How to Fail at Flirting(58)

Eric’s energy was contagious, and I liked him immediately. “The first time in forever you brought a woman with you to brunch.”

“I brought my sister that one time.”

“That doesn’t count, Romeo.”

I tried to jump into the conversation. “Do you all work together?”

“I see you’ve been talking about us nonstop, Jake,” Eric said after the waitress returned with coffee and a tray of mimosas.

Jake shrugged. “How could I do justice to meeting you in person?”

Tyson’s assessing glances made me want to double-check I’d combed my hair or that I hadn’t accidentally put my shirt on backward.

“I actually work with his dreaded ex, and these two met in college.” Eric glanced between Tyson and Jake expectantly, using his hand to motion for them to begin speaking. “Tell the story. You know you want to.”

“We were roommates freshman year, but we became friends when Tyson lost a bet,” Jake began with a laugh.

“A bet?”

Tyson’s expression softened. “With a guy on our floor. We bet we could beat him and his roommate in Mario Kart.”

“You bet a guy on our floor and sprung it on me when I got home from class one day,” Jake added. The telling of this story seemed choreographed, as if they’d told it hundreds of times before, like an old married couple.

“Long story short, Jake didn’t tell me he sucked.”

“Mario Kart and basketball, huh?” I said, turning to Jake.

“You’ve seen him play basketball and you still like him?” Eric asked.

Jake shot his friend a playful glare. “I’m good at badminton. Does that count for anything?”

I was, again, struck by Jake’s comfort with having his shortcomings out in the open and his ability to joke about them. I couldn’t help but spend a moment making the comparison to Davis, who would go to any lengths to make sure he didn’t look bad, including throwing me under the bus.

Jake’s smile was easygoing before he shifted his gaze to Tyson. “Anyway, we lose and then I learn the terms of this bet—”

Tyson shrugged. “Losers had to join the ballroom dance club for a month. I really didn’t think we could lose. I didn’t realize Jake spent so much time playing because he was trying to figure out how the controller worked.”

“After I threatened to kill him, we became good friends . . . and decent dancers.” Jake squeezed my shoulder.

I turned to Jake. “So that’s where the sweet moves come from, huh?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “It was actually fun. I stuck with it for a while.”

Eric closed his menu and beamed. “I wish Tyson and I had a story that cute.”

“Our story is fine.” Tyson rolled his eyes again but stretched to plant a sweet kiss on Eric’s cheek. “Jake and Gr—” Tyson stopped, eyes flashing to Jake. “We met through Jake.”

“You met at Thomas’s wedding?” Eric leaned forward on the table.

“Same trip,” Jake said after returning Tyson’s pointed look with a slight head nod.

I took a drink from my mimosa, as I did my best to ignore the exchange between Jake and Tyson. “I was waiting to meet friends who ended up having to cancel. I found myself talking the ear off a stranger in a bar.” I reached for his hand. “Enter, Jake.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Eric interrupted. “You met in a bar? I need a moment to process that.”

I must have looked confused as I contemplated my misstep. Isn’t meeting in a bar normal? Did I inadvertently share something embarrassing? I’d been so concerned with figuring out how not to make a fool of myself, I hadn’t stopped to think about the location.

“That came out wrong,” Eric reassured. “It’s just that Jake is not overly social.”

Tyson came to his friend’s defense. “Babe, you make him sound like a hermit.”

Eric gave a plaintive c’mon expression, which Tyson returned with be nice. Eric’s attention shifted to me. “Okay, Jake is shy. It’s hard to imagine him approaching someone in a bar, is all. Is that better?”

“You know I’m sitting right here?” Jake asked, finishing his drink.

“It’s not a bad thing. You’ve always been that way, right? Last time she visited, your sister told me that back in the day, your parents bribed you to ask a girl to prom.” Eric’s eyes lit up as he started the story, and Tyson stifled a laugh, his fist covering a grin.

“You have to remind me to thank her for sharing that,” Jake muttered.

“What were you bribed with?” I squeezed his knee under the table.

“Oh, that’s the best part!” Eric exclaimed.

Jake interrupted. “It’s not that interesting.”

“Now I really want to know.”

“He got to go to math camp if he asked her.”

Jake hung his head, a grin across his reddened face. “You know, I am still trying to impress this woman.”

“Oh, believe me, I’m impressed. I’ve never dated anyone who went to math camp. Did the bribe work?”

Jake laughed. “Well, sort of. The girl said no. I met someone at the camp, though. My first kiss was there.”