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‘I’m easily convinced.’ He turns to me, sinking his hands into his pockets. God, he’s so effortlessly cool in his billowy linen t-shirt that standing next to him in my lame avocado-print shirt is making me self-conscious. ‘What did you do today? Did you get the new job you were thinking about?’
‘Not yet,’ I say. ‘But I walked my housemate’s dog, did my laundry. Boring things.’ The line moves forward again. ‘How was your first day?’
‘It was . . .’ He pauses, as if looking for the right word. ‘Surprising. In a good way.’
Before I can respond, we get to the window. I lean over and relay our order to Angelos, the chef, shouting over the noise of the kitchen, and then his daughter swings by with an EFTPOS machine. Gabriel stands behind me, looking stunned at both the efficiency and the chaos of the entire process.
I grab two milk crates on the other side of the alleyway and tip them over, indicating for Gabriel to sit.
‘Peak Melbourne culture is eating gyros on a milk crate in a dirty laneway,’ I explain as he eyes our seats with suspicion. ‘Don’t ask me why, it just is.’
‘I see.’ Gabriel sits down beside me, and our knees brush. He looks up at me, as if he wants to say something. ‘Noah, I—’
‘NOAH!’ the chef, Angelos, calls from the window. He grins as I approach him, sweat dripping down his brow. ‘Good to see you!’
‘You know I can’t stay away, Angelos.’ I take the gyros, the heat of the wrap seeping through the thin paper.
‘Enjoy, my friend,’ Angelos says before he turns back to the crowd and shouts, ‘ZOE!’
Returning to Gabriel, I hand him one of the wraps. ‘I desperately hope I haven’t hyped it up too much.’
Gabriel unwraps his gyros carefully and waits until I’ve taken a bite before taking one himself. Then he takes another one, and another, and soon he’s practically inhaled it.
‘Amazing.’ He groans. ‘It’s like . . . the best gyros I’ve ever had,anywhere.’
Pride bubbles through me. ‘I told you.’
I take another bite and sauce drips from the bottom of the wrap and onto my finger. Without thinking, I raise my hand to my mouth and lick off the juice. When I look up, I realise Gabriel’s watching me.
Heat rushes to my face and I stand up. ‘I’ll grab us some serviettes,’ I mutter, and without waiting for his response, I stride towards the window to grab a handful of serviettes from the dispenser.
Suddenly, Angelos bursts into the laneway, waving his phone in the air. ‘Boys, we must get a photo!’
Gabriel looks at me, confused.
‘It’s easier just to say yes.’
Angelos fidgets with his phone for a moment, figuring out how to use the front-facing camera. Eventually, Gabriel helps him get us all in frame, and takes the picture.
‘Thank you, my boy!’ says Angelos. ‘This one is going on the wall!’
Gabriel smiles kindly, patiently, like he’s a celebrity meeting an adoring fan. When Angelos leaves, Gabriel turns back to me. ‘What’s “the wall”?’
‘It’s his favourite customer wall. Famous people, regulars, people he thinks are cool.’ I indicate the window where, inside, dozens of photos are tacked above the gyros wrapping station. ‘Now we’ll be up there too. Maybe we’ll go next to the photo of Chris Hemsworth.’
‘One can only dream.’ He slips his glasses back on, and I realise,Fuck Ilike him. Like,reallylike him. ‘What do we do now?’
I check my phone. It’s only eight. ‘Do you think you still have room for dessert?’
Gabriel grins. Seems he’s living up to his Instagram handle: Hungrygabriel73. ‘Always.’
@CelebSpotr:Spotted! Tom Holland spotted in Tribeca—looks like the movie is back on!
@CelebSpotr:Spotted! Meg Ryan and Tina Fey having coffee in London. Low-key but chic as usual. Tina asked for her order to be remade.
@CelebSpotr:Spotted! Tennis cutie Gabriel Madani demolishing a kebab with a friend in Melbourne.
@CelebSpotr:Spotted! LeBron visiting home town with family. Looking chill.
