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Then he sent a picture of himself, blue eyes sparkling and lips pursed like he was kissing me, and I thought maybe mad had been a typo.
The chime of the doorbell interrupted my self-scrutiny. I ignored it because unexpected visitors either meant deliveries, which they’d eventually leave at the door, or people selling something—magazines or Jesus or solar paneling, it didn’t matter; I wanted nothing to do with any of them.
But just as I was relaxing back into the seat, a voice came from the other side of the door.
“Matt? It’s Theo. I know you’re in there.”
“What the fuck,” I muttered.
“Rhys sent me,” Theo called.
Rhys’s text suddenly made a lot more sense.
I liked Theo, but I was under no illusions that we were actually buddies. We hung out because Caleb and Rhys were friends.
I considered not answering, but then I remembered Theo and Caleb had a key. I sent Rhys a text that just said -_- and then went to answer the door with a sigh.
Theo was hot in this way that would have been annoying if he hadn’t acted like he didn’t care what he looked like. He was beautiful, with big, light silvery-blue eyes that were usually smudged in days-old black eyeliner, long black hair that he tied back messily or pushed out of his face absently, and a lithe build. He had a smile that scrunched up his nose and could look either sweet or devilish depending on his eyes. It was totally not a surprise, given his looks and his serious musical chops, that he’d become a rock star. If I were a person who read magazines, Theo’s face on the cover would make me want to pick one up.
So being confronted with Theo before I’d even had my coffee left me a little at sea. But before I could say anything awkward, or—more likely and more awkward—stare at him and say nothing at all, Theo spoke.
“Hey! I’m sorry to just show up like this, and if you want me to take off I totally understand. But I know Rhys is on tour, and I know how lonely I get when Caleb’s not around and I just thought—well, we never get to hang out just us, so—uh, I thought maybe we could? Hang out?”
He was biting his lip and twisting his hands together in a way that seemed sincerely uncertain, and even though he’d given me permission I didn’t feel like I could send him away. Besides, it was a forty-five minute drive from Stormville and he’d made it without giving me the chance to say no, so clearly Rhys had told him to just show up.
“Sure, yeah, sure, come in,” I said, holding open the door and having a moment of gratitude that I’d pulled on cutoffs and a T-shirt instead of coming to make coffee in my underwear like I sometimes did. “You want some coffee? I just made it.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Theo was standing awkwardly in the center of the kitchen. I poured a coffee and handed it to him, but wasn’t sure what to do after that. We’d never even had a conversation without either Caleb or Rhys present.
“Wanna sit outside?”
Theo followed me out to the backyard and we sat in the chairs, backs to the house. It was nice out—warm and breezy and peaceful. Until Theo made a choking sound.
“That’s—uh, wow.” He looked at his coffee mug like it had bitten him. “Strong,” he choked out.
“Sorry. Rhys says I make it undrinkable but it tastes normal to me. He doesn’t drink coffee anyway, so. You can make more if you want?”
“No, maybe I’ll just—do you have milk?”
“I’m not sure.”
He saluted me with the cup and disappeared inside.
Well, if I’d had “choke a rock star” on my bucket list, I guess I could cross it off.
“You didn’t have cereal for breakfast or anything, did you?” Theo asked, sitting back down.
“No. I just got up. Why?”
“Cuz your milk’s a definite no-go,” he said. “Found the sugar, though.” He took a sip of coffee and smiled. “I’m a wimp. I like it really sweet.”
“Me too,” I said, wondering why I didn’t think to offer him sugar before.
We sat in silence for a while, and I had my eyes closed, so I startled a little when Theo spoke.
“Hey, Matt? Do you . . . not like me? It’s cool if you don’t. Not everyone can be friends, and I get that. I just don’t want to be stealing your Saturday if you’d rather do something else. I know we’ve never hung out and—shit, please say something and shut me up.”
I gaped at him. I’d honestly never given any thought to whether I liked him or not. I’d only thought about whether he liked me. He was a reality of Rhys’s life, so he was a reality of mine. I must’ve stayed silent a little too long because Theo winced.
