“It’s an inside joke,” Felix said, forcing a smile. “Ignore him.Ido.”
Jacob gave Shane another look—confused, not disgusted, which was better than nothing. He handed Felix another wet wipe. “I’ll go get a mop,” he said, eyeing the puddle with distaste.
Felix shot him a thumbs-up. Then Jacob turned away and Felix turned to Shane, the smile dropping off his face.
“Thanks for that, asshole,” Felix said flatly.
Shane grimaced. “Mess?—”
“Don’tMessme, dickhead,” Felix hissed. He glanced over to Jacob, worried he’d overheard. But Jacob was over with thevolunteer cleaner, hiding his impatience as she finished with the mop.
“I gotta go change,” Felix said.
Shane said his nickname again as Felix walked off. Felix ignored him, his head down as he waddled awkwardly toward the door.
“Hey,” Jacob called.
Felix thought about pretending not to hear him. Then he turned back.
Jacob was halfway across the gym with the mop, looking confused. “Are we still watching a movie later?” he asked, eyeing the puddle like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to clean it anymore if Felix was leaving.
Felix’s heart thudded. He clenched his teeth in another fake smile. “You know it,” he called. “Smell ya later, brochacho.”
With that lame goodbye, he left. Jacob called his name again, but Felix kept walking, puppy piss dripping into his socks, wondering if he should have just turned Jacob down when he came to him with the list.
Would this hurt any less if he’d said no? If he’d never kissed Jacob, never felt his bare body against his? He didn’t know. But one thing hedidknow: now that he’d had Jacob like that, he wasn’t giving it up until Jacob ended it.
CHAPTER 10
“You seem distracted.”
Jacob looked up from the spotless carpet, alarmed. “What? Oh. Sorry.”
David Stanton cocked his head at him. In terms of reactions, it was maybe the biggest he’d gotten from David so far. He was a very low-key guy, emoting so little that Jacob could already picture Felix calling him a robot.
Jacob squirmed, looking around the living room. He didn’t want to think about Felix right now. Looking at David Stanton’s house felt like a betrayal, even though he had no reason to feel like he was letting Felix down. Felix had to understand that Jacob couldn’t live with a guy who forgot to do his own washing half the time. Let alonedatehim.
What was Shane thinking the other day, asking him something like that? Jacob would never date Felix. More importantly, Felix would never date Jacob. Felix didn’t date. Even if he did, Felix went for fun, interesting guys. Not guys like Jacob, who wore pocket protectors and carried wet wipes for cleanliness emergencies.
“Is something the matter?” David asked.
Jacob startled. He’d zoned out again, rubbing the packet of wet wipes in his pocket. They were right next to Felix’s hand cream.
“I’m fine,” Jacob said, ignoring the unidentifiable tide of emotion welling in him as his fingers brushed the hand cream. “You were saying something about the insulation?”
“State of the art,” David said. “It’s a new house, so it doesn’t have any upcoming maintenance. The heating is economical and eco-friendly.”
He walked out of the living room. Jacob followed him, trying to get his head back in the game. David had invited him over for a house tour. He had to pay attention. His parents had talked to him for an hour this morning, giving him a list of things to ask. They had also told him to bring pepper spray in case David secretly wanted to kidnap him, which Jacob ignored.
“So you own the house,” Jacob said as David led them into the kitchen. “That must be nice.”
“I am very lucky,” David agreed. “It was passed down to me from my grandparents.”
“But you still need a roommate?”
“Financially, no. But I have a tendency to… how did they put it? Isolate myself.”
“Oh,” Jacob said, unsure how to take that. “Okay.”
