Page 89 of Gym Bros
He immediately puts a hand on his stomach. “I can’t eatthat.”
I frown. “How far did you run today?”
“I don’t know. Fifty miles?”
“A couple slices of pizza isn’t gonna hurt you. Besides, you’re not working anyway.”
“Ouch. Fine. Maybe I’ll have three slices then.”
I smile and point him toward the couch where his cat is still waiting for him.
He considers the sofa then glances at me. “What’s this movie about?”
“Captain America.”
“Who’s that?”
“You’ll see. He’s important.”
“Is he hot?”
“He’s one of the Chrises.”
“I don’t know what that means,” Calyx says, sitting next to Siva and pulling a blanket off the arm of the couch to cover his legs, which he folds underneath him.
I hand him his glass of wine. “It means you get to decide whether he’s better or worse looking than the other Chrises you’ll meet in the other movies.”
“How many are there?” he asks.
“Chrises or movies?”
He looks up at me with a totally lost expression. “Both, I guess?”
“Three Chrises, seventeen movies.”
“Seventeen? Holy shit?”
“They’re not all worth watching,” I say as I slide onto the cushion next to his and drape my arm across the back of the couch.
“How many are?”
“Like fourteen, but if we’re doing this…”
“Are we?” he asks, that mildly horrified look back on his face.
I nod seriously. “I think we probably should. Yeah.”
He swallows a mouthful of wine. “Okay. Are you gonna start it?”
“Let’s wait for the pizza to get here,” I tell him. “I hate stopping a movie once it starts. Drink your wine.”
He takes another sip obediently, staring at me over the rim. His cat is on the blanket in his lap purring wildly. I’m getting the very strong impression that no one’s ever sat down and watched a movie with him before. He’s acting like someone just thrust him onto a stage in the middle of a play he doesn’t know any of the lines for. I kind of love it.
It’s the most vulnerable I’ve ever seen him, and it makes me wonder how often he allows people to see him like this.
“What’s your favorite movie?” I ask, pressing for even more.
“Call Me by Your Name. Have you seen it?”
