Page 19 of A Minute More

I pat the seat next to me, still smiling widely. “Come on, man. Let’s go.”

He eyes me and then slips inside, his arm brushing mine as he settles next to me. And for some reason, the fact that he gave in to my request makes me unreasonably happy. I feel like I won the spelling bee.

“So what’s the plan?” I ask, turning my body to look at him. He just stares intently out the side window, watching the cars and buildings pass without saying a word.

“Wanna watch a movie at your place?” I ask, feeling my stomach start to clench. I mean, is he gonna reject me? Gonna turn me away after all of this? It’s past midnight, and he trudged all the way across town to get me. But fuck, I can’t get a read on him. I’m not sure how this night is gonna play out.

“No, no movies. I’m going to take you home.”

My smile slips, and I sigh, reaching out and poking Simon’s side.

His eyes flick over to mine and he bites down on his bottom lip, looking tired as fuck.

“Come on, man. Live a little. Why can’t we hang? I left my friends for you…”

His tone is stern when he responds. “You shouldn’t have. And I won’t hang out for many reasons…”

My hand runs across my jaw. “Care to share? Because I’m at a loss.”

He shakes his head and then turns to look out the window. Well, fuck me. This is depressing. What am I going to do once I get home? Mope about? Wonder why he showed up? Dissect it until I pass out from exhaustion.

“Yes,” Simon says. “Mope. Dissect. Pass out.”

I realize too late that I’ve said this all out loud. Well, fuck me silly.

“Maybe I did drink too much.”

“Yeah.” Simon looks none too happy about it. Don’t get why. Maybe he’s anti-alcohol. Straight edge? God, who knows at this point?

“No, I’m not straight edge,” he says just as the car pulls up to an apartment complex I’ve never been to. Damn, is this where he lives? This is fucking nice. I remember these being built a few years ago, the town grumbling over the structure, but I always thought they were nice. Modern isn’t always bad. Sometimes these small towns can get up their own asses about change.

“Shit,” Simon mutters, probably realizing that he didn’t tell the driver to take me to my place. Not that I offered that information up. Kind of forgot, mostly. Was too distracted by this guy, right here.

“Seems it was meant to be.”

I push my way out of the car and bounce onto the sidewalk. Well, more like trip and stumble, the world spinning just a bit. Feels a little like when I’m fishing out on the lakes. Just a constant roll of waves.

“Fuck,” Simon mutters as he steps out next to me, looking so forlorn I almost volunteer to head home. Maybe if I wasn’t totally buzzed I would, but right now, I feel like pushing boundaries.

“So, how about that movie?” I ask and then waggle my eyebrows a little.

Simon glances up at me and then shakes his head. “Fine. Just until you sober up and then you’re heading home.”

I pump my fist in the air and sling my arm over his shoulders. He lets out a gasp, and I half-expect him to move away, but instead, he just leads me inside, our legs bumping as we walk side by side. I lean in a bit and inhale him.

“You smell really good, my man.”

He peers up at me, fumbling with his keys as we make it to his door. He leads us inside in silence. And I find myself holding my breath, not quite ready for what I’m about to see. I’ve barely spoken with this guy, and I’m about to enter his lair.

Fuck. But why does that excite me?

The light flips on, and I blink, taking in the space. It’s sparsely decorated with blank walls and muted furniture. It looks clean and picked up, unlike my place, but with the way he dresses, I’m not surprised.

“Where’s your TV?” I ask, moving to stand in the middle of his apartment.

“I don’t have one.”

My eyebrows rise. “Yeah? Cool.”

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