Page 28 of Whirlwind

“Yes. Yes!” He wheeled around and crushed Julio in a hug. “I didn’t know I could look like this.”

Julio rocked him slowly back and forth. “I wanted you to see yourself the way that I see you.”

Taylor buried his head in Julio’s shoulder, then lifted it quickly.

Julio chuckled. “The salesperson assured me it wouldn’t smudge.”

“Did you just… is that what you were doing at lunch today?”

“Yep! I made her show me how to put it on about six times. You can still see some blue on the back of my hand.” He held it out for inspection.

“You did this for me?”

Julio grinned. “Yep. This are yours now…. But I hope you’ll wear it for me.”

***

The drive to the restaurant was a blur. Just like everything else, it was a disorienting mix of old and new. They’d driven in Julio’s truck over to one restaurant or another thousands of times, but today Julio rested his hand on Taylor’s knee. It made him feel shivery and nervous, even while the familiar broken knob on the stereo calmed him down.

He knew Julio. Just not like this.

He was almost inside the restaurant, Julio’s hand at the small of his back, before he realized where they were going. “Arturo’s?” he screeched. “You’re taking me to Arturo’s?”

“Yes, love. I thought you would like it.”

“I mean, I do. But it’s really fancy. And expensive.” He knew what Julio’s pay checks looked like because he paid them.

“It is. But remember, tonight I’m treating you.”

Taylor didn’t know how to respond. He felt like he was being swept off his feet, but he couldn’t quite let go and allow the sweeping to happen. Buying the makeup was one thing. Probably not too pricey, he hoped, and at least it would last for a long time.

This was a whole different thing. It just felt so… serious. Like a real date that meant something. How would he go back to his real life when Julio got sick of him?

Julio took advantage of his silence and guided him forward. Inside, Julio calmly gave his name to the maître d’. They were led to an adorable little table at the back, lit by a candle in a silvery globe and decorated with a spray of fresh flowers.

Julio looked like he was going to help Taylor sit down, like a gentleman, but Taylor had already moved and the waiter was in the way, and it all got mixed up. Now he felt silly. He was ruining this whole thing. They should have just gone to McDonald’s.

“You had a reservation?” Taylor hissed as soon as they were seated. “Why did you ask me where I wanted to go?”

“Darling, I would have cancelled if you wanted to go somewhere else. It just takes a phone call. If you must know, I planned out two separate evenings and a back-up, depending on what you wanted.”

“What was your other plan?”

Julio grinned. “Oh, I’m saving that for another time.”

That sounded sweet. But… another time with him? Or another guy? He was pretty sure that Julio didn’t take his hook ups out for dinner, but he still just wasn’t feeling confident about all of this. He couldn’t accept all of this until he knew it wasn’t going to be taken away.

Julio tried to strike up a conversation as he helped himself to the soft, white rolls and little dish of butter. But Taylor was still too nervous to really make sense of what he was saying, or even eat. He pressed the squishy bread in his hands.

When the waiter came by to ask for their orders, the whole menu swam in front of his eyes. Julio gave him a look and then ordered for both of them. Which would have been hot except… he just couldn’t figure out what they were doing here.

“Baby? Taylor?”

Taylor looked up. He hadn’t realized that he was that zoned out. It sounded like Julio had been calling him for a while. It didn’t help that he wasn’t used to responding to baby.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” Julio looked concerned. Worried. Worried that he’d upset him, which he kind of had, but not for the reason that Julio probably thought. “We could take everything to go if you want, or just cancel the order.”

“No, that’s not it.” He just had to know. Even if it hurt, he needed to know. If it was a fling, he’d make peace with it. “I just… Is this something long-term? This thing with us? I’m not talking about forever, but is this like a fling or…”