"So what you're saying is," Drew laughed a little as he tried to catch his breath before continuing. "You think Henry Cavill is hotter than Chris Evans?"
"Heck yeah!" Ryan exclaimed. "I mean, have you seen that man?" There was no point in arguing about this. As soon as Drew asked him who his favorite actor was, the name of the one man Ryan had dreamed about as soon as he hit puberty left his lips before he could stop them. And really, who could blame him? Henry Cavill was a god! He was Superman for crying out loud. And Sherlock Holmes.
And fucking Geralt!!! There was really no contest between him and any other actor for Ryan, especially when it came to childhood crushes.
"So that makes him your childhood crush then?" He asked, smiling down at the blond boy.
"Obviously," Ryan sassed him, rolling his eyes. "Well... if we leave Loki out, I guess. Tom Hiddleston is also kinda cute and a little funny, I won't lie," he said making Drew laugh even harder.
And for some reason, his laughter caused Ryan to smile widely like an idiot. Not because of how contagious it was, but because of how fucking handsome Drew was. Even just looking at him being carefree and relaxed was enough to make the younger boy happy. Ryan loved seeing the little wrinkles around Drew's eyes that showed just how happy he felt at this moment.
And knowing that it was him who made Drew feel that way, made him laugh so hard... Ryan's heart clenched behind his chest as the smile dropped from his face.
It also didn't help that he was being so cool about Ryan being gay when he was a straight guy. Ryan knew it wasn't much, but it meant a lot to him.
"So what about you? Who's your childhood crush?" He dared to ask.
This seemed to make Drew think for a while which made Ryan even more curious.
"Hmm... I actually don't know..." he said slowly, making Ryan raise a brow.
"Really?"
Drew bit his lip. "Yeah," he whispered. "I guess it's not really what you'd expect."
"What? You're not gonna say like Ironman or something, right?" Ryan chuckled. Obviously, Drew's crush was gonna be a really hot woman like Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, or even Kim Kardashian. "Let me guess, Kim Kardashian?"
Drew smirked. "Nope!"
"Okay... what about Rihanna?"
He shook his head. "Not her either. But she's really pretty. I love her music."
"Me too! I wish we'd get an album soon, but I doubt it," I said with a sigh. "Hmm, let's see... if not her, then maybe someone younger... Ariana?"
"Nope!" He chuckled as he shook his head. "I don't think you'd get it at this rate."
"Well, you're not really giving me much to go on here other than you're straight as a ruler!" Ryan almost whined. Drew only chuckled and waved Ryan off, shaking his head.
"Why don't I make you some ice cream while you think about it," he suggested and who was Ryan to say no to ice cream?
"Can you give me a hint though?"
Drew pursed his lips as he stared at Ryan. "Sure," he said. "They're not a singer." And then he was gone.
Well, that didn't close the pool of options either. What Ryan realized now was that he still had no idea just who Drew was. He didn't know what the boy liked, or what his hobbies were. And that was something Ryan was definitely interested in. But he had to remind himself that this deal... arrangement... whatever it was that he had with Drew was not for him. They were for Drew and Nora and he was simply a helping hand.
"You like strawberries, right?" Ryan looked up to see Drew coming into the break room.
"My absolute favorite!"
"Cool!" Drew cheered. "Cuz I made you strawberry-flavored rolled ice cream with pieces of strawberries on top," he said with a smile.
Ryan almost melted as he took the cup from Drew, their hands brushing together. Shivers ran through him from that single touch alone and Ryan knew that if he didn't get a hold of himself, he was going to lose it.
He couldn't imagine slipping up and messing up whatever this was for himself and Nora. He couldn't let that happen so he said the next words that came to his mind... no matter how much it hurt him too.
"Um... thank you, but it's getting kinda late and I really should get going."
Drew's eyes widened, caught off guard by Ryan's statement. He had probably expected them to talk about Nora some more, Ryan thought, biting his lip as he stared into Drew's brown eyes.
The tall boy nodded. "Yeah... I guess so. Mind if I walk you home?"
Ryan smiled then, feeling a little at ease that Drew wasn't completely annoyed. "I wouldn't mind at all," he whispered.
***
When Drew said he wanted to walk Ryan home, the blond boy thought it meant that he was going to get home as fast as possible so Drew could go back to work. What he didn't expect was for Drew to lead them through Colonel Lewis Park —named after the first mayor of Redwood Valley — and for them to spend twenty minutes in said park.
What was really surprising though was the fact that they didn't even do much at the park. Drew just wanted to sit and stare at the stars.
Ryan thought it was romantic, in a weird way. Here he was, sitting with a man he's crushed on for the past three years on a park bench at seven in the evening while he ate his favorite ice cream which was made for him by said man.
Is this really happening or am I insane?
He bit hard on his bottom lip to remind himself that he wasn't in fact dreaming and that stargazing with Drew was actually a thing that was happening.
"Did you know you can see Venus in the sky at night?"
"Huh?" Ryan asked, eyes wide as he was startled by the sudden question. "Wait really?" He turned away from the dark-skinned boy and looked up at the sky, trying to search for it.
Drew nodded. "Yeah... but it's very faint and takes only a keen eye to see it before it disappears."
"It does?" I asked as I stared up at the sky, still not seeing what he was talking about.
"It isn't very visible at night," Drew stated and leaned in closer to Ryan, making the hairs on the blond boy's skin stand up as warmth surrounded him.
He licked his lips, gulping as Drew's arm fell on his shoulder. "Look over there," the tall boy said and Ryan followed the direction of his finger. "It's the one right there!"
Ryan's eyes found the exact star he was talking about and smiled in awe at the new fact. And even when he nodded to let Drew know that he had finally found it, the boy's arms didn't leave his shoulder.
It made Ryan wonder why Drew felt so comfortable with him after only a few days of interacting with each other. Ryan thought it odd but his kind quickly reminded him of the fact that he could lose this in the next few days once Drew made up his mind about asking Nora out.
So instead of questioning why Drew was being nice and chill with him, Ryan let out a sigh and relaxed into Drew's arms, putting his head on the dark boy's shoulder as the latter pulled him in closer. He smiled to himself and breathed in.
They stayed like this for a while, talking in quiet whispers about anything and everything until they both felt it was time for Ryan to go home. Well, until Ryan had drank up the rest of his melted ice cream. And as promised, Drew did walk Brian to his house which wasn't so far away from the park.
"I think it was really nice of you to walk me home," Ryan whispered when he felt Drew squeeze his hand a little bit as they neared his home. They had held hands the entire way there.
"Come on, it's nothing," said Drew.
"It is... plus, I think this is the kind of thing Nora would expect when you do ask her out and stuff," he continued, trying to save himself from saying what he really thought.
"I see."
The blond boy bit his lip. They were just two houses away now and he had something in mind that he really wanted to ask before he lost his chance. "Anyway, I have to ask, why don't you just go ahead and ask her?" He questioned. She might actually like that, he thought.
Drew took in a deep breath. "I... I don't know. I just don't feel ready."
Ryan nodded. "I guess that makes sense," he said. Ryan rationalized that since Drew was so popular, it made sense for him to know quite a bit about Nora so that when he asked her out, it wouldn't feel like dating a complete stranger. "What else do you want to know about her? I think we covered just the basics."
The tall boy's hand left Ryan's, crossing them on his torso as he thought about the question. "Hmm... What's her dream date like?"
"Nora isn't picky, as far as I know. Movie night and eating at a restaurant is a sure bet. She does talk a lot about weddings though so I know she likes all the romantic stuff."
"Woah that's kinda scary," Drew laughed. "We're not there yet," he continued, making Ryan chuckle.
"Yeah, I know," he smiled. "But really, she's a simple girl. All you really have to do is make her happy."
The tall boy nodded. "And what about you? Are you simple?"
Ryan pressed his lips together, shrugging "I... don't know."
"Tell me," Drew said firmly as he paused in his steps and turned to Ryan, looking into the blond boy's eyes. "What's your dream date?"
The shorter boy gulped and looked away from Drew's piercing gaze as he felt a blush coat his cheeks. He wished he wasn't so nervous, but how could he not be when Drew was standing so close to him, looking at him like he meant something to him?
He licked his soft pink lips. "Um... well, I like restaurants and food too but I'm more of a picnic kinda guy. I like to go to secluded places where it'll just be me and whoever I'm dating."
"That's a serial killer's dream, y'know?" Drew teased.
Ryan laughs. "Seriously though, I want to be alone with him with no distractions you know? But also there should be some kind of scenery. Maybe a river, a park, on the mountainside so we can look down at the town," he explained.
"I also like animals a lot. like, rabbits, squirrels, llamas, and alpacas. So I don't mind visiting the zoo or a sanctuary as a date as well."
"That's really kinda cool," Drew said, sounding amazed with Ryan's depictions of his perfect date. "There's an alpaca sanctuary a few miles out of town. Will you like to go there?"
"What? With you? On a date?" Ryan gasped as he pressed his hand to his chest. "I'm just kidding," he chuckled, blushing slightly when Drew didn't react. "But definitely. I actually didn't know there was one close by."
Drew nodded with a smile, but it was one so small that it made Ryan wonder if he did something wrong. "You okay?" He asked after a moment of silence when they picked up walking again.
"Yeah, I'm just being weird."
"Come on, tell me. What's wrong?"
Drew pursed his lips. "I was just wondering if um... if Nora had kissed anyone before."
Ryan nodded slowly. "I think so, yeah. When we were in middle school and the first year of high school but I don't know otherwise."
"Oh okay... that's okay," the tall boy nodded. "So, like, after a date with Nora, do you think she'll want to be kissed?
"Absolutely!" Ryan exclaimed. "Did you not hear me say she's a romantic?" He chuckled slightly.
"And you? Have you been kissed before?"
Ryan licked his lips as a slight shiver ran through him, possibly from the cold breeze and not from how intensely he felt Drew's gaze on him. He shook his head as his eyes fell to the ground, his hands entering into his pockets. "No guys around here seem to be into me, so y'know...," he said with a slight chuckle.
He looked back up again to see the tall boy nodding. "Can I try something?"
"What?" Ryan asked.
Drew stared at Ryan for a short moment, and before the younger boy knew it, Drew leaned in close and pressed his lips to Ryan's in a gently kiss, letting shivers run through him and allowing all the feelings that Ryan had been trying and failing to bottle down come rushing back up like a hot spring.
And then he was gone, leaving Ryan a blushing and confused mess.
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