Page 22 of Taking Care of You
I shrug, rubbing the back of my neck. “He does.”
“I’ll do it if you want. I like acting.”
“Yeah? Wow, thanks,” I say quietly. “I’ll tell Ethan later when I see him.” I look around awkwardly, not really knowing what else to say. Offhandedly, I add, “Now we need to find a male lead and we’ll be good.”
Again her gaze shifts. I follow her eyes, knowing where they’ll land. “Mitch?” I ask. She looks at her friends. When she sees no one is looking, she nods, cheeks pink. “You think he’ll go for it?”
“Not sure,” she says. “But he’s big into Drama, so maybe?”
Should I ask him? I could always tell Ethan so he can ask.
Then I figure, why not? Like Ethan said, high school is almost over. I can step outside my comfort zone this once. It might be good for me.
Rubbing my hands together, I blow out a deep breath and decide to go for it. Besides, Elle is helping me and Ethan by doing our silly play. She wouldn’t talk to Mitch otherwise, and for some reason, I’m rooting for them. I wish she’d just talk to him herself and not worry about what clique she belongs to, but that probably won’t ever happen.
Rising from the table, I tell her, “I’ll ask. Gimme a sec.” She nods eagerly, looking back over to the table and blushing again. They really would make a cute couple. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them speak to each other before, even though they both sneak glances.
I make my way to the table where a bunch of the Drama crowd sits. They see my approach and look at me. Not with any hostility, more quizzically. Like I don’t belong, but they would welcome me anyway.
“Hi,” I breathe out, heart in my throat. I hear murmured hellos back at me. I look at Mitch and incline my head to the courtyard outside the cafeteria. "Can I speak to you alone, please?"
Honestly, I’m surprised he hears me. My voice is so low, it’s almost like I’m whispering. I clear my throat, ready to repeat myself in case he didn’t hear me, but after a brief look of surprise, he rises from the table and makes his way outside. I follow nervously, likehewas the one to askmeto step outside.
Once outside, he leans against the wall, arms crossed. “What’s up?” His dark eyes land on me, but not unkindly. They’re filled with curiosity.
“Um…Elle…she said you liked Drama?” I close my eyes in embarrassment. Of course he likes Drama. “What I mean to say is, Elle is going to do our play for our English class.”
Mitch ticks up an eyebrow. “Okay…”
“Would you be interested in being the male lead? We get extra credit if we get other actors. It’s okay if you don’t want to. The characters have to kiss and I’m not sure…if that’s something you’d want to do,” I finish lamely.
Geez, he’s a theater student. He’s kissed people on stage before. I’m really terrible at talking to people.
He’s shaking his head before I can finish. “That’s fine. I mean, I don’t mind kissing her. Or…kissing in general.” He stopsand scrubs a hand down his face. “Yeah, I’ll do it. Give me the script when it’s ready and I’ll go over the lines. We should probably meet up, the three of us. To do readings,” he rushes to say.
“Oh.” I forgot to tell him it’s a group project. “Ethan King is my partner, so he’ll be there too. Not my partner like that,” I tack on quickly, since everyone knows I’m gay. I don’t want him to think Ethan is too. “My English partner. For this. Assignment.”Stop talking. Now.
Mitch nods. “Yeah, sure. Here, take my number. We can form a group chat when you guys are ready to get started.” He rattles off his number and I plug it into my phone, texting him so he has my number as well.
Before we walk back inside, I say, “Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m?—”
“Jakoby. I know.” I give him a shy smile and he nods again, walking inside and back to his table.
By the time we’re done talking, the bell is ringing and people are leaving. I see Ethan at the table, looking around for me. I raise my hand so he can see me, and his face splits into a wide grin.
He throws his arm around my shoulders and tugs me close to him. My hand lands on his chest, but I move it quickly, not wanting to cross any lines. “What were you doing out there?” he asks me as we walk to my class.
“Talking to Mitch. He and Elle agreed to do the play for us.” My voice is coming out a bit louder now that I’m more comfortable around him. I’m thankful for that.
“Yeah? You did that all on your own?” I give him a look that’s supposed to be angry, but I’m not sure I pull it off. He laughs and pulls me close to him again. “I’m teasing, creep. That sounds?—”
“Yo, Eth!” I hear someone yelling behind us when we’re almost to my class. Ethan turns us around and I see it’s one ofhis teammates, Kenneth, jogging up to us. Kenneth looks at me like I’m intruding instead of the other way around, and I start to pull away from Ethan. Instead of letting me go, Ethan tightens his arm around my shoulders. He looks at Kenneth and waits for him to speak.
When I don’t move, Kenneth says, “Why you hanging with the fag?” like I’m not standing right there. Like my feelings don’t mean shit. What they say about me doesn’t really bother me, but it’s rude.
Ethan’s hand tightens almost painfully on my shoulder and he leans closer to Kenneth, almost getting in his face. “What did you say?” he growls in a voice I’ve never heard.
I’ve only ever heard Ethan speak in calm, friendly tones. I look over at Kenneth, and I guess that he’s never heard it either. He looks like he doesn’t want to repeat himself, but it’s obvious Kenneth is not that bright.
