Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 111089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
As Bentley reached the end of his story, the group erupted into laughter. James got some sauce on his bottom lip, and I watched as he caught it with the back of his finger and slid it in, somehow making that totally hot. He scanned the group, like he was checking to see if anyone else had caught his fuckup, until his gaze caught mine. He closed his eyes and seemed to laugh at himself, and then our eyes met once again, briefly, before we turned our attention back to the group’s suspicions of the truth of Bentley’s tale.
I appreciated moments like this, where James and I weren’t teacher and student. We were two guys having a laugh at a silly mishap, laughing with our peers.
Two guys, one oblivious to how the other was foolishly letting his imagination get away from him.
After we finished lunch, Bentley realized some supplies had been swapped with another build and asked for volunteers to fetch them from the other site. I promptly signed up with James, who offered to drive DJ’s truck over so we could pick up the correctly measured boards and bring them over.
“This seems familiar,” I remarked as I slipped into the passenger seat.
“Yeah, I prefer the reason we’re in the same car this time.” He searched around. “Jesus Christ, this thing’s so old, I’m surprised it’s not a stick.”
“I’m gonna pretend to know what that joke means.”
He cringed. “‘These words like daggers enter in mine ears.’”
I had to laugh. “Dude, I’m shitting you. I know what a goddamn stick is. You aren’t that much older than me.”
He smiled, shaking his head. “I’m not the one to tease about that stuff. You could tell me gullible was on the roof of this truck, and I’d look.”
It was such a self-deprecating comment, one that left me wondering about his wife, the secrets he kept about whatever had gone so wrong, what had led them to growing apart, as he’d put it. But I didn’t push as James navigated his way out of the spot DJ had found near the lot.
As we drove to the other build site, I read directions off the Waze app on my phone.
It was the sort of moment that could have made me believe in magic—that the whole fucking universe had conspired on my behalf to put James and me together, even if just for the afternoon. Although, I knew I’d had more than a hand in it, considering I’d nearly knocked one guy over when I’d sprung forward, waving my hand to volunteer with him. Acting so nonchalant about it now was as ridiculous as it was pathetic.
While heading down the freeway, I noted the sweat he’d managed to work up, making his dark-gray tee hug his body.
“Are you?” he asked.
“What?” I must’ve spaced while I was checking him out. “Sorry, I was…” I didn’t even know how to excuse that, but he saved me by saying, “I was asking if you were going to homecoming.”
“Are you asking me to the school dance? And here I thought we were just getting to know each other.” He took it in the playful spirit I’d intended it, which settled any nervousness I’d had about him potentially catching on to the sincere interest that made me play with the remark to begin with. “Dances are kind of hit or miss for me. I went to homecoming freshman year with this girl I’d asked out, and then didn’t really care sophomore or junior year. But Taryn and Ben both want to go as a group this year, and I’m fine with that.”
I could tell by the expression he made that he still wasn’t all that clear about our dynamic.
He said, “Since we’re talking about this, there is something I’ve been wanting to bring up with you. You don’t have to say anything, but you’ve mentioned your friends Taryn and Ben to me a few times, and insinuated certain things…”
I tensed up. It was one thing when I was keeping the conversation on him and his own life, but I didn’t share things about myself.
He continued, “Just…I hope that if you ever need to discuss anything around that, you would feel like you could talk to me about anything you might be struggling with.”
Struggling with how much I want to bone my straight teacher is about it.
As I reflected on our previous discussions about Taryn and Ben, I realized I had sort of danced around it, feeling like that was best to do with a teacher. But I guessed what he was really getting at. “Are you talking about me being bi?”
He seemed taken aback by my directness. “Yes, I—”
“I’m all good with that.” I had to laugh. “I thought it was pretty clear by the way I talked about my friends that that was the case. If you think I haven’t been eyeing Jason’s abs for the past few Saturdays, you’re dead wrong.”