Chapter 22

“Just your fine self,” I told him.

He laughed. “You’re very corny sometimes, Dr. Pepper, but I like it.”

I was putting the bottle of wine I’d bought earlier into a gift bag when Ryan asked if he needed a tie. I couldn’t help smiling a little. He was as nervous about the dinner as I was, maybe more so. I found his nervousness cute.

“You don’t need a tie. You look great.”

“So do you.”

I was wearing a pair of dark blue pants, a light blue button-down shirt, and oxblood oxfords. I actually thought we both were a little overdressed for dinner, but with Ryan, I erred on the side of caution and figured it was better to overdress than underdress.

“Hey,” Ryan said, “don’t take this the wrong way, but I have to ask. This isn’t some sexual thing, is it? I mean, going to dinner with your friends isn’t going to end up with us all naked or me getting gang-banged, right?”