“Do I?” Luke asked hopefully. Ha-ha.
I kissed him again. “You’re the honeybee because you’re so sweet.”
Luke always preened under the praise yet still looked a bit embarrassed and he had this slow, shy smile that made the dimples appear and oh my god. Being so ridic gone for my boyfriend should be embarrassing.
Then again, I was busy joining our mouths together.
Totally just my imagination, but I almost thought I could detect the taste of honey. Naturally, I had to explore further. Maybe Luke always tasted like honey to me. Wow, I’m sappy. I should feel more embarrassment about that.
Then again, screw that.
Screw feeling uncomfortable about my huge, flowery, sugary feelings. Screw all of it.
Screw Luke. No. Yes! But no, not at this moment!
Not the time for that.
We stood together in the dance classroom, leaning against each other and kissing sweetly and my heart felt so full.
I was a guy, in love with another guy, and there was a time not so long ago when that would have come with a lot of hardship. Not that it was always the easiest thing now, but this felt like a moment that wasn’t about thinking about how far we’d come and how far we still had to go. This was a nice moment, a good moment. Where nothing mattered but his lips on mine, the way Luke sighed when I ran a hand through his hair.
There should be no shame, no embarrassment in this moment. Just all the sweet, sappy love.
My boo and I smiled at each other as we broke apart to breathe, and hey, we had kind of started swaying even though there was no music. Maybe we were dancing after all. The informal kind, not the one with steps and moves and whatever dancing involved. The only thing better than actual dancing was inventing my own dance with Luke.
The only way to make this even better? Not Zach and Joey suddenly appearing but that’s what happened.
We all stared at each other for a second.
“What are you guys doing here?” Luke asked.
“This is where I take naps,” Joey said.
Okay, but Zach was with him. That could only mean one thing, I decided, and wouldn’t let anything else convince me otherwise. “You take naps together?” I asked, grinning gleefully.
“I’m looking for Luke,” Zach said and then continued with a ton of annoying sarcasm. “But it sure was a tough case to crack. What with me saying, ‘I think Luke can dance’ and then you asking 300 follow up questions even though all my answers were ‘I don’t know’ or ‘shut up.’”
That was an accurate retelling of the event. Good times. Terrible times. One or the other. Though he also answered withI hate youa lot, but I decided not to mention that.
“Then you guys aren’t learning to dance for prom too?” I asked to be a jerk.
Joey groaned. “I’m not going to prom with Zach. Why do people keep thinking that?” He seemed to be asking the room at large, or anyone in the universe who had the answer. Then he looked at me and his face got darker, like if this was something I started, I was in big trouble.
I put my hands up in an innocent gesture or started to, but I was wrapped around Luke and I enjoyed that, so I only put one hand up. Instead of innocent, I just looked confusing. Eh. That happened all the time.
Joey looked at me for one more second, then his whole body seemed to sigh and dismiss me as too much effort. That was generally the tone I tried to strike with him.
Zach watched me like I amused him, which was better than annoying him, and told Joey, “People think we’re going tohomecomingtogether,” he corrected. “You should let me know about that before I find someone else. No way I’m going to prom with you.”
“I don’t want you to be my date foranything ever,” Joey said with feeling. “But why not prom?”
“I’m definitely not going to prom with someone if I have zero shot at action.” His face showed that Joey was his friend but he wasn’t worth that.
Joey looked offended, then nodded, and offered his fist for a bump instead. “Respect.”
“You two should kiss,” I said. Luke hid his face against my neck, either because what I said embarrassed him or he didn’t want to see that if it happened.
Zach and Joey both looked disgusted. Technically, they had kissed once on a dare while drunk. Maybe that was why they looked disgusted.
