I push off my desk with my feet and come immediately face to face with Noah, surprising us both. We shout and jump back from each other.
“What! Are you doing?” I ask.
“What are you doing? He asks back.
“I asked you first.”
“Well, I was born first.”
“Has that ever worked for you?”
“Young man, you wound me. Of course it has. Now you tell me what you’re doing first.”
“Fine, I’m trying to get your attention because I have a surprise!”
“What kind of surprise? Are we getting a cat?”
“What? Where the hell would we put a litter box? We don’t even have a fridge.”
“Hmm… Are we getting a dog?”
“Are you gonna walk it every day?”
“I wouldn’t have time, between class and practice and frat time and spending time with my bestest roommate.”
“So, no, we are not getting an animal.”
“Then what’s the surprise?”
“I mean, it’s probably not that exciting for you. I’ll tell you what it is once you tell me what you’re doing.”
“Oh, I just wanted to poke you so you’d turn around so I could see your cute face.”
“My face isn’t cute, shut up.”
“Aww, am I embarrassing you?”
“No. Anyways, Maggie got a hotel room down the street and she’s gonna hang out with us for the weekend! Isn’t that awesome?”
“Uh, your friend from high school?”
“Yeah. Is there something wrong with that?”
“Well, you kinda got me hopeful that we were gonna get a dog…”
“Sorry to disappoint. But she’s really excited to meet you! You’ll love her. She’s the most precious, sweet, innocent and lovely person in the whole world, honestly. She’s also really cute.” I wink at him, and he raises an eyebrow.
“I don’t think anyone could be close with you and be innocent, you heathen. Also, why does her cuteness matter to me?”
“I don’t know, maybe you’ve decided you’re tired of waiting for me to be ready.”
His jaw drops, then fixes itself back up on his face.
“You’re kidding, right? Liam, I think I could wait years for you. Dork.”
“How dramatic. And romantic. I think.”
“You don’t believe me? I’d stand outside your window and throw pebbles for your attention, then serenade you with a guitar I borrowed from one of my boys.” He holds up his hands as if they can paint the scene for me.
“If you say so, sap.”
“Rude. When does she get here?”
I shrug.
“This weekend. Probably Friday.”
“You don’t know, do you? Liam, you are the worst at planning, ever. Give me her number.”
“No way!”
“Why not?”
“I don’t trust you. You’ll probably ask to see pictures of me in third grade or something.”
“She has those?”
“She was there.”
“Right. Well, I promise I won’t. I’ll ask your parents when I meet them.”
“Good luck with that one,” I mutter, turning around and going back to my desk. Before I start my paper up again, I fire him her contact info, silently praying that it doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass in any way.
By the time I finish that damn paper, it’s Friday. Good thing it isn’t due until Sunday at midnight. Uh, I mean, too bad it was due Thursday. I don’t give a shit about my grades. Yeah, I’m a cool guy. All I care about is drinking and partying and dick, you feel me? Right…
The restaurant is bustling, despite the quaint atmosphere. Waiters dodge one another while racing down the paths not blocked by tables, and patrons stand to go to the bathroom at a moment’s notice. At least one plate falls to break every fifteen minutes, I swear. And there’s that hum of noise, caused by what I learned the other day to be called the “Cocktail Party Effect” rumbling in my ears, mostly because Noah hasn’t said anything to me, and Maggie is late, as always. Except, she’s not usually this late. Noah said he’d handle the planning, so he did. He brought us here and told me that he told Maggie to come here, too. I don’t know why I trusted him, because every minute that passes, his face gets just a little bit redder, starting to get to a color between my hair (which is a darker red, more like a mahogany, I might add. I hate being called a redhead) and the plaid on his shirt.
He won’t look at me, either. Was this a setup to get me on a date, alone with him? I don’t even like Italian! I like caprese salad, garlic bread, and mac and cheese. Is mac and cheese even Italian? Probably not. But damn if it’s not pasta and damn if it’s not what I’m gonna order. You know, if Maggie ever shows up. Because if she doesn’t I’m going to pull Noah out of this restaurant by his ears and drop out of college.
I don’t think he’d go to this much effort, though. I sort of already told him I’d go out with him for real if he just got the balls to actually ask me. Of course, he hasn’t yet, and who can really blame him? I’ve already rejected him once, and he won’t stop reminding me of it. He pretends it’s a joke, but I can tell he’s still kinda hurt. So I just remind him that I’m the one who almost kissed him. He mumbles something about being afraid to make me uncomfortable, then the conversation dies. Other than that, we’ve been all good lately. Except for this situation right now! Where the hell is Maggie? Did he give her the wrong directions? Why would we meet at a restaurant? Doesn’t she have luggage? Oh, wait. She probably has to stop at the hotel first. Maybe he messed up the times.
The waiter stops by our table and refills my water for the literal fourth time, and asks if we want more bread. Noah shakes his head at the same time I nod, then he blushes harder, which is a nice look on that square-jawed, muscular, and all-around tough face, and the waiter decides that he should go with the response from the one of us that looks like “the man” in the relationship, and leaves without taking the bread basket with to refill. I don’t mind bottoming, but if we’re in a gay relationship, neither of us is “the man” or “the woman.” First off, those gender norms where the male partner’s preference takes precedence over the female partner’s preference is bullshit. Second, don’t put your gender norms on my gay not-yet-a relationship!
“Okay, what’s going on, why isn’t she here yet?” I ask, trying to keep my voice even. A waiter passes behind Noah and nearly trips when his fidgeting ends with him moving backwards. He takes the corner of the white linen napkin in front of him between his fingers and picks at it before making eye contact. “I’m not trying to be impatient, but I’m hungry, and it’s been at least forty-five minutes. We could have been done by now.”
“I dunno, Lee,” he replies, checking his phone. “She said she was on her way a half hour ago. Maybe she got caught in traffic. I know her train was kinda delayed, too, so maybe it was just like a big domino effect.”
“Can we at least get an appetizer or something?”
He shrugs, then opens the menu. The only reason, and I mean the only goddamn reason I’m asking him, is because he offered to pay for me tonight. He’s not my boyfriend. But I won’t turn away free food, are you fucking kidding me?
“What were you thinking?”
“Caprese salad,” a voice says behind me. It’s not… exactly a feminine one. Whoever it is covers my eyes with their hands as soon as they get close. Their fingers are long, and that’s about all I can see. “It’s basically the only thing Marshmallow likes from Italian restaurants.”
I reach up and pull the hands away from my eyes, standing up along the way. Cal’s face is remarkably close to mine, so I take a step back. I’m not sure why my cheeks are burning. I step forward and give him a big hug and his wiry arms squeeze me back around my shoulders. He’s still taller than me, but not as much taller as he used to be.
“I picked Italian, Calvin, because I like Italian. Not because Liam doesn’t. Duh,” Maggie replies, stepping around Cal and pulling me away from his hug into her own. Noah stands up and shakes Cal’s hand. Cal offers a smile, but Noah just gives him a sharp nod back. The “bro” nod. Oof. “Hey, Lee-Bee. Sorry I’m late. I had to make a stop along the way.” She looks over at Cal. Then, she lets me go and takes a seat on the side of the table opposite of mine, leaving both boys closer to me when we all sit back down.
Maggie hugs Noah on her way over, even though he goes in for a handshake. He blushes and hugs her back once she tugs him in.
“You got tall, Marshmallow,” Cal says, taking his napkin over his lap. “Still not as tall as me, though. But, uh, you look good. You look healthy. Not a pound of freshman fifteen on you. Hair looks nice tonight, too.”
Marshmallow popped up because of my middle name. Cal couldn’t figure out how to say it in second grade, so I told him it was just Marshmallow, and that was our first meeting. Ever since then, I’ve been Marshmallow. It’s even how he introduced me to Maggie, though she was less fond of the nickname and has called me whatever the hell she wants since then.
“Urgh, don’t talk about the freshman fifteen,” Maggie replies, wrapping her vibrant red lips around her cup of water and taking a sip. “I’m still trying to lose the senior thirty.” Cal rolls his eyes.
“Girl, you haven’t put on weight since middle school, what are you talking about?”
“Oh, Cal, silly Cal… You still don’t understand women…”
“Oh, I understand them just fine. It’s men that I don’t get,” he mutters, then winks when he catches me staring. I feel myself starting to blush again, so I gulp down some more water to help my face cool off. He’s not… flirting with me, is he? High school Liam is quaking in his sneakers. This guy, my best friend that everyone had a crush on, that I was so in love with that I never thought I’d ever find anyone else and I used to cry to Maggie over because he was so hot, but he was totally straight, and then he came out as bi and I cried even harder because he told her before he told me, even though we were friends first, was flirting with ME?
It must just be my imagination. Especially because things are going so well lately with Noah…
I look over him and find him staring at the table while Cal and Maggie keep chattering back and forth. It’s been a while since they’ve seen each other, too, so it’s just as nice for them to be able to catch up. Noah isn’t paying much attention to anything. I kick him under the table and he jumps to attention, immediately making eye contact with me. I raise an eyebrow, and he shakes his head. Ookay….
“So, Marshmallow, how are classes going?”
“Probably not as interesting as yours are. I just write papers and take tests.”
He shrugs, but I can see a little bit of pride creeping onto his face.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s pretty cool. I can’t complain too much about it, that’s for sure. I met this girl--” Right, of course. Sorry to get my hopes up. “--and she and I are total MLM WLW solidarity. It’s hilarious. She asks me every week if I have a boyfriend and then shows me pictures of her girlfriend and we just… We’ve kinda started to hang out? I don’t know. She’s just really cool. Her name is Camryn. Oh, and there’s Leo. He’s a cool dude, too, can’t complain too much about him. He’s chill. The other day the three of us got together to work on a project for our film analysis class, which is, like, the best class I’ve ever taken this semester, so that’s cool.”
“Yeah, your classes are definitely more interesting than mine,” I reply. The Caprese salad arrives, but I don’t actually remember ordering anything. I look over at Noah, but he won’t make eye contact this time. Did he order it? “Anth is fun but--”
“Yeah, it’s cool, but you should do what you love. Maybe you can get an acting minor?”
“I’m not sure, probably not. My parents don’t really want me to get one.”
“Pfft, screw your parents, do what makes you happy.”
He tugs a hand through his long blonde cloud of hair and elbows Maggie, who rolls her eyes at him. She, too, casts a glance over at Noah, then clears her throat.
“So, Noah. It’s fun to finally meet you in person! Liam’s told us a lot about you, and let me say, you’re cuter in person than you were in the pics he sent.”
I blush immediately, thinking about what I’ve sent her. Noah looks up at her with an eyebrow raised. His mouth is still hard with contemplation, though.
“What sort of pics has he been sending you?” He turns that damn raised eyebrow over to me, and my blood starts draining. He also has really, really nice eyebrows. They’re thick and dark like his hair and I almost can’t handle them. Why have I never noticed his eyebrows before?
“Hopefully all clothed, right?” Cal says, hiding his mouth behind his cup. Maggie rolls her eyes.
“Yeah, all clothed, what? Dumbass. No, he just sends a lot of pictures of you when you’re not looking. It’s like he tries to make you look bad. It’s kinda sweet, actually,” Maggie snaps back. She takes the Caprese salad away from me while I’m busy pouring heaping amounts of balsamic on top of it and puts some on her own plate. Noah looks back to me.
“I didn’t know you did that,” he says. He doesn’t sound upset, actually.
“Yeah,” I reply, poking at the mozzarella on my plate. “It’s like… You’re so cute, and I was trying to take ugly pictures of you in our first few months as roommates because you were so aggravatingly cute I wanted to prove that you weren’t absolutely perfect. So I took a few pictures of you while you were sleeping and stuff with your mouth open.”
“That’s kinda weird,” Cal says. Maggie punches him, and he rubs his arm where she hit it.
“No it’s not, it’s cute. Shut up,” Maggie snaps.
“I guess. Oh, wait, that kinda reminds me of the time we were on the Mads retreat and Marshmallow and I ran into each other while he was getting out of the shower. The face he made… Oh my God. And it was right after he had come out to me, and it was like, two years before I ended up coming out, so the fear on his face was adorable and hilarious. I teased him about taking pictures of me in my sleep just like that. Of course, it was just a joke, so it wasn’t really happening, but still. Almost the same thing!” He grins to himself and sips his water once he finishes.
“Mads retreat?” Noah asks. Cal beams at him. His teeth aren’t sparkly, but his face is.
“Yeah! We performed together in high school. Plays, musicals, madrigals, choir, and that one time we had to fill in for the speech team.” When Noah still doesn’t seem to understand, Cal elaborates, “Madrigals are like, an old timey song with a lot of singers from the renaissance, but we just used it as an excuse to sing Christmas and other holiday music in fancy costumes. I was the king of the court in our senior year. And we went on a retreat every year to this cabin out west and all the boys crammed in one half and all the girls crammed into the other and we had some parents that would come cater and there were spiders everywhere and we were never allowed to go to the lake but always snuck out at night anyway while the teachers were sleeping. It was a time, yeah?”
Comments (2)
See all