When the movie is over, I have to leave otherwise I’ll miss the last train back home. On his doorstep, I give him one last kiss before leaving.
Rin: Ohhhhh you’re still not responding… this date must be so goooood
Kei: Don’t jinx it. What if Gayle is actually a murderer and Rodney’s body is sinking to the bottom of the sea as we text?
Rin: Oh my gods, stawp putting that out into the world! He’s FINE!
Kei: Damn, it’s actually getting late. You think our boy is getting laid?
Rin: At this rate, he’s gonna have to stay the night!
Rodney: …leaving now, Mom and Dad!
Rin: How very heteronormative of you, Rodney. Shame.
Kei: Stop trying to make me the mom of the group, wtf
Rin: WE ARE GETTING OFF TOPIC!
Rin: HOW DID IT GO?
Rodney: It was good.
Kei: That’s all we get??? Really???
Rodney: I’ll tell you everything when I get home! But yeah, it was like really, really good. Like maybe the best date of my life kind of good.
Rin: OH MY GODS OUR BOY IS IN LOVE
Kei: *said through clenched teeth* wow, happy for you!
Rin: DONT RUIN THIS MOMENT KEI!
I chuckle as I slide my phone back into my pocket, getting onto the train and preparing for my hour long trip back home. All the while, I can’t help but smile softly. I wasn’t lying, that really was the best first date of my life.
Chapter Eight
Gayle
“Dad! I’m home!”
“In the kitchen! Is your dad with you?”
“No, he just dropped me off before heading to work.”
I listen as Calloway walks through the house towards the kitchen. Before he gets to me though, I hear him gasp. Then his footsteps pick up into a run. When he gets to the kitchen, his eyes are wide.
“Dad! What is that?”
I hold up the knife I’m using to cut some cheese slices I can use for easy grilled cheeses later. “A knife?”
“Not that,” he says, rolling his eyes. “In the living room! There’s a nest in there!”
I feel my cheeks heat. I set down the knife, staring down at the cheese I was just cutting. I’m not sure what Calloway will say when I explain that Rodney made the nest. I should have just torn the thing down but I ended up sleeping in it every night over the weekend.
Gods, I’m so far gone on Rodney it’s not even funny. One date and I’m thinking about how nice it would be to sleep in a nest every night with him. Get a fucking grip.
“So,” I start to say, holding up my hands. “Funny story that.”
