Page 88 of Septembers

“Say the thing again!”

“Oh, um, you killed my⁠—”

“We’re going to a club on King street,” she slurred, her low voice an attempt at sultry. “Come with us.”

He gently unlatched her arms. “I, ah…”

“We’re not exactly dressed for a club,” Theo jumped in. He couldn’t tell if Dae liked her or not, but she was drunk, and he knew that wouldn’t be how he would want to get to know her. “Give me your number! We can all hang out next weekend.”

A group thing. Classic.

It took her three tries to put her number in Theo’s phone, then she left some sloppy lipstick on his cheek too. The only sober woman of the bunch rounded them up with a frazzled apology to the guys before shooing the group away.

Theo never found Wesley again, but he wasn’t trying very hard. Jason left with a woman dressed as Buttercup, and Jordan and Becks disappeared.

“Ugh. Couples.” Theo clicked his tongue and gave up looking for them. “Ready to go?”

Dae nodded. “If you are.”

The evening had gotten considerably colder, and the wind cut through his thin black clothing, which had been good for the costume, but not exactly practical.

Dae hooked his hand around Theo’s elbow and led him to the street, waving for a cab.

“I don’t mind walking,” Theo said through chattering teeth.

Dae shook his head and opened the door for him. The driver seemed annoyed to go such a short distance, but they gave him a huge tip to make up for it. Each step up the four flights echoed through the stairwell, making Theo extra aware of how quiet Dae was being. He’d never yearned for Stairway Bill before, but at least his advances would give them something to react to.

As soon as they got into the apartment, Dae went to the kitchen and poured himself some water, then downed it in a single go.

“Everything okay?”

He filled the glass again. “Yeah, of course. It was fun.”

“It wasn’t too much?”

“No, Theo, it wasn’t too much.” Dae walked past him, unbuttoning his shirt. “I’m going to shower. Is there anything special I need to do to take off the makeup?”

“Jordan brought wipes.”

He nodded and went into the bathroom. Theo wiggled out of his outfit, tossing it on his bed before Dae’s voice softly floated from the living room. “Theo?”

“Um, one sec!” He grabbed one of Dae’s sweaters he’d borrowed and had yet to return, and threw it on over his boxers. It smelled like cooking spices, woodsy deodorant, and Dae, and Theo took a sneaky whiff before going back into the main room. Dae stood, hand on the bathroom doorframe, staring at the floor, still fully clothed, though his mullet wig and make-shift moustache were gone. “Okay. I’m going to say something, and I need you to not take it the wrong way.”

Shit. “I knew it. I knew I pushed you. I’m sorry. We don’t have to do anything like this again.”

“No, that’s the opposite of—” Dae looked up and his eyes slid over him, his ears lighting up like a siren. “Whoa.”

Theo fiddled with the zipper of the hoodie. “Is this okay?”

“Yes.” He blinked, shaking his head. “Yeah, of course. I, um, what was I saying?”

So damn cute. “You tell me.”

Dae sighed a half-laugh and crossed the room to stand before him. “I liked tonight. It’s not the type of thing I would normally do, but I’m glad I went.” He paused, wincing like he didn’t want to say what was coming next but knew he had to. “The only problem was that you…”

It was Theo. He was the problem. As Dae considered his next words, Theo pictured the rest of his life as a hermit, staying in, never doing anything that would make him uncomfortable ever again.

“You babysat me.”