5. Three Cheers
5
THREE CHEERS
FOR THE DEBAUCHED
M athias arrived at Eric’s a bit late, but not too late, just enough that he wouldn’t be the first to arrive. He entered the two-level apartment to the sound of cheers and found the whole gang crammed into the living room with Eric in the middle, some award proudly lifted over his head.
“Matt, look!” his friend said when he spotted him. “We won!”
Zak’s best friend Camille, all flouncy skirt, baby hair, and sparkly eyes, seized Mathias by the shoulders and pushed another award into his hands. Her lanky boyfriend Arthur took it back with a smile. “Sorry, we’re just drunk on success.”
Drunk on success . Mathias had no idea what that felt like. He pushed past Joy, Melissa, Elodie, Xavier, and Charles-Henry and went to salute a few of Eric’s footballer colleagues from his club, nodded at their girlfriends, and soon, he was in a corner sipping a beer and wondering if it would be appropriate to go home as soon as he’d finished it.
Now that the mock exams were over, Mathias wanted to see Alberto. After doing reasonably well this week—and even starting preparations for his entrance examination to his first choice of culinary schools—he logically felt he deserved a reward.
There was no chance of Alberto being invited to this party, not with Eric as a host, so he figured if he went home early, he might be able to convince him to spend the night together. Dad would be sleeping already, and in any case, he never cared about who stayed over, not even when he was an innocent kid and Daphnée shared his bed. Dad never even said a word about Christmas Eve, only nodding faintly at Alberto when he walked out of Mathias’s room.
As for Elisa, she had long stopped mentioning Alberto, which was a bit suspicious, but she was busy wrapping up the Colette Candy Guide , and Mathias wasn’t the kind to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Eric spotted Mathias hanging in a corner with his empty beer in one hand and his phone in the other, and he rushed over, his hands filled with little plastic cups. He nudged him with his foot.
“Matt, did you wish Zak a happy birthday?”
Zak, standing behind Eric, was all dressed-up tonight, clad in an elegant buttoned-up shirt and a pair of tight jeans that were probably the reason Eric’s face was scarlet.
“Happy birthday,” Mathias said.
Zak shook his head with a smile. “It’s not midnight yet. My birthday’s at midnight.” He lowered his voice. “Everything will be different at midnight.”
“Different how?”
His cheeks darkened. “Just different.”
“Zak’s really excited to turn seventeen!” Eric said, his hands shaking.
Yeah, must be that , Mathias thought vaguely, stepping back to avoid getting splattered by whatever red liquid was in these cups. He glanced up toward the corridor, only for his heart to stop.
Alberto .
He was here… awkwardly standing in the doorway, his thumb scratching his brow.
As tall as a baby giraffe and twice as cute.
“Give me that,” Mathias told Eric. He emptied one of the cups and grimaced. “What the fuck is that?”
“Punch!” Eric cried, seizing the cup back. “And it was Zak’s!”
“I don’t care!” Zak squeaked. “Look!” He whirled his boyfriend around. “He really came!”
Eric’s mouth fell open. “Christ on a cracker… He really did.”
Mathias willed his heart to stop beating like a war drum and asked in a hoarse voice, “You invited him? How come? Don’t you hate the guy?”
“He did!” Zak’s eyes shone like two giant marbles. “Out of nowhere, he invited him at the ceremony!”
Eric looked as if a harmless prank had turned into a national disaster. “It’s Zak’s birthday. I wanted to make an effort.” His boyfriend gawked at him, too shocked to comprehend. “I’m too fucking nice,” Eric added with a bitter grin, before emptying a cup of punch.
Mathias glared at Zak suspiciously. To his knowledge, that kid was the only one beside Alberto’s mother who didn’t inspire a snigger or a condescending word out of him. Mathias was certain Alberto liked Zak more than he let on. It’s the way his gaze softened when he talked about him. It wasn’t much, but it was there. Did Alberto’s gaze ever soften at the sound of his name? It didnot. Mathias would know; he spent a whole lot of time staring at that face.
Alberto eventually noticed them and approached, unaware of the longing looks half of the girls—and Xavier—threw his way.
“Happy birthday, Zak.”
His tone was soft as morning dew when he was talking to that little bastard. Mathias bit into his cheek until he drew blood. Zak warmly thanked Alberto, and Eric grabbed his hand and shook it hard enough to tear it from his wrist.
“You’re late!”
“I got lost.”
“How can you get lost on the metro?” Seeing him shrug, Eric did his best to conceal his animosity and let out a forced laugh. “I’m so glad you came.”
Alberto replied in a voice so quiet, he was barely audible. “Thank you for having me.”
“Get yourself a drink, don’t hesitate!”
Eric pushed him out of the way. With a quick look at Mathias, who pretended to look elsewhere, Alberto disappeared around the corner. Zak immediately opened his eyes wide.
“Were you really serious about what you said earlier? You want to be friends with him?”
“Yes, yes!” Eric laughed. “I’m serious.”
Zak gave him a doubtful look. “Why?”
“Oh, water under the bridge, that’s all.”
“Water under the bridge?” Zak turned to Mathias for support.
“Two weeks ago, he was still good old Shovel Face ,” Mathias muttered. “What happened?”
“I’ve had a lot of time to think,” Eric said in a disinterested tone.
Was it special treatment because Kayvin shoved Alberto into the pool? It was entirely possible… And Mathias sincerely hoped it was be cause of that, and not to submit him to more humiliation at the hands of the football team tonight.
Eric wasn’t in the mood for talking about his nemesis anymore; he waved his hands dismissively. “Zak, baby, did I remind you that I love you today?”
“Only three times,” Zak said, faking outrage.
“Only three? Guess there’s still time for a fourth, then.”
“Great. I’ll put the kettle on.”
Before Mathias could even ask, they left hand in hand. When they were a safe distance away, Alberto reappeared magically by his side. Mathias nearly jumped him . “You weren’t getting a drink?”
“I was just hiding around the corner.” His fingers brushed against Mathias’s waist, who pushed his hands deeper into his pockets.
“What do you think the kettle’s for?” he asked, to distract himself.
“I don’t know.” Alberto sighed a puff of hot air onto his neck, and one of Mathias’s pockets tore. “I don’t like not knowing. I’m not usually like that.”
Mathias didn’t like the way Alberto stared after Zak. He liked even less knowing that Alberto would brave dozens of people, bad music, and junk food just to wish him a happy birthday. “They, ahem… They’re happy with each other.”
“They sure are…”
So are we , Mathias wanted to add. In their own way, so were they. Weren’t they? Good sex was nothing short of a miracle, wasn’t it? And they were really good at it. Mathias yearned to plunge his hand in the pocket of his suit, graze a certain part of him with his thumb, and press his lips to his neck.
“Look…” He sucked in the last breath of air left in the room, forcing himself to be smart. “We can’t?—”
“I know.” Alberto’s fingers, instead of touching his wrist as they apparently intended, disappeared into his pocket. “I know. I’ll just be on my side of the flat, and you’ll be on yours. It will be like I’m not even here.” He stepped back and shuffled toward the snacks, where he got immediately hounded by Xavier.
During the next hour, all thoughts of going home out of the window, Mathias wandered about Eric’s apartment. He exchanged a few words here and there with Zak’s friends and pretended not to be bothered by Xavier’s insistence on introducing Alberto to everyone at the party, by his hands all over him, by his toothy grins and little complicit nudges. It only served to remind him of his stupid brunch, of when Mathias saw him leaving Alberto’s room, smugly wiping his lips with the back of his hand.
Eric and Zak had long re-emerged, and they were circulating from group to group. Mathias was burning to tell Alberto the kettle had to be a dirty thing because they’d both returned with their hair a hot mess. But he could only stay on his side and watch from the corner of his eye as Xavier entertained the girafon ? 1 .
Mathias gnashed his teeth in his corner, full of conflicting thoughts and even worse ideas. He didn’t want to say the wrong things and have a repeat of the other day at the museum. But while staring at Xavier, he reminisced about the last time he and Alberto slept together, when Mathias was on fire and had fucked Alberto so well, he lost his English and had to revert to calling out his gods in Italian. He’d like to see Xavier try that!
“Good party, am I right?”
Mathias swung around with a start. Eric had returned and was offering him a fresh beer. “Yeah, sure.”
“Then, why are you standing here all alone?”
Mathias scowled. “I always say the wrong things.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Fuck off.”
“Okay, maybe you do.”
“… Sorry.” Mathias took the beer and patted Eric’s shoulder. “Did you lose Zak?”
Eric pouted. “I have to give him space to enjoy the company of his friends.”
“Christ, you sound like you’re reading forums on dating.”
“I do! If I had my way, I’d be clinging to him all the time. How to Be a Good Boyfriendand Make Your Girl Happy says I should definitely not do that.”
“Hang on. Your girl ? Aren’t you reading the wrong book? I thought Zak was a guy.”
“So?” Eric shrugged. “He’s also like a girl.”
Mathias blinked at him, bewildered. “How?”
“Like, you know, being a human being and all. I don’t think there’s a big difference between boys and girls.” Faced with Mathias’s incredulous expression, he grinned and explained, “For example, the book says if you wanna know how the girl you’re dating feels, then you should ask, and chances are, she’ll tell you. You just gotta ask.”
“Okay.”
“I don’t see the difference between girls and guys about that. We all feel and think things. We all want to say things we’re afraid to say. The more we wait, the worse it gets, whether you’re a boy or a girl.”
Mathias furrowed his brow. “Fine. Sounds good and all, but your book is also suggesting you shouldn’t be yourself.”
“How so?”
“You’re naturally clingy.”
Eric burst into a laugh. “That’s right! But even I know I can be a bit much sometimes. I don’t want him to get tired of me too quickly.”
Amused, Mathias poked him in the shoulder. “What about you? Aren’t you tired of seeing him all the time?”
“No! In fact, I don’t see enough of him. Hell, I even became an actor to pursue him. I’d do all sorts of crazy things just to see him. I’d even…”
Mathias tuned him out and slipped a furtive look in Alberto’s direction. Xavier, Joy, Melissa, and a bunch of other people surrounded him, and were laughing gaily while he clung to the food table—his own idea of personal hell. Was Zak really worth it?
And then he saw it: the quick glances, clearly addressed to him, full of knowledge and desire.
Wait . Was it possible? Alberto came here tonight not for Zak, but for him? The thought filled him with blinding light. Now , he felt drunk. His heart thumping, he dipped his head and couldn’t help a smile from spreading across his face, but when he looked up, Eric was staring at him through narrowed eyes.
“Stop looking at me.”
Eric drew his face unbearably close to his own, like he was trying to read into his soul. It was very uncomfortable.
“Back off! Are you making a pass at me?”
Eric quickly threw up his hands. “No, no.”
“You should look after your boyfriend. He’s flaunting his ass over there. It’s…” Mathias searched for the word most likely to trigger him “… indecent.”
Eric almost tore his head from his neck to check on Zak who, tipsy, had fallen face-first on Camille’s lap, and his ass in its tight jeans was in full view of everyone. To Mathias’s astonishment, Eric managed to gasp, yelp, blush, and break into a sweat at the same time, rubbing his face with his palms until his eyes turned bloodshot.
“Oooh, that ass!” He let out a sob. “I can’t take it anymore! I’m gonna have to take a cold shower. Now!”
Mathias sighed. “I take it you haven’t slept together yet?”
Eric shook his head gravely. “Zak’s an angelic being and won’t let himself be debauched so easily.”
Angelic? Really? Mathias had rarely seen him without a frown. The rest of the time, he was usually wrapped around Eric and looked most certainly like he could be debauched easily.
For fuck’s sake. Soon, Mathias would have to give sex-ed tips to a guy like Eric. “Wait. How long have you been together again?”
Mathias hadn’t even spent one minute on a date with Alberto, but he never had any trouble debauching him. But of course, there was nothing angelic about Alberto—he was a dark creature—and it was probably the other way around: Alberto had debauched him, using his vast array of demonic tricks, and Mathias was the innocent one. Or something like that.
Beside him, Eric was counting diligently on his fingers. “About three and a half months.” He forced a smile. “There’s time. I don’t care. I’ll wait until marriage if that’s what he wants.”
“Ugh.” Mathias shivered. “Seriously…?”
“No, no! That’s not what he wants. But I’ll wait. I’ll wait almost forever, just not forever.”
Mathias didn’t exactly enjoy watching him look so helpless, but he kinda did, too, especially since he was always showing his boyfriend off, so he was tempted to make fun of him. But in the end, the question that passed his lips was nothing but serious, and it was something he’d wondered for a while.
“How do you do it?”
“Do what?” Eric wrinkled his nose. “You’re not listening to me! We’re not doing anything, that’s the problem, that?—”
“Shh, shh, shut up. I meant how do you control yourself?”
“Oh.” Eric’s expression turned sly. “So, you wanna know what your best buddy’s up to, after all?”
“Who’s that?Best buddy? I don’t know him.”
Eric gasped. “Don’t be like that! I’ll tell you!” He lunged at him, but Mathias shoved him aside. He couldn’t help but think his friend was totally gullible and easily bullied. Smothering down his urge to laugh, he forced his face to look serious .
“I’m listening.”
“We do— We do other stuff, that’s all.”
“Like what?”
“We kiss.”
Mathias snorted. “Nerds.”
“Stop!” Eric pursed his lips, vexed. “Meanie.”
“Fine, fine. I’m joking anyway. Of course I’ve seen you two kiss.” In fact, he’d seen too much of it. And not only him, but the entire school also had witnessed their… passion. And now that he mentioned it, the first time he’d talked to Alberto, that pervert had been staring at them while they were making out. “But no way,” he said, pushing the memory away. “There’s no way you two stop at kissing.”
Eric jerked his chin. “It just requires a bit of practice and a lot of determination.” He was sweating just talking about it. “And a bike.”
“Oh…” Mathias really struggled not to snigger this time. “That’s why you got the bike?”
“Maybe?”
“So… you just take him for a ride every time you want to… take him for a ride?”
Eric’s mouth fell open. “Nice!” They shared a fist bump. “Listen. It keeps me in shape. Isn’t that great? My coach is very happy.”
Mathias threw his head back and laughed. “Yeah, you definitely need to release some of that tension.”
“Right…” Eric gave him one of his brightest smiles and pulled him close. “Hey… I don’t think I’ve ever seen you laugh like this before.”
Mathias huffed and wrenched away. Eric was annoyingly tactile and had trouble understanding that some people weren’t. Mathias didn’t want to hug other men, squeeze their shoulders, slap them on the back, or other stupid shit like that. Strangely enough, he was fine pressing them into the mattress and doing all sorts of other stuff to them… Hold on. That couldn’t be right.
“Of course you have,” he said gruffly. “I laugh, like everyone else. It’s just that your jokes aren’t funny.”
Eric cocked his head with an enigmatic smile. “I know.”
In truth, Mathias felt particularly light tonight, and definitely luckier than some. And Alberto was wearing a suit with a tie; it was hanging loose around his long neck right now. Mathias was feeling creative about that tie. Now, to think of a decent excuse to isolate that demon from the rest of the crowd without people noticing… It would be difficult, but it wouldn’t be the first time.