Page 155 of The Build-a-Boyfriend Project

“Seriously?”

“The other day, Ryan and I were here. I heard a guy calling out for ‘Eli,’ and then he said, I think it was, ‘Where is that frizzy-headed weirdo?’ And . . . you’re the only weirdo frizzy-haired Eli I know in the city.”

“Oh, well. Yeah, that’s me. But I’ve been writing more too, submitting essays and articles. To be honest, you kind of gave me that courage.”

“I did?”

Eli nods. “The way you talked about your writing, and how you were scared of other people seeing it. I think I realized that was a real pot-calling-the-kettle-black moment for me. So, I took my own advice.”

“That’s . . .” Peter says with a soft expression on his face. “That’s amazing, Eli. I’m really proud of you.”

“What about you?” Eli asks. “How’s the writing?”

“It’s going great, actually.” Peter smiles, hesitating like he doesn’t want to say what comes next. “And . . . I have you to thank for that, funny enough. Your advice really helped.”

Eli smiles back. “It’s all you,” he promises. “But I guess it was good for the both of us.”

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t have even tried if it wasn’t for you, Eli. That’s more than a push.” Peter pauses. “I have a lot to thank you for. I wouldn’t have met Ryan if it wasn’t for you.”

The knife twists deeper and deeper, and Eli has to bite back the emotions that want to escape. He’s happy for Peter, he really and truly is. Ryan looks like a sweet guy, handsome, with dark hair. He certainly looks buffer than Eli.

Then again, it’s not hard to be buffer than Eli.

But maybe he’s what Peter needs. Someone clearly more put together. Someone who won’t use Peter to benefit his own career, who’d never think of doing that in the first place. Maybe Eli just gets to be the natural step toward Peter being a more confident version of himself.

Ryan’s name is called at the counter, and Eli watches as he grabs two drinks from the barista, walking over to bring Peter his.

“Here you go,” he says. “I’ll be at the other booth answering some emails.”

“Thanks!” Peter smiles, and Eli half expects him to go in for a kiss or something. It feels so needlessly cruel, to have to watch this unfold. But maybe this is the universe teaching Eli his final lesson.

He fucked around, and now he’s finding out.

Peter watches as Ryan goes to a booth on the opposite side of the café, pulling a laptop out of the messenger bag.

“He seems nice,” Eli says.

“Yeah, Ryan’s great. He’s been helping me a ton.”

“That’s fantastic, Peter . . .” Eli has to bite back the crack in his voice. “The two of you are cute together.”

“Yeah . . .” Peter pauses, turning swiftly back to Eli. “Wait . . . what?”

“You and Ryan . . . you’re cute together. I’m glad that you found him.”

“Well, thanks, Eli . . . but Ryan and I aren’t dating.”

Eli feels like the air’s been sucked out of his lungs.

“Wait . . . what?”

And somehow, through all the confusion, Peter still smiles. “You thought Ryan and I were . . . dating?”

“Well, yeah. You walked in here together; he’s buying you coffee. And I . . . well, I saw you here the other day, I thought that . . .”

Peter beams, shaking his head as he looks down at the table. “Oh, right, yeah. I guess I can see how you might’ve thought that.”

Eli could sob at the relief he feels; ice-cold water that rushes over him in an instant. “Oh my God.” Eli feels himself relax, finally, breathing easily for the first time in weeks.