Chapter 33

He regretted it instantly. His throat closed up as if trying to stop poison. He wheezed, he coughed. He gagged.

Duke merely sighed and shook his head.

“Vile,” Bryson choke-whispered.

“My point is—” Duke started again but he didn’t get the chance to finish the comment.

“No!” Bryson shoved the glass back into his hand. “The only point is this: do you like me?”

Duke sighed again, but it came out as more of a growl. “I…guess. Yes. No, I mean, I do. I like you. You’re funny. You’re cute.”

“And the reason you’re avoiding me isn’t because I embarrassed you when we went out?”

“Whoa.” Duke set down both glasses hard enough to make Bryson cringe. “First of all, I am not avoiding you. I am right here.” Duke rapped his finger on the desk, his fingertip like a bullet against the wood. “I have beenhere all along. What I was avoiding was getting into a physical relationship with you.”

“So, I don’t gross you out?”

Duke’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why would you think that?”