sorry, that came out wrong.”
My leg started bouncing in place halfway through his little monologue there. I stop it. “Nah, that came out just right.” I give him a look. “Isn’t easy making friends out here.”
“I know I’m …” He laughs at himself. “… not exactly the … the ideal friend situation for you. You probably prefer guys who … who ride a motorcycle like you do, or … or who have …” He’s really reaching here. The more he reaches, the more he blushes. “… who wear band shirts and have lip rings,” he settles on awkwardly, then clenches shut his eyes and shakes his head, seeming to regret it.
Toby is so damned adorable, I don’t think I’m going to be able to resist him much longer. I want to tackle him to that bed and do so many things to him tonight. I don’t want to wait for a rehearsal to show me what it feels like to put my lips on his. I want to do it myself, and I want to do it right now.
And the old Vann would have. The old Vann would have made work of him the second I pulled him out of that mud pit. Hell, the old Vann would have shoved him up against a locker that first day he changed in front of me and I caught him looking at me. Old Vann has no restraint. He doesn’t hold back. He’s reckless as a mad dog off his chain leash.
But I don’t want to be that Vann anymore. It’s that same Vann who made bad choices up in New York City. I have to change if I have any hope of doing right by this sexy country boy, who has inexplicably become the only person in this town I can trust.
So let’s throw him a bone. “I had a lip ring. But …” I shrug. “Decided it wasn’t for me anymore.”
He opens his eyes. “Really?”
“Yep. And you’ll do just fine. For a friend. Like you said, we’re partners in chemistry as well as castmates. So … let’s do it.”
His face brightens, relieved. “Let’s do it!” A look of confusion crosses his face. “Uh … do what, exactly?”
“Get to know each other.” I point at his computer monitor. “And you can start by explaining what the hell Dread Knight is.”
Toby gapes at me. “Dread Knight? You don’t know what—” He shifts on the bed, getting closer to me and lowering his voice. “You don’t know what Dread Knight is?? Oh, dude, man, oh, you’ve got no idea what you’re missing out on. It’s only the greatest open world roleplaying game ever made! You can romance anyone in the game, no matter the gender. It’s super inclusive. You can even have a gender-fluid character. You can raise baby gorgons. There’s a side quest that involves out-sassing a weredragon. A spell that turns you into a crystal griffin, which you use to save a hot prince who’s been abducted by a cult of Halfling Pyromancers. You know what a Pyromancer is, right? They use fire magic. Oh, oh, and—”
I must have pressed the right button, because Dread Knight has Toby talking for a solid ten minutes while I kick back in the desk chair and listen. To be honest, after a while, I lose track of what he’s saying, and all I see is the way his lips move, the way his face lights up and turns his blue eyes into beaming gems, and how the energy and warmth of his smile alone could melt Antarctica. How can someone so beautiful be kept hidden in a dusty, tiny corner of the world like Spruce? And even within Spruce itself, he’s tucked away into this shed, his own family tossing him aside like that old Frisbee sitting out in the yard, forgotten—a country-boy Cinderella.
I want the whole world to realize they’re missing out on Toby. I want them to know what an incredible person I think he is—and then I want them to feel terrible for turning their cheek to him, making him feel small. I want Hoyt to realize Toby’s not alone and vulnerable anymore. If he wants to lay a finger on Toby, he’s going to have to go through me first. That’s my new mission here in this town: to protect Toby, the only person who matters in it. Now that I’m here, no one’s pulling anything over this boy’s pretty eyes.
Even if that means holding back a while longer from