“Um,” The lady in the aisle said to Joey, over Mikael’s empty middle chair. She looked back at the line for the bathroom, Mikael was almost at the front now, he’d been gone for the past few minutes. “So, you two really aren’t together then?”

“Hm?” Joey said, following her gaze back to Mikael. “What? No.” He looked back at his iPad, the Pitch Perfect movie still playing.

After finishing Moana, Mikael had said he didn't care what movies they watched, so Joey had picked one of his favorites, Pitch Perfect 2. Then, five minutes into the movie and Mikael had insisted they watch the first one first.

Joey caved in easily because he liked it just as much as the second one and was excited to be getting Mikael into the series. 

Now they were nearly finished with the first movie.

Mikael had told him to pause it until he came back from the bathroom but he was taking too long and that’s what rewind buttons existed for.

“Is he single?” She asked

Joey threw her a glance. “Yeah.”

“He’s really cute.”

“Okay.”

“Do you think I’m his type? I was thinking about giving him my number.”

Joey sighed, still not bothering to put the movie on pause as he threw her another glance.

He didn’t really know what Mikael’s type was.

In the four years Joey had known Mikael, he’d only ever had an on-again-off-again girlfriend, Maggie. 

They had known each other since high school and had started dating soon after Mikael had enlisted in the Marines. But Joey had felt like neither of them had ever put their relationship as a priority in their lives.

When they officially broke up last year and Maggie moved to France, it didn’t really come as a shock to anyone. 

Joey had taken Mikael out for consolation beers but Mikael had seemed just fine.

Maggie had been a tall blond, around Mikael’s height. Many saw her and assumed she would be stuck up, but she was one of the most down to Earth people Joey had ever met and an all-around really great girl.

When he had first met her, his first thought had been Duh, of course she and Mikael are together, that makes perfect sense!

They both exuded a paradoxical sense of confidence and humility, they were both great at sports, they had a similar sense of humor, and when you were with them you felt like you could do anything in the world, which was also always a little scary.

He didn’t know if Mikael had a type, but Maggie was his only base for comparison.

Did that mean blonds were his type? Maybe women who exuded a stoic badassery? Who were as tall as him? Who liked football? Who he had a history with?

He looked at the lady in the aisle seat. She was brunette, tiny, and looked like she had a lot of energy. 

Kinda reminded him of himself.

“Um,” He said, “I don’t know. Maybe?” Though he figured probably not.

He could hear his favorite part from the movie starting and he didn’t really feel like this conversation with the lady in the aisle was a priority so he turned back to his tablet.

"How long have the two of you known each other?" She kept going.

He paused the movie, but he hoped she didn't take that as a sign that this was going to turn into a chat.

He just didn't want to miss the signing.

"Um, we've known each other about four years." He said, mind inevitably going back to Mikael and their therapy session from two weeks ago.

The therapist had asked them the same question.

Four years - Joey had shrugged.

Three years, eleven months, eight days - Mikael had corrected him.

Joey had gawked at Mikael, then turned to the therapist and used that as an example to illustrate how Mikael always had to have the last word.

Joey tilted his head, a soft smile on his face. "Well almost four years," he corrected. "Four years in a few days actually."