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“Hey,” he greets, his smile unwavering, and he looks even better up close as he buckles up.
“Hey.”
For a second, we just look at each other as I take him in. My brain is screaming: He’s right there! Touch him, you idiot! This is what you’ve been waiting a year for!
But I don’t. “You look good,” I admit, keeping my hands where they are so I don’t look too eager.
“So do you.”
“Liar.” I just looked at myself in the mirror.
“I'm serious.” He reaches over and tugs lightly at the collar of my jacket. “You always look good, Marcus. It’s annoying.”
I huff out a laugh. “Annoying?”
“Yeah. If you weren’t so damn irresistible, I wouldn’t have to leave my family to sneak off to a hotel room with you on one of the few nights I get with them.”
I’ve never thought about it that way. Unlike me, it’s clear he loves being around his family and the fact he’s choosing to spend some of his family time with me, makes me feel chosen. I’m not used to that.
Without wanting to examine that too much, I shift the car into drive so I can get us to the hotel before I do something reckless in his parents’ driveway.
“What’s with the bag?” I ask, nodding to the one he shoved between his feet.
“I didn’t want to assume, but I did bring a couple things in case I stayed.”
“Hmm, I think that’s a good plan.” I want all the time I can get with him, and I don’t want to make the same mistake as last year—letting him sneak off in the middle of the night.
“Yeah?” Evan beams at me as though he wasn’t expecting me to agree so easily.
“Yeah,” I say to the bright spot in my life. “You should stay.”
Even if this is only a hookup, no one has ever felt this easy to be around before. I’d almost expected an awkward start because this is only the third time we’ve ever seen each other. Instead, it feels familiar and comfortable, and I can easily say he’s the best part of home now. The only reason I want to keep coming back to Bloomington at this point.
Part of me wants to tell him that. Wants to say out loud that he’s the reason Bloomington doesn’t feel like something to survive anymore. But admitting that would be insane and would put unrealistic pressure on him and whatever it is we’re building. If we’re even building anything because the reality is, we still hardly know each other, and I’m aware that’s mostly on me. Evan’s the one who’s spent all summer handing me pieces of his life, unprompted, while I’ve mostly just… let him. Answered when asked. I gave him the bare minimum and called it enough.
Now that I think of it, I’m surprised he’s even here with how little I’ve given him.
“So, did you go to North High School?” he asks as we make our way through town.
“Yeah.”
“Makes sense why I don’t know you from here since I went to South. Also, how old are you? Seems like something I should know by now.”
He’s right. It is, and I only have myself to blame for our not knowing this simple information. “Twenty-five. You?”
“Twenty-six,” Evan answers with a smile.
I feel like I need to ask him something now. “How’s your tent system going?”
“Hey, you remembered.” He grins, and I want to say, Of course I remembered; I remember everything you’ve ever told me, but I don’t. I just let him keep talking instead. “It’s going well. My boss likes the modular system idea, but I need to nail down the winter layer. Most tents just have a rainfly, but this adds an extra layer of insulation for when temperatures drop drastically at night or in winter.”
He talks about his work with such genuine enthusiasm and excitement, it’s cool to witness and gives me hope that maybe one day I’ll feel that way about something.
“That’s really cool you create actual products that people get to use,” I tell him.
“It is.” Evan glances over. “What about you? Do you love what you do?”
“Not the way you do. I enjoy editing, but I don’t love the type of editing I’m doing or my company.” It feels good not to lie about that like I do to my family. I don’t know why I lie to them. Probably to make them feel like they aren’t right about my life choices because if there’s one thing I’m sure of, I’d be a hell of a lot unhappier in Bloomington.
