13. Golden Boys
Golden Boys
Caleb grinned and drummed his fingertips on the kitchen table. It was way too early for pep, so he was met with three groans.
“Spit it out, Caleb,” Theo said, scooping soggy cereal into his mouth.
The night before had been open mic night at the campus café, and he’d been too buzzed on Jordan’s performance to sleep.
The sun, always seemingly against him in times of trouble, screamed at him through the open windows, making him squint in bleary grumpiness.
“Okay, this Friday is my—”
“Birthday,” they all said together.
Caleb placed a hand on his chest. “I’m touched you all remembered.”
Theo had never met anyone who loved birthdays as much as Caleb. He talked about it for weeks leading up and weeks afterwards. There was no possible way to forget his birthday.
“Avery has this whole thing planned where we club-hop.” He held out his arms as if he’d revealed something magical. “What’dya say?”
“Good with me,” Jason said, nodding.
Clubs contained everything Theo loved; dancing, loud music, and anonymous flirting. The only thing holding him back was…
“I’m in,” Dae said, shocking Theo to his core. He’d been brainstorming ways to rescue him, but apparently Dae didn’t need rescuing. He registered Theo’s shocked expression and shrugged. “Loud music equals no talking.”
Avery gave them the details and wardrobe specifications, which apparently Caleb had not-so-subtly hinted at.
It was impossible to say no to someone they knew would never say no to them, which is how they ended up in matching yellow t-shirts with their Golden Girls picture on the front and the words, Golden Boys, on the back.
It was both humiliating and hilarious, and by the time they piled in the cab that Friday, Theo was kind of into it.
The first club was fine, if not a bit subdued, considering they started the evening at eight o’clock.
Caleb’s task was to ask the DJ to play polka, which she did with a special shout-out to the birthday boy.
The second task was completed at a run-down karaoke bar, where he had to sing a song by national treasure Céline Dion.
He chose ‘My Heart Will Go On’ because apparently he possessed zero imagination.
Then off they went to a legit club with dance music, appropriately dim lighting, and actual people.
Avery had planned eight different tasks for eight different places (she and Caleb truly were made for each other) but decided taking taxis was for the bourgeois and didn’t want to walk around the city in heels anymore, so they stayed put.
Dae held his own for the most part. There were more people in their group than he was used to, with some of Caleb’s friends from his classes and high school joining for the evening.
He hadn’t really spoken in the first two places, not even to Theo or the guys, but he nodded along, laughed at jokes, and sang Happy Birthday.
By the third place, most talking had stopped in favour of sweaty dancing anyway.
Theo could think of very few experiences in life as transcendent as losing himself to music.
He wished Jordan were there to get on the same level as him, but she had some stupid anniversary dinner with Becks to celebrate the fifth time they’d gotten back together or something.
He looked around, but no one else understood the joy of simply basking in the beat.
Caleb was an amazing guitarist, but music wasn’t buried in his soul and fused to his bones the way it was with Theo and Jordan.
Theo bounced to where Dae was sitting with the group’s purses and jackets, and leaned down to scream in his ear. “Dance with me!”
Dae raised his eyebrows in question. He’d been right: loud music did equal no talking.
Instead of ripping his throat apart in an attempt to verbally communicate, Theo took Dae’s hand and pulled him up, leading him onto the dance floor.
Dae had solid rhythm, and once he got out of his head and let himself go, Theo hardly recognized him.
Occasionally, he came back to himself and reached for Theo’s hand or waist, and they’d sway together for a while until he felt confident enough to dance on his own again.
No lines crossed. Just one friend helping another come out of his shell. The fact that, every so often, their sweaty bodies pressed together was barely a consideration. Theo’s heart wasn’t racing; it was simply matching the music.
Totally normal. They were fine. They were forever. They weren’t letting anything prevent that. They’d agreed.
At a certain point, they were separated by a crush of bodies, and Theo ended up with his arms draped across the shoulders of a burly man with a saucy grin and stubble that tickled his jaw when he leaned in to talk. Theo didn’t understand what he’d said, but he nodded anyway.
The next time he saw Dae, he was doing shots with their group and the beautiful bartender who’d been flirting with Jason all night.
Something about that gave Theo pause, but it shouldn’t have.
Dae was participating, loosening up, having fun—that was a victory.
He even leaned in to say something to a guy who had slid up beside him to get a drink.
Right.
So he was flirting.
It had been a while since he and Jacinda had broken up; it was time to move on.
Good for him. And good for Theo because he could stop babysitting him, like Dae wanted.
The stubbled lumberjack was gone, but Theo had no issue finding another dance partner who eventually pulled him into a booth and kissed him, which wasn’t entirely unwelcome, but he’d promised himself no hookups on nights that were devoted to friends.
So he entered his number into the guy’s phone, de-tangled himself from his persistent hands, and weaved through the crowd until he was at the door.
He hadn’t even known that was his destination until he stepped outside and felt the cool night air against his sticky skin. The sounds of the city were dulled in contrast to the loud music, and he leaned against the wall of the club, enjoying the way it seemed like life had been muffled.
So what if Dae was sitting at a bar flirting with someone else? It was fine, it was so fine, it was the most fine. This was what Theo had wanted.
He took out his phone for a distraction and noticed a few messages from Jason.
Sophia “Jason” Petrillo
Hey, where are you?
Did you leave?
Dae’s drunk. I think he should go home.
You still around? Can you take him?
Theo texted him to meet outside and a few minutes later, Jason came out, his arm secure around Dae, whose head bobbed with every step. “He’s been hitting the shots pretty hard.”
“I got him.” Theo put Dae’s arm around his shoulders and held him around his middle.
Jason patted Theo’s back, the rhythm and warmth of it like a lullaby for his nerves. “You good?”
“Me? Yeah, of course. I’m always good.”
For a moment, he seemed borderline worried, but then he clapped, rubbing his hands together. “I’d go with you, but…”
“The bartender.”
He smiled and winked. “The bartender.”
“Go get ’em, champ.”
“Sing me a ditty.” Dae‘s head fell onto Theo’s shoulder.
Jason let out a spurt of laughter, then backed away. “Good luck.”
“Alright, let’s get you home.”
Jason went back inside, and Theo called a cab. The driver gave Dae a dubious look as they climbed in but then merged into traffic. This was likely nothing compared to what he’d seen.
Dae pressed into Theo’s side, his head on his shoulder, his arm around his middle. “Delight my senses, Theodore.”
“Using my full name.” Theo ignored the warmth spreading through his chest at the sound of it. “You must be feeling dramatic.”
“If you won’t talk, then sing, my angel of music.”
Theo stroked his hair, hoping he wouldn’t puke until after they’d made it home. “What do you mean if I won’t talk? You can’t get me to shut up.”
There was a long silence as the city blurred by, then a sudden, indignant huff. “He laid hands on you, Theo. I wanted to sock him in the mug.”
“Whoa there, slugger.” Theo’s fingers travelled to the back of his neck, giving him a gentle massage that made him hum. Was he talking about the guy in the booth? Had he been watching?
Dae grunted and pushed away, flopping onto the seat, his head resting against the leather. “I’m so sick of waiting.”
“For what?”
“You.” The word was thrown like a grenade, and all three of them—even the driver—braced for impact, sucking in a scared breath, the silence reverberating.
It seemed Theo was the only one equipped to disrupt it, though his voice came out shaky, the thudding of his heart echoing through his body. “Waiting for me to do what, Dae?”
“Come back to me.” He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and hanging his head between them.
His damp hair gently swung in front of his forehead as the car swayed them back and forth.
After a few deep breaths, he fell sideways and rested his head on Theo’s lap.
“You don’t trust me anymore. I wrecked it. ”
There was no one outside of Theo’s immediate family he trusted more than Dae. He was the best thing in his life. He didn’t know how to say that, though, so what came out was: “Fuck, Dae.”
Dae snorted in his lap. “You shouldn’t swear. It’s unbecoming of a gentleman.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You asked to see me. You were in my room. You were on my bed.” Theo glanced at the driver, but his attention was firmly on the road. “I let you see me, and now, we’re not even. Why won’t you let me take care of you? That’s all I want.”
“I—I don’t…” It didn’t matter what he said. Even if he could find the words, Dae wouldn’t remember any of this anyway. So instead of talking, Theo just rubbed his back, encouraging him to take deep breaths.