31. Dylan
31
DYLAN
I t was noon by the time we rolled out of bed and headed off to the train to get from Paris to London. While every instinct told me that romance in Paris was cheesy, things had taken a turn. I could hardly resist a smile thinking about it, even as we loaded in. It wasn’t a long ride into London, but I was happy to spend it next to Brad. Sure, we couldn’t hold hands like the others or make out like Jason and Micah always seemed inclined to, but we could still be there next to each other.
I looked out the window, as I almost always did when we traveled anywhere. Taking in the cloudy skies and scenery of France. Brad talked to Alex and Jason, laughing about something or another that one of their frat bros had done. Almost definitely something embarrassing that they’d end up giving him shit about during the next semester, so I didn’t bother to pay much attention. I could be surprised when Brad told me about it later.
Subtly, where no one could see underneath my black hoodie, I slipped my hand into his, which was dangling over the arm of his seat and near mine. His words slipped for the faintest moment — almost unnoticeable — before he kept talking and laughing, and his fingers closed around mine. Suppressing a smile, I let my eyes drift shut. Travel made me tired, and they’d expect it, anyway.
By the time I woke up, we were already there. Brad shook me awake with this soft sort of look on his face, amusement dancing in his eyes.
I blinked a couple of times, trying to adjust.
“Come on, Dyl, we’re off.”
I nodded, still bleary-eyed and dazed, but I stood and followed along. They wouldn’t lead me astray, and I was lucky to have friends I could be sure of that with. We crowded toward another train, Shane pointing the way. I stuck with Brad.
We left our luggage with the concierge to put in our rooms once we got to the hotel — another sprawling thing that undoubtedly cost too much money. I found it weird, but everyone else seemed to go along with it. So maybe I was the weird one who cared about it.
Then again, where the hell were we going?
It only made sense when Charlie pointed at something in the distance and said, “I think that’s it?”
Oh. The big clock. I yawned, trying to keep myself awake. The London day was nice. Thick grey clouds hung in the sky like they could have spilled rain at any moment. The air felt nippy around us, and I shivered as we walked over to it, wishing I’d had the foresight to wear a thicker hoodie or bring along a jacket. I was often cold, so maybe that should have been a given.
“You okay?” Brad asked, nudging me.
I nodded. “Just a little cold.”
He was quiet for a minute. It wasn’t a long walk.
“I can give you my jacket if you want it?” he offered, his voice hardly above a whisper. Just in case anyone heard or read into it too much.
He was offering me his jacket? Something stirred in me, but all I could muster was a hint of a smile and a shake of my head. “I’m fine.”
The idea was sweet, though. Maybe people thought chivalry was dead, and maybe parts of that were true, but what was wrong with people being gentlemen? Okay, so I didn’t think much of it, not before Brad was just Brad. Now that he was sitting here offering me his own jacket, though, it made my heart skip a beat. Like maybe I was no better than anyone else, like maybe I just wanted to be treated well.
We all stopped as we reached our destination. Since we were in the back of the group, I took the chance to hug his arm to me. I wanted him close, and he was always so damn warm. The heat radiated off of him, and I liked the sensation of hugging his muscular arm to my chest.
“It’s so beautiful,” Charlie mused.
“Wonder if he’s getting excited yet,” Brad whispered.
He’d explained about the museum, and I half smiled. “Wonder if it’s all historical things or museums specifically.”
He choked out a laugh, and I couldn’t help but follow suit. His chuckle turned into a full belly laugh, and it was over. We laughed, falling into one another in a fit we couldn’t help. Something about the idea of Charlie, little sweet innocent Charlie, getting all horny for just some museums, was too funny. Even when it hurt, even when my sides ached for relief, I couldn’t stop laughing. I clutched onto Brad, and he hugged me back, and we fell into the fence as we just kept laughing.
“Are they okay?” Micah asked, sounding bewildered.
“They’ve cracked finally,” Theo said, though he couldn’t help but laugh with us. He was always ready and willing to jump in on a joke, even if maybe he was the butt of said joke, but he didn’t need to know that. He didn’t need to know the details of what was making us laugh this much.
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, trying my best to straighten up and quit laughing at poor Charlie. If only he knew what Theo said…or maybe he was already too aware of it.
“I mean, it’s cool to look at, I guess…but is that all?” Brad asked once he had caught his breath again, like he was trying to sound normal instead of a laughing hyena.
“Can you enjoy a little culture for once?” Alex asked, grinning. “Not everything is about the latest keg party, but sometimes it’s still cool to see.”
Brad flipped him off. “Shut up. I’m just asking. It’s just a big clock, man. Do you not see enough big old clocks in your life? Hear that, Shane?”
Alex laughed. “Okay, remind me to never get as dumb as you.”
I smiled a little. There was something strangely endearing about the fact that they all got along so well. When I first got to SVU, I had this notion that Greek life was all about buying friends or just a popularity contest or some shit like that. There was no way in hell I’d join one, but Brad and the others made me see they were more than just that. They cared about one another, too. At the heart of it, they joked around and played with each other like brothers and best friends. Something in that was nice, seeing them joke around and have their own little independent language that the rest of us knew nothing about. Lambda something or other, chapter meetings, and rush — none of it made any sense to an outsider.
Or maybe I was just in one of those sentimental moods that made everything seem kind of cute. “Yeah, I don’t know. It’s pretty cool architecture, I guess.” I shrugged.
“A little too boring for you, though.” Shane winked.
I felt my face flush, getting a little hot. Was I flushing? Were people going to ask what that meant? Somehow, it felt almost too personal to disclose, even though to Shane it was maybe just an offhand comment.
Even still, it felt nice. I cleared my throat and focused again on the sweeping beauty of history. Of how the day was so beautiful and perfect, the chilly air sweeping over us as we stood where so many people had once stood. There was something beautiful to it, and I forced my mind to stick in the present, to focus on everyone and the moment between us all.
Life could be good. I was happy I was here among all of my friends.
Maybe it didn’t make me as happy as Charlie, but it was still pretty cool.
Even if it was just a big old clock.