Page 22

There.

He probably won’t see it anyway.

I sigh but instantly stiffen when two hands settle on my shoulders. “You look very... put together today,” says a smooth male voice I instantly recognize as Kai’s. Despite his young age, he’s a veteran server at the cafe, and since I’m here all the time... well. Maybe I wouldn’t call us friends but acquaintances? Definitely.

I blush and look around, but he’s already moving across the table so I can see him. He’s wearing a unicorn T-shirt and has shimmery white eyeshadow in the inner corners of his eyes, but there’s something different about him, a gray aura, as if he didn’t get enough sleep or doesn’t feel that well. I glance at his fingers, and his chipped nail polish confirms something isn’t right.

I shrug. “Do I? Not more than usual, but thanks.” Though the fact is, I took special care exfoliating my face last night, and I took extra time with my hair in the morning. “How’s your new painting going?” I ask, because it would be rude to say ‘you look like shit covered in a bit of glitter’. He has powder-blue hair, and he usually wears it in pony tails, braids, adds sparkly accessories like some cartoon character, but today it’s pulled back into a bun. He might still be a unicorn, but one attacked by a soul-sucking parasite.

Kai’s mouth crooks into a smile as he attempts to act normal. “No no no, don’t change the subject. Something’s different. You’re usually so nonchalant, but today? You look like you know there will be a street fashion photographer around, and you prepared for it.” His eyes narrow and he leans in. “Are you meeting someone?”

“Yeah, Declan and his girlfriend. Hardly people I care to impress.” Not exactly true since their opinion does matter to me on a superficial level. “Not everything in life is about dating and fucking,” I say, sitting a bit straighter. So maybe I’m a gossip too, but at least I try to make it less obvious.

“Maybe not, but there’s only one reason peacocks spread their beautiful tails, and it’s not to cure cancer,” Kai says, folding his arms on his chest.

I grab the amber pendant hanging off my neck and play with it as nerves grow inside of me. “So you’re saying you wear all your glittery trinkets and colorful tops just to attract a man?”

Kai stalls, before shaking his head with a snort. “Well... I wouldn’t say my style resonates with the broadest possible demographic of gay men, but I suppose it chases off the wrong ones, so that’s good.” His pout doesn’t seem very happy, though.

“You’re talking to the skinny weirdo who wears sock suspenders, so I feel you, okay? But you only need a few people to like you in life. Did something happen?”

I get my answer when Kai’s eyes darken. But despite initially muzzling himself by biting his lip, he meets my gaze and speaks. “You know how it is. Lots of people are assholes and everyone has an opinion they just have to share. I suppose it’s worse when it’s someone in our own community.”

I’ve had my share of assholes commenting on my looks, so I feel for him. “Well, glitter only shimmers when illuminated, so don’t let anyone obscure your light.”

He blinks at me a few times but then leans in to stroke my hair. “Aww, Aaron. You really are a poet. That’s really sweet, thanks.” But then the bell above the cafe entrance rings. “Gotta go.”

I nod, feeling warm inside. I sometimes have difficulty connecting with people, but making Kai feel better has already made my day, even though our interaction was so brief.

But as my gaze drifts to the entrance and I spot the face I already want on my phone’s wallpaper, the cafe around me blurs, and my heart starts beating faster.

Vex is wearing a burgundy bomber jacket over a simple T-shirt, and I want him even before he acknowledges me with the tiniest of nods. I look away, biting back the smile about to erupt on my face. Is this his usual time to pick up coffee for himself and his staff, or did my photo lure him in?

He walks up to the counter to make his order, and I glance at his back when it’s turned to me. I still don’t know if he’s gay, or bi. I don’t know if we’re a thing, or if I’m one of his many secret hook-ups. But as the sexual Romeo and Juliet that we are, we won’t acknowledge in public what we do in the shadows. Because no one can know Vex and I—

Is he headed my way?

He catches my gaze and winks, making me melt into a puddle of sizzling goo as he goes straight for my table and sits at one of the vacant chairs. I see Kai floating through the interior on his rollerblades, with a knowing look in his eyes, and it’s my sign to hang my head in shame.

Damn it.

I’m too overwhelmed to glance at Vex, so I focus on the plate of macaroons he places in front of me.

I swallow, all too aware that people must be staring at us, wondering what a guy like Vex is doing with me.

“H-hey.” I start playing with my pendant again, unsure what to do with myself. I’m usually eloquent, I stand my ground, and if anything, I can be too biting. Around him, I’m a stuttering mess not worthy of calling myself a student of literature. I have so many questions I don’t know how to voice, and my stupid brain chooses to focus on his black joggers a bit too long instead of asking what needs to be asked.

Vex grins and pushes the macaroons toward me. “Your favorites, right? Seen them a lot on your Instagram.”

When he zeroes in on me it’s like I’m a piece of meat thrown into a hot pan. My whole body sizzles. “You watch me on Instagram?” I ask, curling my toes in glee. He’s done barely anything, and I’m already getting hot all over. He has this presence I can’t explain. But he’s also sitting close enough for me to smell him, and the scent of his cologne takes me back to the night when he held me tightly and fucked me senseless.

Is it gonna happen again tonight?

He shrugs and picks up his cup of coffee. “That’s how I knew you were here. Figured I might spend my break with you. And ah—” He snaps his fingers and leans in to hang a small canvas bag on the edge of my backrest. “Your shoe.”

I want to ask ‘you want to spend your break with me?’, but he’s already said he does. I have to stop being so awkward and get a grip on what’s going on. “Thanks. I… didn’t think I’d see you till the evening. To be honest, I didn’t think you’d sit with me like this. I thought our thing is a secret.”

Vex frowns. “Well, we’re not fucking on the table.” His eyes dart left and right, as if he wanted to make sure we could speak freely before continuing. “I don’t want people to know I'm interested in guys, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends and hang out.”