Chapter 12 #3
“You’re taking some of the whimsy out of it, Hunter,” Noah snaps, sitting back down.
Jamie shakes his head with a slight smile and raises his hand to cradle Noah’s jaw.
Smoothing along the skin with his thumb, he lifts Noah’s eyes to his.
“No, what happened was this. I saw you at that party and it wasn’t love, but it was something.
Your soul speaks to mine. I knew I needed you in my life.
Since that day you’ve become my entire world.
Some days you make me want to scream into a pillow, but most days you make me the happiest person who has ever lived. ” He kisses him hard.
Noah swoons against him then fixes his eyes on Mark. “You wish this was you,” he says to him.
“Oh yes. So envious,” his friend deadpans. Hunter’s arm snakes around Mark’s shoulders, pulling him in for a kiss.
It’s Jamie’s turn, and he draws a piece of paper. “Go get the phone number of a stranger.” Noah stands. Jamie grabs him by the pants, pulling him back down. “You’re losing this one.”
“What?! I can’t lose. This is my game. You don’t think I can get someone’s number?”
“Oh, I know you can, and you would, but you’re not.”
Mark and Hunter both get up. “You’re so mean to me! This is a competition, Jamie. I am a born competitor!”
“How about instead we make out while our friends go get phone numbers?”
“Ugh, smart and sexy. I love you.” Noah grabs Jamie by the shirt, pulling his lips to his. I get up. I can’t watch this. I notice Bo hasn’t moved. He hasn’t said much at all and I don’t know why. He knows these people better than I do.
“Hey. Are you coming?” Bowen looks down at his lap. “What is it?”
“I don’t think I can get someone’s number.”
Well, that’s bullshit. “Of course you can. Come with me. Didn’t you say you wanted to get blow-jobbed?”
“Blow jobs?” Noah peels himself from Jamie’s lips. “Who said blow jobs?”
“Hey, focus!” Jamie draws Noah’s lips back to his.
Bo gets up slowly, looking back at me. “Go ahead.” He looks down before a small smile spreads on his lips, and he walks off toward a guy who’s animatedly talking with a couple of friends. Look at me, not jealous and shit. I’ve really come a long way from the parking lot.
Now just to ignore the swooping feeling in my stomach at watching Bo approach him. Instead, I search the bar. I’m not sure who’s queer and who isn’t, but I shoot my shot with a blonde woman with bright blue eyes and a real eager hand when I asked for her number. “Cam.”
“Hi, Cam.” She smiles, tucking a strand of her curtain bangs behind her ear.
“Thank you.”
“Call me.” She smiles, but my own falls when I turn my back on her and see Jamie across the bar finally coming up for air.
Bowen is already back at the table. Damn, that was fast. My eyes slide over to the man he was talking to.
He shakes his head, looking in Bo’s direction.
It feels off. The people he’s with laugh.
I sit down, looking at Bo who’s focused intently on his drink and Mark and Hunter join us right after. “Here.” They slide a piece of paper across.
“You both have to get one.”
“We said we were looking for a third. It counts.”
“Someone settling for Mark to get to you. Fine, I get that,” Noah says to Hunter, and Mark finishes his drink while giving Noah the finger. “What about you, Bowen?”
“Oh, uh, I didn’t get one."
I look back at that guy he was talking to. “Why?”
“He wasn’t interested.” I twist my body to glare at that douche.
“What did he say?”
“He’s just not interested, Cam. Drop it,” Bowen snaps.
“What about you, Cam?” Noah’s voice catches my attention, but I turn back around and now see that guy looking at us, and he rolls his eyes. When he looks back toward us, he sees me staring and frowns. I give him the finger behind Bowen’s back. With a glare he turns back to his friends. “Cam?”
“What? Oh yeah, I got a number. That woman over there.”
“Nice.” Jamie smiles.
“Oh, stop it. Your breast days are behind you.”
“You’re bisexual?” Jamie nods, taking a sip of water. Maybe Jamie would understand, then, what I’m going through. Maybe he can help me. “How did you know?” Maybe Noah was his queer awakening.
“Oh um, I always kind of knew. I’m attracted to both. Noah’s the first guy I’ve been with, but I’ve always kind of known I like men and women, and everything in between.
“So pansexual?”
Jamie waves that away. “I’m whatever I want to call myself. I don’t care about gender at all, really. Noah knows all the ins and outs, the umbrellas and spectrums, but I’m just me. I like what I like. Pansexual. Bisexual. I don’t really worry about the label too much. I am what I am.”
“And what you are is a sexy monogamous man who’s rainbow glitter cock belongs to me.” Noah tugs Jamie’s shirt toward him and plants a kiss on his lips.
Rainbow glitter . . . I better not ask.
The rest of the game goes quickly, and Hunter’s pretty drunk by the end of it.
The prompts included singing karaoke, but I was the only one who did.
Everyone else got a point taken away. Noah wanted to go up there, but Jamie assured us it was for everyone’s safety that Noah didn’t sing, and Hunter, Mark, Bo, and Jamie didn’t want to.
The one who surprised me was Bo, but he hasn’t been the same since that guy. What did he say to him?
Other prompts included eating the spiciest thing on the menu. Done. I love food. Bo skipped that one too—spicy food does not agree with him at all. Noah was in tears trying his best to finish a hot wing. He ended up losing that one.
“Congratulations, Cam!” Noah wipes the board down with a wet napkin. Hunter is pretty drunk now. I don't think Jamie drank at all. Mark’s pretty tipsy as well. “So what do you want?”
My mind is blank. My mind is on Bo. Has no one else noticed his demeanor change at all? Or is it just me and the subtle ways I know he gets when he’s sad. What did that asshole say? “Um, can I think on it?”
“Of course. Anything you want. Anything at all.” Noah slumps against Jamie. “Have you had enough peopling for one night?”
“I had enough of people before I stepped in the door.” He smiles down at Noah. “I want to go home.”
“Sounds good. Happy birthday Puck Daddy. I hope it was good.” Noah smiles at him.
Hunter's hooded gaze lolls to Mark. "Oh it's about to be."
Noah gags. “Oh! Bobo, would you like to go shopping with me tomorrow?” He leans in whispering, “I’m going to the naughty store.”
“Oh uh, yeah, you know what . . . yeah. I just have to see if I can switch days with our other pianist. That sounds like fun.” Bowen looks at Mark. “Are you coming?”
He shakes his head. “Lingerie isn’t my thing, and we’re going to my parents’ to celebrate Hunter’s birthday.”
“Just you and me, Bo.” Noah claps. “You are in for a treat.”
We settle our tab and I follow Bowen out the door. Cold air slaps us both, and I see him flinch from it when he steps onto the sidewalk. “What’s wrong?”
“Huh?”
“I know you, Bo. Something’s wrong.” He waves me away. “I mean it, what’s the matter? Was it that guy?”
He slides into my driver’s seat, taking the key fob from me. “It doesn’t matter.”
“You’re upset and I want to snap his neck. So it matters.”
“He just . . .” He shakes his head, sinking back into the seat. “I just walked up to them, and he looked me up and down and goes, ‘Honey, please be serious,’ then he laughed with his friends.”
That dickhead. I wish I’d known. For the first time in my life I don’t know what to say to him. That guy is wrong for that, and dumb. “He’s lucky you even approached him.”
“Cam, I know you’re going to best friend at me, and I appreciate it, but I just feel shitty right now, and I don’t think anything you say will change that.”
I swallow. I know he’s right.
So I don’t say anything. Instead, I slip my hand into his as he drives, holding it the entire way home, at a loss.
“Have you thought about what you want as your prize?” he asks.
“Oh uh, no. I’ll think about it. Do I have to tell Noah? How does this work? Is he the game-night master?”
“He thinks he is, which is why we usually end up playing strip poker.”
“Wait, you’ve played strip poker?” Oh, hello jealousy. “Have you lost?”
He smiles. “Haven’t lost. Hunter’s lost, and yeah, that’s . . . wow. He’s um—”
“Big?” I laugh.
“I didn’t expect it. Noah warned me not to sit too close to it.”
“Your friends are crazy. I hope you know that.” I look over at Bo and he glances at me. “What?”
He shrugs. “I like them. I like them all. We’ve never had a friend group before. It feels nice.”
I have to admit, he’s right. “As long as none of them take my place, we’re cool.”
Bo squeezes my hand. “No one can ever take your place, Cam.”