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I spiedon the armchair where I’d dropped it when I first arrived It contained my computer, a notepad, and a fresh pair of boxer briefs The sexual part of our relationship was new enough that I didn’t feel coe of clothes I didn’t want Blake to think I expected to sleep over every night Or leave a toothbrush next to his

Nope, I didn’t have any real experience with this kind of casual arrange Perhaps one aspect of adapting was knohen it was time to retreat

Like now

Ezra uncapped his beer and raised it in a toast to Blake, as studying me Ezra seemed blissfully unaware of the strained undercurrent in the roo defenders with seconds to spare before scoring the winning goal It was Greek to me I didn’t understand a word

“Nothing alary No wonder they pay you the big bucks at that fancy snooty school,” Ezra teased

“They pay ebra and calculus too”

“Oh, don’t reebra the second I walked out of the classroom Totally useless” Ezra widened his eyes “Oops I should have asked if you’re a uy too”

“I’lasses up ebra and trigonometry to ascertain relationships between quantities and calculus to es I use differential equations too It just depends on the situation”

Silence

Yes, it looked like I’d advertised eek status Oops

Ezra chuckled “You guys ht?”

“No,” Blake answered just as I blurted, “Yes”

“Which is it? Yes or no?”

I hikedon ether on a project that’s loosely tied to scholastic interests And lacrosse”

“Oh, yeah? Do you play?”

“No, I watch Well, I’ve watched a few gaood,” I reported woodenly

“Yeah, it’s fun So…what’s your project?” Ezra pressed

I kneas just being friendly, but I wasthe truth However, this wasn’t my truth to tell And I didn’t like that I’d played a part in putting Blake on the spot I had to co fast like—