Stupid Love (Stumbling into Love 1)

“Um…yeah. Fine. Totally fine.” His voice was an octave higher than usual, and holy fuck, I was going to kill him. Couldn’t he fake it better than this?

“Good.” I plucked my glass from the counter and took a sip. “I appreciate the two of you letting me crash your evening. I didn’t realize you guys hung out on Tuesdays when I invited Eli out while at dinner Saturday night.” Two points for me. From the look on Danny’s face, he hadn’t known we’d had dinner together for what he thought was the second time. I’d also made sure he was aware I was privy to their routine. Oh, and showed that I wasn’t jealous. Make that three points.

Let the games begin.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Elijah

There was no good explanation for why I was freaking the fuck out, but I was.

I hadn’t considered how awkward it would be to have the three of us eating dinner together or how weird it would feel that Shaw and I were in on something Danny wasn’t. That this was a plan he didn’t know about. To make it even worse, part of me didn’t feel like this was a strategic night. After hanging out with Shaw the other night, it felt…normal. Like hanging out with a friend.

So yeah, my thoughts were all over the damn place.

“Elijah said you guys met in high school?” Shaw asked Danny.

“Yeah, our freshman year. I noticed him right away. He was cute as fuck.” Danny wrapped an arm around me in a weird way. The thing was, it shouldn’t have been odd. Danny and I were affectionate with each other all the time. It felt off tonight though. Like it wasn’t real and just for show.

“You never told me you thought I was cute.”

“How could he not?” Shaw added, raising the glass to his mouth to take a drink. I could see his stupid smirk, and it made my traitor stomach twist.

“Exactly,” Danny replied. “Anyway, we hit it off right away.”

“Well, that’s not true. I didn’t trust you at first. I thought you were a jerk.”

“Oh, hey. You thought the same thing about me. Now look at us.” Shaw winked.

Danny said, “You were trying to protect yourself, which is smart. There are a lot of assholes out there. But yeah, we’ve been close ever since. Every good memory I have, Elijah was there. I couldn’t imagine my life without him.”

My heart started doing this annoying pitter-patter thing I wasn’t proud of.

Danny looked at Shaw. “I look after him. Take care of him.”

The pitter-patter stopped, and the annoyance was now aimed at Danny. Before I could tell him I was a grown-ass man who didn’t need anyone to take care of me, Shaw said, “I think Elijah knows how to take care of himself. I have no doubts about that.” He glanced at Danny. “Though it’s nice of you, of course.”

And now there was a fullness in my chest, coupled with this wave of gratitude. I knew that Shaw was playing a part, but people didn’t typically say things like he just had about me—that I could take care of myself.

Danny crossed his arms. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I’m sure.” Shaw nodded placatingly, and yeah, had the temperature gone up in my apartment? I tugged at my shirt collar.

Danny opened his mouth just as the timer on the oven rang. Yes, I’d planned to have dinner ready right at seven. I’d been a nervous wreck all day. “It’s ready!” I called out as if everyone wasn’t aware of the fact that it was.

“I’ll set the table.” Danny went straight to the correct cabinet and opened it. I took that moment to turn around, put my hands on the counter, and breathe. This was even more stressful than I’d thought it would be.

When I felt the warmth of a body behind me, I tensed up. Shaw’s mouth was close to my ear, and he asked softly, “Are you sure we’re good? If you need me to make an excuse and go, I will.”

I had the strange urge to lean back against him, which was not what I should have been feeling. Like, at all. This whole thing was already screwing with my head in ways I didn’t like. But we’d planned it, and he was there. I’d feel like an ass sending him home, and the fact that he’d offered was frustratingly sweet.

“No, it’s fine.” Then I turned around, not thinking of the fact that he was standing really fucking close to me. He felt even closer when we were face-to-face, and Jesus, why did he have to be so sexy and smell so damn good…like excitement and newness mixed with a rich, dark cologne scent.

“What’s fine?” Danny asked. I jerked back, and my elbow hit the dish drain, making a pan fall and clatter in the sink. God, I sucked at this.