“You can say no, Oli.”His voice was softer, as though I was something skittish.Something overwhelmed.
I didn’t want to be that person.
“Dinner would be good,” I told him.“What time?”
“Let’s say, drinks at seven?”The smile was clear in Flynn’s voice.“I’ll text you the address.”
I chuckled.“Aren’t you going to ask me what my cuisine preferences are, and if I’ve got any food allergies?”
“Have you developed any new ones since you were a kid?”
“Nope,” I conceded.
“Didn’t think so.And you can check the menu when I send you the address; if you don’t like the look of it, we’ll go somewhere else.”
“You mean, if it doesn’t live up to the broad array of culinary options back home?”I teased.
Flynn laughed.“I’ll try to pick somewhere suited to your refined palate.”
“Pizza it is, then,” I said, and hung up.
#
I’d never had dinnerwith a hookup before.Then again, I’d never had a hookup that went quite the way things with Flynn and William did.It was turning into a weekend of firsts, in several ways.
And I’d be lying if I claimed not to be curious, still, about the dynamic in their relationship.The bigger question was whether I could sit across a table from him, and have both of us remain civil.
I really didn’t remember us squabbling so much, when we were kids.
Back then, it felt like I saw Flynn every day, for hours on end.Some of that was probably skewed by childish perception, but there was no denying that he’d been a fixture in my life, and me in his.The first to play with my new toys; the go-to distraction, when my mom scolded me to get out from under her feet in the kitchen.We’d been, I was pretty sure, good kids on balance - few broken windows, no broken bones - but that hadn’t meant we couldn’t be rowdy, or rambunctious, or just plain silly.
I still wasn’t quite clear on how you could go from that, from someone so instrumental in your days, to hardly recognizing them.Yet in so many ways, my interactions with Flynn as an adult were as though we were complete strangers.People who’ve been shown a photo of their younger-selves together, assured that they have a shared past, but then left to piece together how that connects to the person in front of them today.
It’d be a challenge at the best of times, never mind with lingering resentments draped across the top of every conversation like a blanket of dark fog.Then made only more confusing, by the fact that the man who was once my best friend had now seen me naked, hard, and screwing the guy he was in a relationship with.There was a part of me that wanted to say fuck it and cut my losses: throw my stuff in the backseat of the truck and go home to the life I wasn’t necessarily ecstatic about having, but at least understood.
I didn’t, though.Took a shower instead, after calling down to the front desk to add a second night to my reservation.Emptied the contents of my bag - which hardly amounted to much, given my original expectations for the weekend - onto the bed; stood, towel around my waist, looking over the options and trying to figure out what was going to be most appropriate.
Flynn had picked a Thai place, a decision I was secretly overjoyed by: there wasn’t a decent Thai restaurant anywhere near home, local tastes being closer to burgers and BBQ.It didn’t look fancy-fancy from the website, which was a relief because I didn’t even have fancy-singular options with me.
In the end, shaking my head at how ridiculous I was being, I pulled on fresh briefs and socks, and opted for dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt.There was every possibility that I could get peanut sauce down the front within minutes of sitting down, but satay would be worth the risk.
He was waiting outside the bar he’d suggested we meet at.Just a couple of blocks away from the restaurant, and both an easy stroll away from my hotel.I couldn’t imagine that was accidental.
“Hey,” Flynn said, softly, as I stopped in front of him.
“Hey, yourself.”
He frowned, just briefly.“Look, before we go in...about today...”
I shrugged.I’d been practicing this part on the whole walk over.“We were both dicks to each other.The buttons may be different, compared to what they were as we were growing up, but I guess we still know how to push them.”
A wry smile, at that.“Yeah.But I shouldn’t have...”
“And I ‘shouldn’t have’ plenty of stuff myself,” I said, interrupting.“It’s been a weird weekend, so maybe I just buy you a drink, and we chalk it all up to strange reunions?”
Flynn shook his head, the grin spread wider now.“No way.You bought the coffee, remember?”
Laughing, I pulled the door open for him.“Yeah, but you’re broke, remember?”
