“Oh! I mean, Oh. You like me.”
Santino tilted his head slightly, his dark eyes on Orsen. “I think we’re getting our likes mixed up.”
“How so? How many likes are there?”
“There is the like when you like someone as a friend. Someone you have a laugh with, but that’s it. Then there is the like where you want to spend time with another person to get to know them better. That’s the kind where you may want to build on it and become more intimate.”
Orsen huffed. “How can one word be so complicated?”
“It’s how we use the English language, and if you go to England, they have different words for the same objects.”
“Really? Why would they do that?”
“It is their language, but we made it better.”
Orsen giggled. “You wouldn’t say that to an actual English person.”
“You’re right, I wouldn’t.”
“So you like me as a friend, but not the other. Why?” Orsen watched Santino open and close his mouth. “Is it because I’m not as smart as you? It’s not my fault.”
“I never said it was, and that isn’t why I hesitated to answer the questions. I’ve seen your test scores and, given time, you will catch up. You are actually quite intelligent. You answered some questions that you wouldn’t have been taught in school. You have great potential.”
“You haven’t answered my question. What is that called?”
“See, and you picked up on that. It’s called deflection. I like you as a friend, but I think it may become more.”
“How come?” He knew Santino would answer because he’d told Orsen he would always be honest with him.
“Because I think you are beautiful.”
“Me?” Orsen pointed to himself, mouth open wide. “You think I’m beautiful looking? Have you seen you? You’re gorgeous, and I shouldn’t have said that.” Orsen put his hands on his cheeks, feeling how hot they were.
“That’s what I like about us. We can say what we want. So now we know we like how the other looks, and we get on well. This is when we would usually go on a date, but would you want to sit in a restaurant?”
Orsen blanched at the idea. “God no. They’d all stare at me and talk.” He knew they already talked about him, but he wasn’t going to give them more to talk about.
“Agreed. We can do things here after you’ve finished your work.” Santino pointed to the open book in front of Orsen. “Get that finished and I’ll order pizza.”
“I don’t know what happens now.” Orsen had never been in this position before, and he didn’t like how it made him feel. Herubbed his chest until Santino placed his hand over it, stilling the action. “Sorry.”
“You’re entering a new stage in life, Orsen. One you’ve never experienced before. It’s fine to feel apprehensive about it. To feel a little unsure and maybe overwhelmed. I know Cody and TJ will be there for you, as well as Crompton. They want the best for you.”
“And you?”
“Me too, but maybe for different reasons. We’ll see how it goes. There’s no rush. You have years ahead of you to explore the world.”
“That’s not the kind of person I am. I don’t want to be out there doing things with strangers. I know Cody did that.”
“He told you about what he endured?”
“You mean how he was hurt?” Orsen was kind of figuring out how Santino spoke. There were words he’d never heard before, and Santino always explained them to him and never made Orsen feel like an idiot for not knowing. The bonus was that Orsen learned more.
“Yes. I think I have the cliff notes version. The edited one, where he only gave me the details I needed to know.”
“They hurt him, but he made it something positive.” Orsen ducked his head and picked at a nail. “He mentioned therapy.”
“I agree with him.” Orsen’s head snapped up, and he stared at Santino, who placed a hand over his again. “You’ve lived a hard life no child should have to, and it ended with you—”
