To "celebrate" our new roommate, we went out together, as a group of housemates. Boyd brought that same blonde chick and I tamed my impulse to snatch her out of his clammy grasp, just for the challenge of it. Boyd was a looker, that was for sure, but he was soft. I snorted at the idea of us fighting. Isaac sent me a curious smirk from across the table.

We were at Chili's, waiting for our hot waitress to return and take our orders. I sipped the cold beer provided for me while Isaac traced patterns on his alcoholic lemonade drink. So prissy.

"You didn't bring a girl tonight?" Boyd asked, obviously gloating. His arm rested around the blonde. What was her name, anyway…?

"Not tonight, old friend. But I guarantee you, by the end of the evening, I'll have found one." I winked at his date (who smirked back at me) and Boyd immediately frowned. Ethan chuckled from beside Isaac, stroking my ego quite nicely. Isaac, however, wasn't so thrilled with my suggested mutiny. He had no reason to worry because I wouldn't steal my friend's girl. Not until he was done with her, at least.

The waitress was bouncy and chesty and I reminded myself to give her a generous tip. Working as a night-time security officer wasn't thrilling and didn't pay much, but I could spare a few dollars for such a breasty brunette. We ordered our food – Isaac getting his typical vegetarian crap. Ethan, though, got a burger. What a strange couple…

"So, Ethan," I sighed and smiled at the blue-eyed man. "Where do you work?"

"I'm a college student. Isaac and I go to the same school. I work part-time as a mechanic, though, in my uncle's shop."

"A mechanic?" I questioned, visibly impressed. "Your uncle doesn't care that you're gay?"

"Danny!" Isaac snapped, clearly pissed. Ethan closed a hand over Isaac's, laughing.

"Relax, Isaac. I know he's just being candid. No, Dan, my uncle doesn't care. My family is pretty accepting of it, actually. I'm going to school to be a lawyer, following in my father's footsteps. He doesn't really care if I marry a man or a woman, as long as I get into law school." There was a distant look in his eyes as he said the last part. The words left my lips before I could stop them. Damn brain-mouth link is broken.

"But you don't want to be a lawyer, do you?" My brow arched, even as my throat contracted in embarrassment. Since when was I perceptive? OK, I was perceptive, but since when did I vocalize it? Since when did I fucking care?

Surprise and conflict painted Ethan's face. Isaac laughed, smacking his boyfriend (still so weird). "Of course he wants to be a lawyer." Smiling, Isaac examined Ethan's crestfallen face. "You do, right?" Silence prevailed.

"New topic," Boyd insisted, slamming his hand down on the table and making my drink slosh around. "Who wants to bet that Danny can't get the waitress to come home with him?"

"That's ignorant, Boyd," Isaac sighed. "We should leave the poor girl alone."

"I like that bet," I confirmed, grinning wildly. I had already considered using my wiles on the young waitress. To my surprise, Ethan slapped a twenty dollar bill on the table.

"I bet twenty that you can't." His eyes were playful as they waited for my response. Boyd cheered, choking back his drink before slapping down his own twenty dollar bill. I smiled and pushed a crisp twenty to the middle of the table.

"If I win, I take home sixty bucks. If you guys win, you get to split sixty bucks. Sound good?"

"Make it eighty," put in the blonde. She pushed forward a twenty, flashing her pearly whites. I smiled back.

"What's your name again, sweetie?"

"Erica." Ah, that's right.

"OK Erica, you're in. We'll see how the night plays out."

I drank a little too much. And it took a lot to make my vision swim. When our food arrived, I knew I wasn't at the top of my game. The waitress was hot, too, so it really was going to be a challenge getting her to take a drunken dude seriously. What asshole gets inebriated at a Chili's, anyway?

"Hey," I greeted as she set my food in front of me. She looked frustrated.

"Can I help you with something?" The fact that she wasn't swooning at my touch made me thing two things – 1. Lesbian or B. Smart chick. Damn smart chicks, messing up my cool.

"Are you in my psychology class? I think I've seen you." I offered my most innocent smile. Her hard eyes softened. Ahh, shewas a smart chick.

"I'm not in psychology this semester. I just started sociology, though. It's pretty interesting stuff." She seemed embarrassed that she'd said so much. "Have a nice meal…"

"Wait!" I called out, making her stop and turn around. "I'm sure I've seen you around campus. When does your shift end?"

"In about half an hour," she replied, looking confused.

"How about you come back before you leave, have a couple of drinks? I want to figure out where I've met you before."

She shrugged, smiling and toying with her hair. Gotcha.

"That'd be OK, I guess." A regular Cinderella. I smiled as she walked away.

Boyd fumed beside me. "That's how you do it, boys." I stretched my arms and folded them behind my head, allowing an arrogant grin to dominate my face. Ethan shook his head, laughing, while Boyd and Isaac seemed a bit displeased. Erica was watching me with heated eyes, impressed by the performance. Remember, Dan, wait until Boyd's done…

"How the hell did you do that!"

"Easy. I saw that she was a little hostile, at first, and assumed that meant she was more of an intellectual than boy-crazy. She's obviously a college student."

"You read her well," praised Ethan with blue eyes that captured the gleam of the lamp hanging over the table. "If only you could capture that talent and use it for good."

"Oh, but being bad is so fun," I teased, receiving an appropriate chuckle from my only fan. Besides the staring young blonde. Forgot about her.

On schedule, the girl returned after half an hour. She sat beside me at the large booth my group occupied. Her cautious hazel eyes examined the people at the table.

"Everyone has a date besides me," I explained, smiling. She looked at Isaac and Ethan in confusion. "Oh, they're gay." I ignored the glare Isaac sent me and tried not to linger on the wide grin Ethan sent my way and made eye-contact with the waitress. Her name tag read Helena.

"Helena," I muttered, tapping the tag. "Cute."

"That's what a girl likes to hear," she grumbled.

"OK, then, sexy. How about that?" I was flirting openly and she wasn't freaked out. "We're about to get out of here…how about you come with us?"

She chewed her lip, eyed the pile of bills at the center of the table, and I thought Oh, shit. The girl was smart. She was figuring it out. "Tell you what," she said at long last. "If you can tell me what college I –supposedly we – go to, I'll come with you." There was a clear challenge in her eyes. Oh shit. I was found out.

"Umm…"

"That's what I thought, asshole." She rose and stormed away. At least she didn't throw a drink in my face. Boyd scooped the pile of cash into his arms. Damn, damn, damn! Ethan was guffawing like a fool and Erica let out a small giggle. Looked like I would be spending the night alone.

We left Chili's and relocated to an actual bar. Somehow, I was sandwiched between Erica and Ethan in the booth we occupied. Fucking booths, making my knees touch theirs. It wasn't a "dancing, singing, fooling around" type of bar – just soft, acoustic music and lots of alcohol. Boyd started making out with his date pretty early in, and announced that they were leaving after I finished my first shot of something that burned.

"Oh great," I laughed. "I guess I get to hang with the gays for the rest of the night."

"Danny…" Isaac warned.

"Don't be so sensitive," Ethan chided his boyfriend. "You ever think that maybe this is his way of accepting us – by joking around about it?" Ooh, tension between the happy couple. I ignored them, staggered to the bar in hopes of finding a desperate lady. Instead, I found a pool table. Ethan and I played while Isaac fiddled with his cell phone in the corner. When we decided to go home, it was well past midnight.

I collapsed on the sofa and turned on the TV. The Discover Channell. Isaac sighed and trudged toward his room. "I'm going to bed," he announced. Ethan sat beside me, eyes fixating on the TV. Isaac paused.

"You're going to stay up?"

"For a few more hours," Ethan confirmed with a nod. "I'm not tired." Miffed for some reason, Isaac went to his room and turned on his stereo. Boyd and his girl were at it again. Damn, did she have to be so loud? Who was she trying to impress?

Oh right. Me.

"Erica's got eyes for only you, huh?" Ethan asked, laughing. I squinted at him.

"She's with Boyd."

"I know, but the girl likes to keep her options open, apparently. Don't tell me you didn't notice. You're too observant for that nonsense." He was right. I'd noticed, of course, but I liked to play dumb. It kept them guessing.

We watched TV in companionable silence, chuckling when Erica would let out an exaggerated moan or call out, "Oh, yes, that's it!" She was a terrible actress.

Into the wee hours of the morning, Ethan and I made light conversation and watched TV together. When I finally lumbered to my room, I realized something. Ethan was a cool guy. There was serious friend material in that one. It still creeped me out, his being gay, but for the first time it didn't seem like such a big deal.

And that, for me, was a huge step.