6. Those Baby Browns
Those Baby Browns
“Left.” Theo heaved the TV before it could slip from his sweaty hands. “Caleb, left.” They course-corrected and managed, with some grunt-swearing, to set the large screen down in the living room.
The four of them had decided to move off-campus for second year, finding a small house in a cul-de-sac mostly filled with other students.
Theo thought living in a student neighbourhood would mean mystery stains and questionable structural integrity, but the house was surprisingly decent: appliances from this century, a kitchen that wouldn’t turn them into human bumper cars, and a living room that, in Caleb’s words, was ‘big enough for board game nights!’
Pink carpets and green walls aside, Theo was digging it.
“Almost done.” Sweat beaded a path down Caleb’s temple as he stared out the window at his dad’s truck in the driveway.
The couch was all that was left of what had been a towering pile of belongings strapped to the bed of the truck with cords.
“We could leave it there,” he said, wiping a damp strand of hair from his forehead.
“See it whenever Dad visits. Go for comfortable rides.”
“Thank you, couch,” Theo said, holding up his hand in what he hoped was a respectful wave goodbye, “for all you’ve done for us. Go, see the world.”
Caleb put his hand to his mouth, holding back fake tears. “Or at least North York.”
Jason saw them from outside and waved back, except his was less a ‘fare thee well’ wave and more of a ‘get your ass out here and help me move this couch’ wave.
They trudged outside, complaining for the eighteenth time (Theo had been counting) that it was too hot for the first week of September. The start of school was supposed to mean cardigans and fall breezes, not soupy air and chaffing ass cheeks.
A plan was formed to use their brute strength to hoist the couch off the truck and into the house, but one notably strong brute was missing.
“Where’s Dae?”
Jason smirked and nodded across the street to where Dae was standing, shoulders stiff, with a girl. She was stylish and tall, with long, wild hair, dark skin, and fast moving lips that forced Dae to nod along at a speed Theo had never seen before.
“Oh, no.” He abandoned the couch to rescue him, barely registering Jason’s voice telling him to leave it be.
“...in the neighbourhood is welcome, even the non-students, though I don’t think there are many.
You should come. All of you.” She gave Theo a quick consolation glance as he approached.
Dae nodded, his lips pressed together, his hair sticking to his neck with moving-day sweat, and his damp shirt clinging to his chest. Theo could see why this girl was entranced.
“Yes,” he said, supplying an answer where Dae faltered. “We’ll definitely be there.”
“Okay, awesome!” Her smile was bright and unguarded, like she’d only ever heard great news her entire life. “Come by any time after nine. And don’t worry, we’ll blast the AC.”
“Essential.” He threw a glare at the sky. “Since Mother Nature seems to be playing a prank on us today.”
“Seriously, it’s so hot.” (Nineteen.) She finally shifted her attention to Theo, and wow, if the force of her beauty had a gay guy swooning, he couldn’t imagine how the straights handled it.
She aimed it at Dae again, likely knowing exactly what she was doing.
“Anyway, it’s BYOB, but I’ll save a Jello shot for you.
” She winked. Winked! Then headed back to her house, glancing over her shoulder three times before disappearing inside.
Dae waited until she was out of sight before he let out the breath he was holding. “All things considered, I think I handled that well.”
Theo patted his shoulder. “I’m very proud of you.”
“I don’t actually have to go, though, right?”
“Yes, I’m afraid you do.” Theo laughed at Dae’s attempt at a glare-tantrum. “That gorgeous girl was obviously flirting with you. Please tell me you realize that.”
For the past year, Theo had been not-so-subtly coaching Dae to both recognize and act on romantic interest, which was beneficial to them both, for reasons he refused to examine.
“Guys!” Jason gestured to the couch, and Theo begrudgingly paused his life-changing pep talk as they all shuffle-grunted it into the house.
“Okay!” Jason clapped three times fast as if getting the attention of second-graders. “On to the kitchen.” His enthusiasm was met with a chorus of groans. “Okay, fine, we’ll tackle it later. But Theo, there’s no space for your weird mug collection, so move them or they end up in the attic."
Theo hadn’t even known they had an attic. He rescued his box of mugs and deposited them safely in his room upstairs.
Jordan
House party tonight
Across the r
Shit across the rd from us
Youre coming
#1 Client Extraordinaire
obviously
Unpacking should’ve been his first priority, but instead, he started taping up a collage of pictures he’d taken with the retro polaroid camera his Aunt Liana had given him: Dae wearing the sweater Caleb made him, Jordan singing at an open mic, the four roommates dressed as Super Mario characters for Halloween, their visit to an all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant (where Theo only flicked one dumpling across the table with his chopsticks), Caleb’s music club recital (which he insisted was not a recital), and midterm celebrations, among others.
The soft tap on his door was unmistakably Dae. Even his knock was shy. “Come in, Dae.”
He’d just taken a shower, and his damp hair dripped onto the shoulders of his t-shirt. “We’re ordering food.”
“Pizz—”
“Something healthy. All you’ve had today is coffee and Caleb’s rice crispy squares.” He noticed the pictures with an almost-smile, then an adorable frown. “Why is this one here?”
“Because it was the first time I saw you drunk, and it was magical.” In the picture, Dae was curled on the couch, his face almost matching his rose sweater, his cheeks puffed in an eyes-closed smile, his dimples on full display.
“So, um...” Dae picked up the Learning is a Hoot mug from the box and placed it on a shelf, the owl facing out. “Yeah, so, I’ll go to the party tonight, but you have to promise me something.”
Theo put one hand on his chest and held the other up in a vow. “I won’t leave your side.”
“No, that’s…” He shook his head and wandered farther away, suddenly very interested in the random books thrown haphazardly on the desk. “Promise not to babysit me.”
“Babysit?” The snort that escaped Theo’s body surprised them both. “So, no sending you to bed at eight o’clock, so I can eat all your parents’ snacks?”
Dae started picking at the hem of his shirt, the poor fabric stretching with the speed of his fingers. “You always stick with me to make sure I’m okay, and I appreciate it…”
“But?”
He hesitated, then continued in a small voice. “You’re so social. I don’t want to be the reason you don’t have fun.”
Ridiculous. Preposterous. Absurd. Dae was often the reason Theo enjoyed being out. Being his bridge to the world meant more to Theo than he could say. Which was why, instead, he just said lamely, “I have fun.”
Dae shook his head, his eyes on the part of his shirt he was still manhandling, which now had two new loose threads.
Theo couldn’t stand seeing him so unsure.
His own hands darted out almost of their own accord and took Dae’s wrists, gently tugging them away from the victimized fabric.
His skin was warm, but that wasn’t exactly shocking.
It was a warm day. Of course his skin would be… um. What had they been talking about?
Oh, right. “What makes you think I can’t make sure you’re okay and have fun?”
That came out wrong, but Theo had no idea how to fix it. The two things weren’t separate.
Dae couldn’t seem to tear his focus from their hands, which reminded Theo to let him go. It wasn’t a big deal at all, so he wasn’t sure why he overcompensated by stepping away and squeaking out a dumb-sounding laugh.
“I need you when we’re out. You stop me from doing stupid shit.”
“Do I?” Dae’s face scrunched, dubious. “When we went to the art exhibit in the summer, you wore a unicorn onesie and sweat so much you had to buy an I Heart Toronto t-shirt.”
“Okay, first of all, it was a children’s art exhibit, and I honestly can’t believe I was the only one dressed to spread joy.” That got an almost-smile. “Secondly, if you’d been there when I was making that decision, maybe I wouldn’t have made it.”
“I was there when you got too hot and decided boxers are basically shorts.”
“Dae.” Maybe his name came out too intense, but this line of thought was making him squirmy, and he needed him to understand.
Dae had already looked away again, his eyes on the matted carpet, so Theo dipped to meet them, waiting as his gaze worked its way back up.
“I’m not your babysitter, I’m your friend.
Friends hang out at parties and get each other through overwhelming situations and make sure they consume more than coffee and Rice Krispie squares. ”
Something in what he said seemed to hook into Dae, but Theo couldn’t figure out which part, or if it was good or bad. Dae’s eyes shifted back and forth between his, the hint of a response working its way into existence, his chest rising with the promise of it—
“What’s taking so long?” Jason knocked needlessly on the open door before walking in. “We’ve got it down to sushi or Thai bowls. Tell me which one in the next five seconds.”
Theo was both frustrated by and grateful for the interruption.
Dae had been working up to something meaningful, he knew it.
But now the words that had been building the courage to leap off his tongue retreated down his throat and seemed to take hold of his body, pushing him out of the room with a shrug as he passed Jason.
“Okay,” Jason said, nodding at Dae’s non-answer. “That’s two for Thai bowls. Theo?”