Page 56 of The 21-Day Boyfriend
“What?”
“You’re always so kind.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
We head down a pedestrianised side road in the city centre; it’s one of those cobblestone streets littered with lively, youthful bars open long into the night.
“I haven’t been to a place like these for years,” I say, changing the subject. I’ve had enough of talking about my family for one night. “Maybe not even since I was at college.”
“You and Jake met on campus, didn’t you?”
“About ten years ago, yeah. He was on another course, but we shared a few modules. We were sitting next to each other.” I shrug. “You know what Jake’s like better than I do.”
“I do know him. We’ve been friends since we were kids. We went to the same school, lived in the same neighbourhood. Our families used to spend time together, so…” He sighs, then laughs. “I had the biggest crush on him.”
“No.”
“An embarrassingly big crush, honestly. I’m still scarred by it.”
“Scarred? What do you mean?”
“I tried to kiss him once.”
“No, you didn’t!”
“I did. We were in my bedroom, sitting on my bed. We were studying. Science, if I remember correctly. And I… I don’t know. He was just right in front of me every day – he even slept over on weekends. I thought that… That he might want to experiment, I guess.” He looks at me, visibly embarrassed. “I gathered my courage, leaned in a little too enthusiastically, he jumped away, and I ended up on the floor.”
“No way!”
He laughs. “That’s not all. When I fell, I hit my head on my bedside table on the way down.”
He stops in the middle of the street and turns to me. He rubs his forehead, looking for something, but can’t feel it through his gloves. So he takes one off, running his hand over the incriminating area, before grabbing one of my hands and bringing it to his skin, just above his right eyebrow.
“There is it,” he says. “Do you feel it?”
“Uh-huh,” I say, lost in his eyes, sparkling in the Christmas lights above and around us. I’m charmed by the heat of his hand, still holding mine.
“I wasn’t lying when I said I still had the scars.”
He smiles at me, and I lift a corner of my mouth. My hand is still trapped in his. I run my thumb over his scar and he slowly lets me go.
“It was humiliating,” he says, his voice dropping. “But Jake was great. He didn’t avoid me, or spread any rumours. I still wasn’t sure of my sexuality back then. Actually, that’s not true. I was so sure. I always have been.”
I’m forced to stop touching him, and let my arm drop to my side.
“But I didn’t want anyone else to know. I trusted him.”
“How could anyone not trust Jake?” My voice is dangerously intimate.
“What about you? Did you have a crush on Jake?”
I laugh and nod.
“I knew it!”
I shrug. “What can you do? He has his own charm.”
“He really has, damn it!”
