Page 94 of Septembers

Dae took some money out of his wallet and put it in Cute Bartender’s tip jar. “Can you please call us a cab?”

The room was acting temperamental, throwing itself around and rocking back and forth. Dae’s arms were around Theo’s torso, lifting him from the barstool, then he held onto him as they walked into the cool night. If he wanted a little walk-n-snuggle, who was Theo to deny him? Dae smelled the way a milkshake tasted, that feeling of the first sip, the cool, sweet ice cream washing away whatever taste was in your mouth before. It was all-encompassing, Dae’s smell.

“I smell like a milkshake?”

What the—he didn’t say that out loud, did he? “No. You don’t smell like a milkshake. You smell the way a milkshake tastes.”

A chuckle. “My mistake.”

Theo loved nighttime. The first week of September was always undecided on what season it wanted to be, so the heat of summer still clung to the days, but the nights were cool as a kumquat.

“Jordan.” It was her night. Theo hoped she was having an amazing time, even if her girlfriend was being a wanker.

“She already left.”

That wasn’t right. He’d just seen her. “Did you meet Cute Bartender? He’s a dancer. Said I could flirt even though he’s straight. Isn’t that nice?”

Dae grunted as he pulled Theo closer to him. He really was a snuggle-bug this evening! They walked endless miles and arrived at the sidewalk outside of the bar.

“He should focus less on banter and more on Smart Serve.”

Theo watched Dae’s jaw moving with his words. It was rare he got to appreciate the view from this close, and for some reason, he couldn’t stop his dumb brain from wondering what else Dae could do with that jaw. And those lips. “What’s a swart swerve?”

Damn, words were hard.

“He over-served you, Theo. You shouldn’t be this drunk.”

“I’m drunk?” No, he wasn’t. He’d only had a few drinks to calm his nerves about pleasing the uppity-ups. Then one or two because he was annoyed about Becks. He was a solid guy; he could handle his liquor. He said as much, but Dae didn’t respond. Wait. Did he say as much? His mouth wasn’t moving.

Shit, he was drunk.

All because of Becks! She was supposed to support Jordan, lift her up, be a doting goddamn girlfriend. But instead she flirted with mermaids. That wasn’t how people behaved when they loved each other. Jordan deserved so much better. She was an iridescent ray of pure joy, and Becks did nothing but dim her light.

“Jordan good. Becksssstupid.”

“I know.” Dae rubbed his back as Theo leaned into the evening breeze, letting it cool down his tingling cheeks.

“Don’t bummer out light!”

Was Dae laughing? “Why are you yelling at me? You know I’m not Becks, right?”

“I’m not yelling at you. Dae, I would never yell at you.” There was nothing more important to Theo in the known and unknown universe than getting Dae to understand what he was saying. “Never. Perfect Dae.”

Dae was smiling like Theo was being amusing, but he wasn’t trying to be. “Come on. Get in.”

Theo dove through the open door of the car onto squishy seats. It was so comfy, he could’ve drifted off to sleep no problem, and it was possible he did, because a second later, Dae was gently shaking him and saying his name, his arm wrapped around his middle to help him out of the car. For once, Theo was being held by Dae on purpose, rather than accidentally touching as they’d done repeatedly over the past year: the brush of a hand while handing something over, the nudge of his knee during a haircut, or their feet absentmindedly inching closer and closer on Céline as they watched a movie.

He wanted the touch to last forever, but soon they found themselves standing on the precipice of an insurmountable obstacle.

“Can’t stairs.”

Dae sighed his Theo-sigh and bent over. Did he want them to crawl up the stairs on their hands? That wasn’t a bad idea, actually. Theo followed his lead, but Dae grabbed his arm and put it over his shoulder. “Get on.”

Oh. That made more sense. Theo tried to hop as Dae hoisted, and the result was a bizarre piggy-side-ride, with Theo hitched on his hip like a toddler. They adjusted, and Theo ended up clutched to Dae’s front, holding on not unlike a koala.

“Piggybacks happen on the back.”

“We're committed now,” Dae said, already halfway up the first flight of stairs.