Free Beta Test (#gaymers) by Annabeth Albert Page B

Tristan’s blush started at his neck and worked its way upward as he stammered.
    Ravi took pity on him and steered him away from the clerk. “I think his auntie will love the necklaces. Thanks.”
    “Auntie?” Tristan whispered when they were out of earshot of the clerk.
    “Figured you might not want the whole nanny thing advertised. Or anything else.” Ravi gave him a pointed look. He might have unintentionally outed Tristan once, but he sure as heck wasn’t doing it again.
    “Um. Yeah.” Tristan looked away and fingered a necklace. “This might work. I always suck at presents for Maria or my mom.”
    “With two sisters, I had no choice but to love shopping.”
    “I know.” Tristan colored again. “You’ve...uh...got great personal style.”
    Now that was an unexpected compliment, but Ravi preened anyway. Being noticed by Tristan shouldn’t make him this warm inside or make him smile wider. He had to resist the urge to fluff his hair. “Thanks. Haunting vintage shops in LA is one of my hobbies. But now, about those souvenirs...”
    * * *
    An hour later there was no text from Elmer, but they walked back to the broken truck with their purchases.
    “It’s coming,” Elmer said testily when they pressed him as to when they could expect the replacement truck. “I’ll call you when it’s here.”
    Ha. Ravi still wasn’t sure he trusted that, but wandering around Weed was far preferable to hanging out with Elmer, who’d flipped the small TV in the store onto some right-wing rant.
    Another hour passed, during which time they got a snack in a café with a lavish stone exterior and homey 1950s interior. They split an order of onion rings, and the waitress gave them a knowing look as she set their food down.
    “It’s like garlic, right?” She winked at them. In her early twenties with pastel hair and a long nose, she reminded Ravi of an overgrown My Little Pony figurine.
    “Eh?” Tristan made a sound not unlike Ravi’s dadi when she didn’t understand something. And like those occasions, Ravi had already figured out what was up, and inwardly groaned.
    “You know, you won’t care about onion breath if you both eat it.” She winked again. “You guys are adorbs by the way.”
    Tristan made a choking sound, so Ravi saved him again. “We’re not a couple.”
    “In that case, I’m Heather.” She gave him a different look this time, one Ravi supposed was designed to be seductive. “You in town long?”
    “Hopefully not.” Ravi gave her a friendly smile but kept his gaze distant.
    “Darn. I do love ethnic guys.” She gave him another saucy smile and headed back to the counter.
    “I’m not sure what’s worse,” Tristan said once she was gone. “That she thought we were a couple or that she wanted to collect you like those fifty state spoons back at the gift shop.”
    “After Elmer, I’m just happy she was friendly.” Ravi snagged an onion ring. They weren’t as good as his mom’s onion pakoras, but they were tasty enough. And sadly, the idea of being a couple with Tristan wasn’t nearly the turnoff it should have been. Ravi should be chomping at the bit to be free of this tiny town and its colorful residents and shouldn’t be enjoying hanging out with Tristan this much. At least Tristan seemed put off by it, which was good. Tristan being oblivious to the attraction between them was great insurance against Ravi doing something stupid.
    * * *
    Life would be so much easier if Tristan wasn’t attracted to Ravi. Like seriously, he should not be aware of how Ravi’s eyes crinkled when he told a joke or how his mouth quirked when he pointed out something interesting. And absolutely, Tristan shouldn’t be noticing how Ravi’s muscles bunched and flexed as they moved the cargo from the broken truck to the replacement truck, which had finally shown up three and a half hours after they arrived in Weed.
    “You sure you’re not up to no good?” Elmer asked. He kept popping out of the convenience