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Now Leo was leaving, and I hadn’t said a single word about it. I took two steps off my front porch and stood behind him. I reached out my hand to touch his shoulder. “Leo.”
Leo turned around, surprised. “Yeah?”
“I’m not crazy, right? There’s something going on here.”
Leo’s eyes widened, and I froze. Had all these crazy feelings been one-sided? Had that stupid dating site just fucked with my head, and now I was potentially screwing up my closest friendship?
But Leo didn’t step back, so I took a deep breath and stepped even closer, my voice dropping to a whisper. “Tell me I’m wrong and I won’t say another word.”
Seconds ticked by like hours before Leo spoke. “You’re not wrong. I feel it too.”
I exhaled, a weight dropping off my shoulders. “I don’t know what’s happening to me, or to us. I guess that dating app just opened my eyes to something that’s been right in front of me all along.” I laughed, words slipping out of me. “I don’t know, Leo. Tell me to shut up if this is not what you want, and fuck knows I don’t want to mess up our friendship.” I scratched the back of my neck, my eyes dropping to Leo’s hands, folded in front of him. Then I looked up into those big brown eyes, shining in the moonlight, and I held that gaze. “But the thing is, I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Leo took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling. The shyest smile turned up the corners of his soft lips and my heart ached again. “Um, yeah. I guess I’ve been thinking about you too…”
“Good. That’s good.” Taking a deep breath, I voiced the thought that had been on my mind since the beginning. “Leo,” I began, my voice steady, “I know we both said that Mangle was wrong and stupid, but ever since we got matched—”
Leo barked a laugh. “99.9% is hard to argue with.”
“Right?” I exhaled and shrugged. “Okay. So, hear me out. What if we actually went out on a date?” The words hung in the air, both a question and a proposition. I held my breath, waiting for Leo’s reaction.
I watched as Leo’s eyes widened with surprise—or was it shock? Then something else crossed his face. Something like understanding. Recognition of what we’d been feeling all this time. Leo smiled, a slow, genuine smile. “You and me on a date.”
I nodded, a lightness in my chest now that this was out there and real and Leo hadn’t run screaming away from my house. “Mangle says it’s a guarantee.”
Leo shrugged, grinning. “I suppose we oughta, you know. Like, collect empirical data to see if this—if Mangle’s the real deal of not. For science.”
A rush of relief washed over me. Leo got it. He understood the way friends can understand what you mean, even without words. I nodded, returning Leo’s smile. “Yeah, exactly. I mean, I know you usually date women, and if you don’t want to go out with me, I’d completely understand. But...” I started hesitantly, unsure of what I was about to say. My heart thumped wildly in my chest and my mouth went dry as I searched for the right words. “What do you really think?” I asked, veering the conversation into a more serious tone.
Leo held my gaze for a moment longer, then nodded. “I say... let’s do it.”
The softness of his reply sent a shiver down my spine and a warmth spread throughout my body. “Really?” I asked again, even though I already knew the answer.
Leo nodded once more. “I mean, deep down I’ve always thought that I was probably bi, even if I didn’t use the term for myself,” he spoke slowly, more methodically than usual, as if Leo wanted to choose his words carefully. “But I know I have feelings for you, too—more than just friendship—and I’d like to see where this goes.” His voice softened as he reached down and touched my fingertips, the sexual tension between us like a current of electricity humming beneath the surface of our interaction.
My nerves calmed and my confidence increased as Leo looked at me with such adoration and clarity. “Me too.”
Then, with a teasing glint in his eyes, Leo added, “You might wanna go see a movie with me this week?”
All I could do was laugh. Now that the words were out there, spoken aloud, I could breathe again. “I’ll have to check my social calendar, but I think I’m free.”
“Good then.” The satisfied grin on Leo’s face spoke volumes. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
As Leo turned and walked away, I watched him until he disappeared into the darkness. Then, with a newfound sense of excitement, I walked back inside my house and closed the door, leaning back against it. My heart pounded in my chest, and my mind raced with all the possibilities. Suddenly alive with anticipation and longing, I wondered what the future held for me and my Leo.
eight
Leo
Thursday afternoon found me in my kitchen, surrounded by chaos. Water dripped from a pipe under the sink, splashing into an already overflowing bucket below. Tools lay scattered like fallen soldiers across the linoleum floor. With a wrench in one hand and a roll of duct tape in the other, I attempted to navigate the plumbing battlefield I had inadvertently created.
I cursed myself for thinking that a quick fix with duct tape and a bucket would suffice. But the leak was a crafty adversary, and had only worsened throughout the day, flooding the cabinet beneath the sink and threatening to sabotage my date with Ben.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I muttered to myself. My frustration mounted with each twist of the wrench. Normally, I was comfortable enough with most DIY projects to at least make a good faith attempt or two before calling in reinforcements—namely, my father.
But this leak was proving to be more stubborn than I had expected.
The front door suddenly burst open, and Maya jogged into the kitchen with a plastic bag in hand. “There were a few different sizes, so I just bought them all.” She dropped the Home Depot bag on the floor next to me, and I winced with guilt. Those big box stores were the ones putting my family’s small-town hardware store out of business, but there was no time to head to my dad’s store and back and still make the movie tonight.
