Even from the bathroom, Scottie could hear Calvin’s heavy, dramatic sigh. “Hurry up and come out here so I can see,” Calvin called. “I’ve already fallen asleep twice lying here on your bed waiting.”
Scottie snorted. That part wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t taken that long to get ready.
He picked up his phone from the bathroom counter and checked the time. Okay, well maybe it had taken that long.
Still, he wanted to look good. Calvin could surely understand that. But Scottie had to remind himself that he’d invited his friend over for his fashion sense and blunt honesty. If he’d wanted someone patient, he would have picked someone else.
Anyone else, really.
“I’m coming,” Scottie called back. “Just… give me a second.”
“You said that twenty minutes ago,” Calvin answered, sighing again. “But fine. Just wake me up when you’re ready.”
Scottie rolled his eyes but couldn’t help smiling. He knew there was nowhere else Calvin would rather be right now. Well… maybe there were a few other places he’d rather be at this particular moment, but he definitely wouldn’t have wanted to miss the opportunity to give his opinion on everything surrounding Scottie’s date.
Even if it wasn’t really technically a date. But, just because he and Trenton weren’t actually calling it one, didn’t mean it didn’t feel like one.
Didn’t mean it wasn’t one.
They were just taking things slowly.
Really slowly.
Although, to be fair, they had already kissed twice, so things probably felt like they were moving at lightning speed for someone like Trenton who had never even fooled around with a guy before.
Unfortunately, being understanding of where Trenton was coming from didn’t do much to take away these pre-date jitters.
Taking one last look in the mirror, Scottie heaved a sigh that was nearly as dramatic as Calvin’s had been, and walked out into his bedroom.
He had expected to find that Calvin had followed through on his threat to take a nap, but instead he was on the floor scratching Sasha’s belly while she napped, her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth.
“Looks like you’re made a friend for life,” Scottie said, grinning at the sight.
Even with a cast on her leg, Scottie was pretty sure he had the cutest dog in the world. Everyone she met seemed to fall in love with her, too.
“She got tired of waiting for you,” Calvin deadpanned, holding Scottie’s gaze for a couple of seconds before breaking into a smile. “But I’m going to go ahead and say it was worth the wait. You look really good!”
“Do you think so?” Scottie asked, any thought of a sarcastic response immediately gone as he was hit with a sudden bout of nerves. “Do you think Trenton will notice? Or care?”
“I think he’ll feel lucky as hell to have you next to him looking like a million bucks. Don’t even think about being nervous. This is going to be a fun night. Dinner and a movie… when was the last time you did that?”
“Like three weeks ago?”
Calvin rolled his eyes. “When was the last time you did that besides with Jack and me?” He cut a sideways glance. “Gage and Newton don’t count, either.”
“Yeah, okay, it’s been a while,” Scottie admitted. “But that feels like it might be an even better reason to be nervous…”
“Well, it isn’t,” Calvin said with a shrug. “So just go and have fun. You look great. I’m sure he’s going to notice and love it. Jack and I can keep this sweet puppy overnight if you need, so don’t even worry about coming over to get her if you get home late.”
Scottie smiled. He might have been able to find some flaws with Calvin’s logic about not being nervous, but he couldn’t fault his loyal friendship.
And of all his friends, Calvin was the one most likely to tell him the honest truth. If Scottie didn’t look great—or at least pretty good—Calvin would have already been upstairs and going through Scottie’s closet looking for something better.
“Have I ever told you you’re the best?” Scottie asked, finally feeling a little bit of excitement beginning to win out over his nerves. “I really appreciate you coming over. And I really appreciate you and Jack dog-sitting tonight. You’re sure he doesn’t mind?”
“Oh, please.” Calvin waved a dismissive hand. “Jack loves this dog. If anything, it’ll wear down his defenses a little when I say I want one, too.”
Scottie laughed. “Glad I could help, in that case. But seriously, thank you.”
“Anytime. Now, he should be here to pick you up in just a few minutes so go have fun, call me if you need anything, and definitely call me later to give me all the details.”
Scottie nodded.
Okay.
O-kay.
He could do this.
It was going to be fun.
Scottie was going on a date with a guy who really seemed to be into him.
That alone was worth celebrating.
“So I heard this is supposed to be a pretty good movie,” Trenton said, throwing Scottie a quick glance and what looked like a nervous smile.
Even though Trenton was driving, Scottie had noticed him glance over a few times, the look on his face a mixture of excitement and utter fear.
Scottie hoped he wasn’t having second thoughts about going out, but it was hard to tell. And really, a few nerves were to be expected. This was presumably the first time Trenton had gone out in public with a guy like this—on a sort-of-date.
Scottie had been nervous, too—still was a little, in fact—and he’d been on plenty of dates.
“I think it’ll be fun,” Scottie said. “It’s rare that I even get out of the house on the weekends anymore.”
“Oh, I can definitely relate to that,” Trenton said, giving Scottie a commiserating look. “I barely have time for anything that isn’t work-related, and when I do have time, I’m usually too tired from work to even consider it. So this is a real treat for me. Even hanging out at your house those couple of times felt like a fun night out, if I’m being honest.”
Scottie laughed. “Well, if dinner and a couple of glasses of wine are your idea of a party, I think we’re going to get along just fine. I’m pretty sure my wilder days are behind me at this point. Way behind, actually.”
Trenton smiled—a true, genuine, sexy smile this time. One without the extra helping of nerves.
“You really have the best smile,” Scottie said, studying Trenton’s face. “It lights up your whole face.”
Scottie grinned as he saw the effect his compliment had on Trenton—a faint flush creeping across his cheeks. It was probably the first time he’d ever seen Trenton blush, but it was one of the cutest things Scottie had witnessed in a while.
And now it was going to be one of his goals to make it happen again.
“Thank you,” Trenton said, blush still in full bloom. “Nobody has ever told me that before.”
“Someone should have,” Scottie said. “Because it’s true.”
He could tell that Trenton wasn’t used to taking compliments, and Scottie didn’t want to make him uncomfortable, but Scottie also believed in telling people the things he liked about them.
And he definitely liked Trenton’s smile.
“Maybe I’ve just never had a reason to show my smile as much as I have these past few days,” Trenton said with a shrug. “So I guess I’ve got you to thank for that.”
Scottie couldn’t help but smile again. For someone who wasn’t very good at receiving compliments, Trenton was sure quick to give them.
It was hard to imagine trying to recount this conversation with Calvin later. Scottie doubted very seriously that Calvin would even believe Trenton could be so sweet.
But Scottie could see the other side of Trenton. The nicer side. The sweeter side.
The sexy side.
And while Calvin and the other guys maybe didn’t need to see all of that, Scottie did hope that one day they might all realize that Trenton really was a good person. He really did have a big heart.
Though, to be fair, Trenton had to actually show them that side of himself.
That part was totally up to him.
“What are you thinking about?” Trenton asked.
“Hm?” Scottie blinked and realized that he’d been staring off into the distance for the past few seconds. “Oh, nothing really. Just stuff. Tonight… me… you.”
“Sounds like a good combination to me,” Trenton said, throwing Scottie a quick wink.
“I think it will be,” Scottie answered. “I think it’ll be a really good combination, actually.”
Trenton reached over and took Scottie’s hand as they pulled up to a red light, then looked over and flashed another one of those sweet, sexy smiles.
Yeah, tonight was going to be better than just good.
It was going to be great.