Chapter 15
Fifteen
Late the next afternoon, on what was the first sunny day since Mitch arrived, Alex and Mitch rode up the CN Tower with a dozen other people crowded around them.
Mitch, pupils so huge the brown was almost completely obscured, plastered himself against the back of the elevator, his hands fisted so tightly his knuckles were white.
Alex bit his cheek and tried not to laugh.
Inching in beside Mitch, Alex slouched next to him and rested his shoulder against Mitch’s. “We’ll catch the next elevator down once we get to the top.”
“No,” Mitch said, jaw twitching in a way that told Alex he was clenching his teeth.
“It cost thirty-five bucks each to come up here, we’re damn well not going right back down.
” He studiously focused on the floor at his feet and not on any of the elevator’s three glass walls as the elevator rose.
The trip only took fifty-eight seconds, but they were fifty-eight seconds in which Mitch looked like he was going to hurl.
Finally, they reached the first observation level and as soon as Mitch exited the elevator, he found a couch along a wall, sat, and stuck his head between his legs.
“I’m going to die up here, aren’t I?” he wheezed.
Alex chuckled and sat next to him. Opening the backpack on Mitch’s back, he dug through and came out with a bottle of ginger ale. He twisted off the top and held the bottle out to Mitch. “Here. Drink some of this.”
“I can’t move.”
Alex snorted. “Now you’re just being melodramatic.”
“That’s a—” Mitch waved a hand out in front of him. “—big window.”
Sure enough, dead ahead was a floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the snow-covered city.
Alex stood and squared himself directly in Mitch’s line of sight. “Better?”
Mitch lifted his head tentatively, sat up straight—
And was level with Alex’s crotch.
Mitch nodded once. “Yup. Much better.” He reached blindly for the ginger ale and took a gulp while staring at Alex’s groin area. Not that there was much to see, given his dick was hidden behind underwear, jeans, and a winter coat. Mitch handed the bottle back to Alex, smacking his lips together.
Alex shook his head and recapped the bottle. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Do me?”
Choking on a surprised laugh, Alex leaned over Mitch to put the ginger ale back in his bag. “I was wondering where that guy was,” he said. “You’ve been extremely well-behaved lately.”
“It’s been hard.”
“I bet.”
“Like, real hard.”
“Jesus, you’re a brat,” Alex said, though his tone didn’t match his words. “Come on. Let’s walk around and get some pictures for your dad.”
“Um, I think maybe I’ll stay here.”
Alex took one of Mitch’s hands and yanked him up. “Here’s a tip. If you look out into the distance, instead of straight down, it doesn’t feel like you’re up so high.”
Mitch seemed to contemplate that for a few seconds, his forehead furrowed, then shook his head. “That sounds like bullshit.”
“Really, Mr. Science Major? You’re not even going to test my theory before rejecting it?”
“Hypothesis,” Mitch said.
“Huh?”
“A theory is something that’s already been tested and proven, with the scientific evidence to back it up, like the theory of relativity, or heliocentrism, or the Pythagorean theorem. A hypothesis is an idea, a suggested explanation or realistic prediction of an observable phenomenon.”
Alex grinned like a dummy. “You’re cute when you go all nerd.”
That earned an instant scowl from Mitch, but Alex wasn’t kidding.
Curiosity eventually sent Mitch closer to the windows, but he made sure Alex was between him and the glass.
“In case something happens, you’ll die protecting me and I’ll still have a chance to head for safety,” Mitch said with a cheeky grin.
He used Alex’s phone to take pictures and send them to his dad, since his own phone was one of those old ones with the keyboard that slid out and didn’t take good photos.
“The city looks endless from up here,” he said from two feet behind Alex where it was, apparently, relatively safe. “Is that Oakville?”
“No, that’s east. Oakville’s in the other direction.”
“Show me.”
Alex took him, but Mitch got distracted halfway there. “I didn’t know Toronto had an island.”
The windows on this side of the tower faced the Toronto Harbourfront and the chain of small islands just a short thirteen-minute ferry ride away.
In the summer, they were lush and green, Lake Ontario a deep blue.
Today, the water was murky and uninviting and the islands were covered in a layer of snow that made them look uninhabitable.
Beyond was what seemed like an endless expanse of water.
“What’s it called?” Mitch asked.
“The Toronto Islands, or usually just the Island.”
“Wow,” Mitch said blandly. “I wonder how many brain cells it took to come up with that.”
“Yeah, yeah, keep moving, smart-ass.”
They crossed into an area that was devoid of windows but had a throng of people standing around taking pictures. Alex used his width to create a path for himself and Mitch.
“Hey, where’s the glass floor I’ve heard about?” Mitch asked from behind him.
Alex turned and pointed at his feet. “Look down.”
Mitch did...then jerked backward, tripped over nothing, fell onto his ass, and crab-crawled off the glass until his back hit the wall.
Alex laughed so hard, his stomach hurt. A couple of people gawked at them, but other than that, nobody paid them much attention.
“That was… How could… I don’t…” Wide-eyed with astonishment and a healthy dose of fear, Mitch’s mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.
Alex kept laughing.
Mitch was slowly getting his color back, so he must not’ve been too traumatized.
“Come on.” Alex held out a hand to help Mitch up.
Mitch ignored it and pressed further into the wall. “I’m not going anywhere with you, you traitor.”
Alex didn’t quite abort a laugh fast enough for Mitch not to hear it. “It was an accident, I swear. I was just trying to cut us a path through the crowd. I didn’t realize the floor was there.”
Mitch’s eyes narrowed suspiciously and his lips pursed.
Alex wiggled his fingers and sent him what he hoped was a charmingly apologetic grin. “Please?”
Right in front of Alex’s eyes, Mitch’s whole body unclenched and he reached for Alex’s hand.
God, the trust implicit in that action… It made Alex’s chest tighten. Fuck, he hoped he didn’t screw this up.
A few minutes later, Alex led them to the restaurant, where, unbeknownst to Mitch, Alex had made them early dinner reservations.
“Can we get a table away from the window?” Alex asked the hostess.
“Uh, sure.” She turned and motioned for them to follow. “I think you’re the first person who’s ever asked me for a non-window table.”
They were seated far enough away from the glass that Mitch didn’t panic, yet close enough to watch the sunset paint hues of pink and purple across the sky, and witness the first streetlights coming on in the city.
The restaurant was fairly quiet, the hum of conversation around them nicely muted.
Candles flickered on the tables, and the lights were dim.
“Alex, what are we doing here?”
“Having dinner.”
Mitch stared at him dispassionately. “Yeah, thanks, genius. I mean, why here? Jesus!” He gaped at something on the menu. “The lobster is ninety-five fucking dollars,” he said in a hoarse whisper.
“Then don’t have the lobster,” Alex said reasonably.
“Don’t have the—” Mitch rolled his eyes. “And you say I’m impossible. Seriously, Alex, this is too much. Let’s just go to McDonald’s or something.” His head swivelled around the restaurant as if the ninety-five-dollar lobster was about to cut him for defamation.
“You’re not coming to my city for McDonald’s. You can have McDonald’s anywhere. Besides, I still owe you a second date.”
Mitch’s head swung toward him, cheeks pink.
He stayed quiet for so long that Alex’s stomach cramped, heart sinking as reality hit.
Fuck, he’d read Mitch wrong, hadn’t he? Alex had waited too long, squandered Mitch’s feelings.
Mitch had probably given up on him a long time ago.
Not that Alex blamed him. Who wanted to wait around for a maybe like Alex?
“I’m sorry,” Alex said, grimacing. “I shouldn’t have assumed—”
“No!” Mitch winced and lowered his voice.
“No, I—I’m just…surprised. I didn’t think…
I mean, I know you said it might happen, but I guess I didn’t expect…
” He blew out a breathy laugh and the corners of his lips tilted upward cautiously.
“This is actually a date?” He waved a finger between the two of them. “You and me?”
Alex smiled back at him, hope returning and backing the breath in his lungs. “If you want.”
“I want. But what do I do now?”
“What do you mean?”
Mitch played with his cutlery. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been on a date before.”
“Me neither.”
“Oh.” Mitch sat up straighter. “I guess we wing it, then?”
“I guess.”
Mitch didn’t look too thrilled at the idea. “I’m not much of a winger.”
“You’re a left winger.”
“Oh my God.” Mitch buried his face in his hands. “That was so bad.”
Mildly insulted, Alex said, “What? No, that was clever. Laugh, damn it. It was funny.”
Mitch laughed, but Alex had a feeling it was at him and not at his joke. Still, the sense of rightness that hit Alex at making Mitch laugh made him feel like a fucking superhero.
Lame, but true.
“Sorry for the delay, folks.” The server, a gentleman in his fifties with gray hair and a cropped goatee, stopped at their table and filled their glasses with ice water. “Can I start you off with a drink?”
Alex ordered them each a local beer and when the server asked for their IDs, Alex reached into his pocket while Mitch pondered the menu. Alex poked him in the foot under the table and, when Mitch looked up, jerked his head at the server. “You too. I’m not drinking both beers.”