Page 76 of In This Iron Ground
“Eat your food!”
“Youeat your food!” they shouted at each other before dissolving into laughter.
Damien went to the bathroom after they cleaned up the kitchen. As he stepped out, Hakan was on the threshold of his room, holding up a thick, hard-backed graphic novel.
“You wanna read?” Hakan asked.
Damien grinned. “Yeah!” he said, following Hakan into his room and throwing himself on the large bed. “Man, we haven’t done this in ages.”
“I know. You’re too cool to read with me back home now.”
“Oh, please. I’m too cool for exactly no one,” Damien replied, feeling a twinge of guilt nonetheless. He’d almost thought Hakan wouldn’t notice him pulling away.
“I’m not arguing with you again.”
“Who’s arguing?”
Hakan mimed zipping his lips before settling on the bed with far more grace than Damien had displayed.
They opened the book between them. As they began to read, it really was like old times. They easily recaptured the same rhythm they’d had when they were younger. The same shared excitement and awe. It felt like the steady sway of the sea coming in and out, in and out.
**********
Damien and Nasir kept in touch. They would text throughout the week—casual, everyday things that propelled their friendship forwards. They would frequent the same parties and end up going to Nasir’s. The guilt over Hakan faded to nothing, overshadowed by the sheer amount of fun Damien had with Nasir.
Despite this, they always used condoms, and Damien always showered afterwards. He couldn’t deny that he felt strange about doing it, however. Although he felt no shame about having sex with Nasir, his behaviour was sending him different signals.
In the end, he concluded that he simply didn’t want any complications. The thought turned out to be prophetic.
“Hey!” The voice caught Damien by surprise as he stepped out of the library.
“Hey!” he greeted back as he spotted Nasir. He stepped out of the main path as Nasir walked towards him, meeting in the middle.
“How’s it going?” Nasir asked.
“Just finished a project,” Damien said, smiling a little shyly. He didn’t particularly like talking about his work.
“Nice! That calls for a celebration.”
“Yeah! I’m actually going to meet a friend now.”
“That was a very subtle rejection, thank you,” Nasir laughed good-naturedly.
“Oh! I didn’t even—”
“Don’t even worry about it. Your time is yours. By the way, did you see that documentary I mentioned for Anthro?”
“Oh, yeah! You were so right. It was better than the freaking lessons.”
“I know, right?”
Their conversation wove in and out of schoolwork until Nasir had to go to his last class of the day. As if he couldn’t help himself, he wrapped his hand at the nape of Damien’s neck, rubbing at the skin with his thumb.
Damien raised his eyebrows. “I know what you’re doing.”
“I know, or I wouldn’t do it,” Nasir replied, although he looked a little sheepish.
“And they say gallantry is dead.”
