Page 26 of More For Me

My heart swells with affection for my best friend. I love that Bodhi is so unapologetic about the things he loves. There have been a few times when we’ve hopelessly deadlocked on our match-ups, requiring us to bribe someone else into watching the films to be a tie-breaker. Every time Fox does it, he moans and complains like we’re torturing him, even though he very clearly gets into the movies within minutes—but no matter how much he might enjoy them, he would never own up to being a rom-com fan.

But Bodhi doesn’t give a shit, not even when Leo or Fox give him a hard time. He likes what he likes and he’s proud of it.

The world could use more men like Bodhi Lakra.

We take a quick break between films to write down our scores and get more snacks. When we’re situated again, Bodhi picks up the remote.

“Up next is…” he squints as he reads the board, then sighs. “Some K-drama I’ve never heard of. Awesome.”

“Don’t you dare make fun of my K-dramas,” I huff. “Korean rom-coms rule and you know it. Besides, at least this movie came out in the last few years, and not before we were both born.”

“I like modern movies too, you know.”

I snort at that. “When’s the last time you chose anything from this decade? Youalwayspick shit from the nineties and early two-thousands.”

“Because that’s what I watched with my mom growing up.”

I turn to face him, surprised. “You watched rom-coms with your mom?”

He shrugs, looking strangely embarrassed. “I’ve told you that before.”

But I’m pretty sure he hasn’t. And that unsettles me for some reason I can’t quite put my finger on.

Before I can press him anymore, both of our phones start to ding in unison with incoming messages. This isn’t unusual. At any given time, my family has about a dozen group threads going. There’s the thread for the entire family, one for my sisters, one for just the cousins, one for just the older cousins, one for just the girl cousins, and on and on. Of course, Bodhi is in most of those threads too.

Picking up my phone, I see a string of texts from what appears to be the older cousins, minus Leo and Rose, who are still on their honeymoon.

River:Hey, Violet and Ash volunteered to watch Poppy tomorrow night, so we need to go out.

Jas:Yes. Please. I love my child but I would sell my soul for a night of adult conversation.

Alex:Wyatt and I are in. What are you thinking?

Fox:What about that Asian Fusion place in Westwood? We all liked that last time, right?

Will:You just want to go there because they have those private rooms. Is your reality TV stardom taxing, Fox?

Fox:Oh, sure. Because you just love to be recognized because of our dads.

Will:Good point. I vote for a private room.

“What do you think?” I ask Bodhi.

He sighs. “It’s up to you.”

I look over at him, surprised by his tone. “What does that mean?”

“It means I don’t mind what we do.”

“But what was the sigh for?”

“I didn’t sigh.”

“Bodhi,” I say, exasperated. “You totally sighed.”

He shoots me a smile, but I can’t help but think it looks a little forced. “If I sighed it’s because I’m not looking forward to the next two hours of reading subtitles for this dumb movie you picked.”

I stick my tongue out at him before our phones both ding again. “So,” I say, holding it up. “Dinner? You loved the dragon rolls at that place.”