Page 10 of Tongue-Tied

“I, uh…uh-huh.” My part-time job during the school year is at Bean Necessities. The actual storefront is located off-campus, but Franklin U has coffee carts stationed on the grounds. Thankfully, there’s more than one because it can get busy, and believe you me, some students act like it’s a godsend on rough mornings.

“Good coffee.”

“Yup.” I shift from one hip to the other because I have no idea what else to say and it’s awkward as hell. Me and my stupid brain that’s not connecting to my mouth.

“Catch you later.”

I stand there like an idiot and watch him go. That’s when I hear Dex’s snicker behind me.

I round on him. “It’s all your fault!”

“What is?” His eyebrows draw together. “That you literally ran into a hot guy?”

Folding my arms, I give him a steely look. “Yep.”

Dex hitches a shoulder. “Okay, I’ll take the blame. But hey, he recognized you.”

The butterflies stretch their wings in my stomach. Still, I reply, “That doesn’t mean anything.”

“It might. You never know. It’s a good way to talk to someone. Maybe practice with him.”

“I don’t even know if he’s into guys.”

“Does it matter?” He arches a brow. “You’d still be talking to an attractive guy and getting comfortable with it. Before you know it, you’ll be slaying left and right.”

I roll my eyes, but maybe he has a point.

5

DEX

The posters are all made for the upcoming mixer, and as we’re cleaning up the markers, Craig says, “Ready to set these up in different locations?”

“I’ve got a free period, so I’ll take mine to the center of campus.”

“Good idea,” Milo says, grabbing a bucket. “I’ll hang mine near the dining hall.”

We head out the door and in a similar direction to help spread the word.

I spot Austin at the coffee cart, but he’s too busy to pay me any attention, which is normal before morning classes.

Even a week later, I still feel like shit for encouraging him to talk to Darren. And to make matters worse, he seems bummed about it too. Unless I’m projecting. But I can’t help wanting to encourage him whenever I get the chance. I know there’s someone out there for him, so they need to hurry up and make themselves known.

Austin won’t admit it, but Kael having Angelica over all the time must be annoying. I didn’t bring hookups back to our dorm when we lived together for that reason. I didn’t want him to feel bad or get total FOMO, like he was missing out on something big. Not that I hooked up that much last semester. Not only because of my busy schedule but also because it was more fun spending time with my bestie. But Kael and Austin don’t have that type of friendship. Yet. God, listen to me. I would normally love that for him, so why was I in such a mood when it came to him?

A girl points as she walks by. “What are those for?” I step away from the poster so she can read it, hoping the instructions make sense. “So, we just take a flower, hand it to someone, and ask them to meet at your mixer?”

“That’s the idea.” I hand her a few stems. “It’s your admission into the party.”

“Can it be a friend, or is this like a?—”

I hitch a shoulder. “Anyone you want to party with that night.”

“I’m in.” She walks toward a table of her friends. I watch as she hands out the flowers and then motions to the poster. The girls smile and nod. Guess the concept is working. Not that I had doubts; it worked well last year. The flower stems are a bit worn, but as more people take the offerings, I suppose I can see how nice it might feel to be handed a flower, even if they’re leftovers from another mixer. I’ve never given them to anyone in my life. Like I said, there’s not a romantic bone in my body. But Austin likes flowers, and Mom does too, especially if they come from one of her horrible boyfriends.

Speaking of Austin, now that the line has died down, he’s looking a bit less harried. Until the guy he ran into last week steps up to order coffee. The awkwardness is written all over Austin’s face, and even from this distance, I can tell he’s tongue-tied.

That gives me an idea, and before I can think it through, I grab two stems from the bucket and head toward the coffee cart, knowing I still have time before my Community Politics class.

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