Page 46 of Two Marlboros

I barely smiled, remembering Nathan performing his show in the car, and I noticed a third individual who had approached the little group before they did. He was at least as much of a fashionista as Nathan: he was wearing a shirt with a rather pronounced V-neckline, and in the middle there were the arms of his sunglasses, stuck.

I waited for the usual introduction, but Nathan seemed to have no intention to do so. He stared at him without blinking and, for a moment, I had the impression that he wasn’t even breathing. His whole body was paralyzed, and his eyes shone with the same light as the one I had seen him while he was singing.

“Harvey...!” he said in a hushed voice, after which he passed the other two friends to run up to him and throw his arms around his neck. Their bodies adhered in a rather intimate embrace, and Nathan let Harvey encircle him in a vigorous grip.

As soon as they let go of each other, Harvey ran a hand through his crooked hair, a gesture that caused Nathan to smile even more intoxicatedly than he already had. He had blushed like a young girl on a first date and was hanging on his lips more than a small dog in front of a fresh kibble: I understood Harvey could have asked him to do anything and he would have obeyed by wagging his tail.

“Is this the surprise?” I heard him say.

He let a silly giggle escape, and at that moment I shifted my gaze to Steve, who gave me a look of understanding. Perhaps he, too, found that diabetic coma scene embarrassing, the only benefit of which had been shushing Ryan and his machine-gun of words in full flow.

“Maybe,” Harvey replied.

Nathan barely nudged him with the palm of one hand, and I thought it was no accident that he hit him right on the chest. The way Nathan watched him, his lips parted and curved in a motionless smile, hinted at the spasmodic lust for physical contact, starting with the fact that their fingers slightly touched in ridiculously studied encounters and clashes.

I restrained myself from inviting them to look for a hotel room and stepped forward.

“So, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”

Steve cast me another fleeting glance, grateful for putting an end to that pathetic scene. The return to reality broke Nathan’s smile, and he was forced to move back a few steps to allow me to shake Harvey’s hand.

“Alan, this is Harvey. Harvey, Alan.”

He squeezed my hand in a firm grip. I squeezed it even tighter, perhaps until it hurt, judging by the expression that erased, for a moment, that proud look.

The round of introductions continued. Steve did not seem much interested in making Harvey’s acquaintance, but the same could not be said of Ryan. The latter appeared almost surprised when Harvey held out his hand and introduced himself, followed by a “Nice to meet you.” He hesitated for a moment, with a look that appeared questioning, and introduced himself too. He was bewildered for a moment, then his doubtful expression made space for an excited smile.

“Alright! How about we go dancing? I feel like going wild! Who’s coming with me?”

Ryan had reloaded and started shooting words again, but I didn’t feel like dancing, nor did I feel like suffering the coupling of the two lovebirds. Steve seemed to be of the same opinion as me, while Nathan and Harvey had started feeding each other with glances and sketchy smiles to keep a low profile. Only Lauraseemed enthusiastic about the idea of going with Ryan, so the two of them moved away and the four of us remained.

When he was far enough away, Harvey wrapped his arms around Nathan’s shoulder and pulled him close to him.

“Do you mind if I steal him for ten minutes?”

Nathan was taken aback, because he looked at him first, then at me. He tried to open his mouth, but I beat him to it.

“All night long, if you want.”

Nathan kept seeking my gaze, but for me he was free to do what he preferred. After all, I had gone to that party in the role offakeboyfriend.

Harvey took his hand, just enough to pull him along; and he had to, because Nathan remained planted there in front of me for another handful of seconds, in which I did not meet his gaze once.

They secluded themselves not far away, in a more isolated spot on the lawn. As soon as they stopped, Nathan released himself in a flash from Harvey’s grasp, just as he had done shortly before with mine. He was such a fool if he really believed that simply letting go of his hand was enough to dispel any doubts about the nature of their relationship.

“Want one?”

Steve was handing me a drink, which I accepted without a second thought. I remembered a moment later that I was sort of on duty, but I figured a drink certainly couldn’t hurt.

“Thank you.”

Through imperceptible steps, the distance between Nathan and Harvey had become quite intimate. Nathan slipped his sunglasses off his neckline and put them on; they looked good on him.

“It’s not easy to keep up with him, is it?”

Harvey took them off and put them back on.

“Who are you talking about?”

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