ll text her,” I say. “Are you good with going to the Dodger game tomorrow?”
“Absolutely.”
I click to purchase the tickets.
He puts his hand on my shoulder. “The massage is going to be relaxing. I need it after the hearing I had today. And”—his voice drops—“you can gain experience with someone else touching your naked body.”
While I want that person to be Danny, I’ll take what I can get.
CHAPTER16
Alden
