Sweet Like Sugar Read Online Free Page B

is?”
    â€œCreepy?”
    â€œYeah, that he’s on my couch every afternoon, but we’ve never even had a conversation?”
    â€œThat doesn’t sound so bad, dude,” he said with a sly grin, like a real guy. “Cut right to the chase.”
    I stopped for a moment.
    â€œYou’re talking about the rabbi, right?” I asked.
    â€œRabbi?” said Dan. “You’re dating a rabbi?”
    â€œNo, I am not dating a rabbi,” I clarified. “What did Michelle tell you?”
    Michelle came out of her bedroom and joined the conversation. “I told Dan that you met a guy the other night at that new bar,” she said. “That guy. You know, what’s his name?”
    â€œPete,” I said.
    â€œRight, Pete,” she said.
    â€œThat’s who I’m talking about,” said Dan.
    â€œOh,” I said. “Well, I wouldn’t call him my new boyfriend. We just met. But we’re getting together on Friday night.”
    â€œSo what’s he like?” Dan asked. “Is he hot?”
    I loved that Dan wanted to know if my date was “hot.” Straight guys get a bad rap a lot of the time, but sometimes they can be the perfect antidotes to everyone else. A straight girl might have asked what Pete did for a living, or what we talked about when we met—Michelle’s first two questions. A gay guy might have asked where he lived (to see how much commuting would be involved in a relationship) or what he liked to do in bed. Dan didn’t care about Pete’s job, or his apartment, or his sexual preferences, or even what he looked like objectively. He wanted to know if Pete turned me on.
    â€œYeah, he’s pretty hot,” I said.
    â€œGood for you, dude,” said Dan. And then he gave me a thumbs-up.
    Approval.
    â€œBut wait a minute,” Dan said, “who did you think I was talking about? Who’s this rabbi?”
    I looked at Michelle: “You didn’t tell him? I figured you’d have told everyone by now.”
    â€œHonestly, Benji,” she said, “I didn’t think the old guy would stick around this long.”
    â€œHow old?” said Dan.
    â€œI don’t know,” I said. “Eighty, eighty-five.”
    â€œDude!” said twenty-something Dan, this time with definite disapproval. Such a versatile word—dude.
    â€œIt’s not like that,” I insisted.
    â€œSo what’s the deal?” he asked.
    â€œI’ll tell you all about it,” Michelle said before I could get a word out. “But let’s get going, or we’ll miss the movie.”
    â€œRight,” said Dan, getting out of our easy chair and running a hand through his fine blond hair, pushing it out of his face. Standing side by side, both in T-shirts and shorts, they were a good match: Dan tall and lanky, his shoulders permanently hunched slightly forward, his large hands hanging loose at his side; Michelle petite and darker, her green eyes always alert, curly brown hair piled atop her head to keep her neck cool. The height difference made their casual kisses seem awkward, but Michelle was the perfect height for Dan to wrap his arm around her shoulder. Which he did, often. Michelle loved that. I could see it in her eyes.
    â€œYou going out tonight, Benji?” Dan asked.
    â€œI haven’t decided yet,” I said, even though I’d already decided to stay home and get reacquainted with some old Bible stories; I’d dug my childhood picture book out of a box of my old stuff that my mother had given me when she commandeered my childhood closet for her “papers.” But that’s just not the kind of thing I could have easily explained without seriously damaging the coolness I’d started to build up in Dan’s estimation.
    â€œWhatever, dude, have fun,” he said.
    â€œDon’t wait up,” said Michelle as she opened the front door.
    â€œI won’t,” I