His words are said with such candor that even I end up giggling. “You’re incorrigible.”
He smirks like it’s something he’s proud of as we walk down the stairs.
With their building being on a main strip, there are plenty of bars and restaurants to choose from, so we head on foot down the street to a Chinese place on the corner. A girl with long blonde hair, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans, is standing outside, and when she sees us approach, a smile crosses her face as she lifts on her toes.
Chad grins, and I know without a doubt that this is the mysterious new gal in his life. He takes quicker steps than Wes and me to get to her before we do. They kiss their hello before turning to us.
“Stacey, I’d like for you to meet Nicole,” Chad says with his arm wrapped around her.
She extends a hand, and I take it, still shocked to see my brother introduce me to a girlfriend. I have to call Mom and see if she knows our Chaddy boy has met someone.
“I’m so excited to meet you,” she says with a beaming smile. “Chad has been talking nonstop about you moving in. Welcome to Berkeley!”
“Thanks. My first day is already full of surprises,” I respond with a grin.
“Oh, yes, it is,” Wes chimes in as we all walk inside.
We order our meals at the counter and make our way to a table, where we all sit. Chad and Nicole are on one side while Wes and I sit on the booth side.
Even though Chad and Nicole are on chairs, they’re pushed so close that they might as well be joined at the hip. They chose to split their entrees, so the entire meal is filled with, “Want more of this, honey?” and, “Take the last spare rib. I know you love them.”
It’s so adorable.
Watching my brother be so caring to Nicole is a breath of fresh air. I’ve been kind of on a finding a good guy will never happen for me kick recently, so seeing that decent guys do exist gives me some hope even if it is my own blood.
While I’m batting my lashes at their sweet exchanges, Wes tries to stab his plastic fork in one of my fried wontons.
I slap him away. “Dude. Get your own chow.”
He shakes his head. “Man, you are territorial of your food.”
“I don’t share.”
“Clearly.” Wes stabs the wonton successfully, quickly popping it in his mouth and chewing with gusto. My mouth is open in annoyance, but he just gives me a closed-mouth smile.
I avert my attention back to the couple, propping my hand under my chin. “I’m dying to know, how did you two meet?”
Nicole brushes her hair over her shoulder. “We’ve actually known each other since freshman year.”
“She tried to cheat off me in Algebra I,” Chad adds.
“When we saw each other in the bar that weekend, he totally called me out on it. I bought him drinks, and we’ve been friends ever since.”
If my face were an emoji, I’d be the heart-eyes one. “Friends who became lovers. What was the turning point?”
Nicole raises a shoulder and looks at Chad. He gives her a small shake of his head.
“That’s our secret, babe,” he says, which makes them both blush.
Wes leans a warm knuckle to my chin and raises it to a closed position. His breath tickles my ear as he leans in and says, “Told you, it’s bad.”
I can’t disagree. These two are deep into each other. It makes me a little nervous. If they break up, my brother could walk away with a broken heart. The idea has me rubbing my chest.
“When Chad said you were transferring to Berkeley, I was surprised. What made you leave your old school?” Nicole asks me.
“It was always the plan. College is so expensive; I didn’t see a reason to graduate with a tremendous amount of debt, so I went to community college for the first two years and transferred for the Berkeley degree.”
“Squid is the most fiscally responsible person you’ll ever meet,” Wes chimes in.
“Well, not everyone gets to go to school on an athletic scholarship. I applied for grants, but they wouldn’t give me one. Trust me, I tried. But in the end, I knew this was the cheaper way to do it.”
“Wait, did he just call you Squid?” Nicole asks, squinting and pointing at Wes.
Wes laughs, and I roll my eyes. “Don’t ask.”
Nicole takes my cue and goes back to our conversation. “Well, you’re a smart girl about the school thing. Wish I’d thought of it.”
“It almost didn’t happen, and it’s not lost on me how valuable this is. I won’t be messing it up. So”—I point my fork at Wes—“please keep any wild nights at the apartment strictly to weekends. I have a lot of studying to do.”
He nods. “Not a problem. Between classes, workouts, and interning, I’ll be swamped.”
“Interning?” I ask.
Nicole answers for him, “It’s an elective. If you do an internship, it counts as a course requirement.”
“A lot of the guys chose the Boys & Girls Club because it’s sports-related and you can just play with the kids. Except for this fool,” Chad says as he thumbs over at Wes. “He chose the nursing home.”
Intrigued, I turn to Wes. “Why?”
He’s looking down at his food. There’s a slight smile on his face as he pushes his chicken around the plate and shrugs. “I just like old people.” The comment warms my heart a little. That is, until he adds, “The old ladies think I look like a young John Travolta. It’s good for my ego.”
I shake my head and laugh, as does Nicole, who lets out a snort-like sound.
“Of course they do. Women young and old fall head over heels for your charm. Speaking of … what happened with Natasha the other day?” she asks.
“Who?” Wes asks, not even bothering to look up from the food he’s stuffing into his face.
I see his appetite hasn’t changed much.
She tilts her head, as if she can’t believe he doesn’t know. “The girl you went home with the other night.”
“Correction.” He holds up his finger while he finishes his bite. “The girl who wanted me to take her home the other night.”
“You didn’t?” Nicole seems confused.
“Nope. Someone will get her pregnant one day, but it won’t be me. Not my type.”
I have to cover my mouth from almost spitting out my drink, his nonchalant words catching me totally off guard. Wes has always been beautiful, but he’s far more brazen as a college man than he was back in high school.
“What did you just say?”
He shrugs. “He might call me a man-whore”—he crumples up a napkin and throws it at Chad—“but I do have standards. I need a challenge, not a girl who will drop to her knees just because I bought her an Amstel.”
“Wes!” Nicole blasts, trying not to laugh. “You’re so crass sometimes.”
“You thought that was crass? I just tamed it down from what she actually said that night, which was, ‘I heard you have a huge cock, and I want to suck it.’ Glad I changed course.”
Now, it’s Chad’s turn to throw a napkin at Wes, who gives him a shit-eating grin.
The four of us burst out laughing.
Chad swings his arm around the back of Nicole’s chair and leans back. “This guy dates, loses interest, and then moves on to the next.”