Page 4 of His Secret
“I don’t mean for this to sound rude, but why did you come?”
“Adrian asked me to. Said I was being mean if I said no.”
She laughs. “I see. Peer pressure.”
“I won’t stay too long,” I reply. “And now I have something I can hold over his head.”
“Exactly. He’ll owe you one, so now you can get him to do something that’s out of his comfort zone.”
“Do you have any ideas?” I ask.
She taps her pink painted finger on her lips. “Hmm. Oh, you know what? Bowling. He sucks at it and refuses to go.”
“Really?” I ask with a smile.
She nods. “Oh yeah. I saw him once and it was bad. Four gutter balls in a row.”
I laugh. “Wow. Okay.”
“He still needs to use the bumpers that are made for kids.”
We fall into laughter just as Adrian approaches. “Oh, look at you. You feeling more comfortable?”
“Well, when it’s just me and one person, it’s a little easier.”
Penelope smiles at me, her green eyes sparkling. “Well, I’m gonna go use the restroom.”
I nod, grinning at her, and she winks before walking away.
Adrian lifts his brows at me before perching his butt on the arm of a nearby chair. “Oooh. Penelope, huh?”
My cheeks redden. “Uhh…no.”
“I see you blushing.”
“Really, really…no. Not that she’s not nice. She is.”
Adrian looks amused as he takes a gulp from his cup. “I’ve known her for a couple years. Do you want me to?—”
“No. I…” I look around and wonder if I should even say anything. Now isn’t the best time to reveal my sexuality, but I don’t want him to think I’m interested in her, and yet, I can’t let him know I’m interested in him. “Meeting people is one thing. Let’s just be happy I’m here.”
He chuckles. “Okay. You’re right. I don’t want to push you too far.”
His eyes trace my face before he stands up straight. “We got a game of beer pong happening in the kitchen. Wanna team up?”
I scrunch my nose. “Beer?”
“I’ll drink for you. Don’t worry.”
“Okay. I do have a good aim.”
He looks at me. “Yeah?”
I nod. “Don’t look so surprised.”
Adrian flashes me his perfect white teeth. “I’m not.”
“Okay,” I say, rolling my eyes.