Confessing feelings for your best friend takes being tongue-tied to a whole new level.
AUSTIN
Dex has always been my best friend, so it’s no surprise that we attend Franklin U together. We’re complete opposites. Dex is charismatic and outgoing. Me? Let’s just say I wish I could infuse some of his confidence into my veins. Making friends is hard enough, but trying to meet guys? Even with Dex’s help? I’m useless. Maybe it’s because Dex is all about hooking up, but I want my first time to be straight out of the pages of the romance novels I read.
DEX
After a string of mishaps, I swore off helping Austin land guys. But when he asks me to show him the ropes with practice sessions, I get the feeling he’s desperate. Our dates are pretend, so why am I getting so into them? I want to make Austin happy, but the line between friendship and something more is getting really damned blurry. The fluttery feeling, that electric energy every time we touch…it’s addicting. I’m getting overprotective, not only of my time with Austin, but with douchebags who might break his heart.
Eventually, the pretending has to end so Austin can strike out on his own. But how do I tell him I’m not ready to let him go, when every attempt at confessing leaves me tongue-tied?
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Friends to lovers is always a fun trope. But a lot of times there is pining on one side way before the other figures it out or one person didn’t realize that they were gay/bi/pan (not straight), etc. But in this book they are both out and proud. But have never harbored secret feelings for each other. So watching them both figure it out is fun.
We’ve “known” Austin for a while as he works at the coffee cart at the college (he is also a student). College kids + coffee = Austin the barista who often has his nose in a book. Romance. And he reads it all too. No problem with traditional MF romance because he focuses more on the romance than on the sex.
Poor guy has zero game and stumbles over words, or his own feet, when there is a cute guy around.
His best friend, Dex, is the opposite. Naturally. Outgoing, finds hook ups easy and has no interest in romance at all.
They’ve been best friends for a long time and roomed together at college. Until Dex got a chance to move into a frat with other guys who are in his major and Austin encourages him to go. There’s some adjustment after being joined at the hip, but it just makes Austin more aware of how awkward he is with guys.
So Dex offers to practice date him. And honestly, it is the cutest. Dex is all in on it. Pretending that they are getting to know each other, planning real dates, etc. And it was because he wanted Austin to gain confidence. He had no ulterior motive at all.
But of course, after a couple dates…more practicing. Of other things.
Austin and Dex have a fun friend group around them as well. Dex makes new friends at the frat and Austin gets a new roommate when Dex leaves. The new roommate was great trans representation without taking over at all. He was a great character. Even though he is straight, I think, he’s dating a woman anyway, I hope he pops up again.
I really enjoyed these guys discovering an unexpected relationship together.
4 pieces of eye candy
. .
Once upon a time, Christina Lee was a wardrobe stylist in New York City. She spent her days schlepping clothes, hailing cabs, and on the hunt for the perfect lip gloss, which became a bit of an addiction—along with books and coffee. You could always find her perched in a corner booth of a favorite diner sipping a dark roast and reading.
She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband and kiddo—her two favorite people in the world. She’s been a clinical social worker and a special education teacher and while very rewarding, they still didn’t feel like an exact fit. It wasn’t until she began writing a weekly column for the local newspaper that the bells went off in her head. She could finally draw from her real-life experiences and vivid imagination to write fiction—and she’s never looked back.
Christina writes romance in different sub-genres, but mostly with LGBTQ characters because representation matters and everyone deserves a happily-ever-after.
Connect with Christina:
https://christinalee.net/
