13. He Kissed Me Back #2
"Is that what you want?" Leo asks quietly. The question stops me cold. Is it? I don't know anymore. Forrest is great on paper. He's exactly what I was looking for three weeks ago.
But you kissed me back. I know you did. That night. Leo's mouth on mine, his hands on my sides. It lasted maybe three seconds before he pulled away, but it was real. I didn't imagine it.
"I want…" I start, but Leo's already moving toward the pantry door.
"You should go get ready. Don't want to be late."
"Leo—"
"I'm fine, Max. Really." He's not looking at me.
"Have a good time tonight." He slips out before I can say anything else.
I stand there in the pantry, surrounded by canned goods and pasta boxes, trying to breathe normally.
Two weeks of him avoiding me, shutting me down, making it crystal clear he doesn't want—
But he kissed me back. I know it.
I press my palms against my eyes. This is stupid.
I'm being stupid. Leo said no. Multiple times, in multiple ways.
I need to respect that. I need to move on.
Stop hovering in doorways waiting for something that isn't coming instead of…
Instead of what? Pining after my best friend who doesn't want me like that?
When I come back into the kitchen, Leo's stirring the pot again as if nothing happened. The others are setting the table, chattering about what Elliot's working on.
"Actually," JP says, looking up as I emerge. "Leo grabbed tickets for all of us. So we're all going to the tournament."
I blink. "All of us?"
"Regular admission," Leo says to the pot. "Figured everyone might want to go, and there was no way to split the extra ticket among us, so I got more." He glances around the kitchen, and the guys are smiling. "And it's supposed to be a good show this year."
Everyone's nodding, excited. Haru's already pulling up the tournament info on his phone. Elliot's asking JP about the design classes.
"We will not be watching you," Haru says seriously, still looking at his phone. "We are simply also attending."
Leo already had tickets. For us. Those were supposed to be our seats, up in the mezzanine, the two of us watching the bots tear each other apart.
But I'm going down to the floor with Forrest's team, so Leo turned it into a group outing instead of going alone to the thing we were supposed to do together.
I'm standing here trying to work out if this is really about not wasting tickets or if he just couldn't face it.
"That's great," I hear myself say. "That'll be fun. We can all hang out after." Leo makes a noncommittal sound.
"Max and Forrest will be in the battle area," Haru explains to Elliot. "But we will have excellent viewing from regular seats."
Right. Because Forrest got me floor access. The doorbell rings, and my stomach flips. "That's probably him."
"I'll get it!" Luca's voice calls from somewhere in the house, followed by the sound of the front door opening.
Footsteps in the hallway, then Forrest appears in the kitchen doorway. He's wearing jeans and a nice button-up, his hair slightly damp like he just showered. He's got that easy smile on his face, the one that made me say yes to tonight in the first place.
"Hey!" He spots me, and his smile widens. "Wow, you look great."
"Thanks. You too."
Del appears behind Forrest, practically draped over Luca. Del's got that lazy, satisfied grin he gets when he's been kissing his boyfriend.
"Forrest!" Del reaches out for a fist bump. "Good to see you, man."
"You too." Forrest returns it. "You guys coming tonight?"
"Nah, we're gonna miss this one." Del pulls Luca closer, "We've got other plans.
" Luca turns bright red and looks like he wants to disappear into the floor, but he's smiling as Del presses a kiss to his temple, shameless and affectionate.
Forrest grins, warm, but not making it weird.
He's not making Luca feel embarrassed about it.
That. That's what I want. Someone who looks at me the way Del looks at Luca. Someone who makes it obvious that there's nowhere else they'd rather be. Someone who wants me.
"The rest of us will be there, though," JP's saying. "Regular seats, but we'll be cheering for your team."
"That's awesome!" Forrest seems genuinely happy about it. "I'll wave when I'm in the ring."
Everyone's chattering now: Haru asking about the bots' design requirements, Elliot asking about the scoring system, JP making a joke about robot violence. Normal friend group chaos. Leo's still at the stove. Not participating. Not looking at me.
"We should probably head out," Forrest says. "Parking might be tricky."
"Yeah. Right." I grab my jacket from the back of a kitchen chair. "I'll see you guys there?"
Chorus of agreement. Haru waves enthusiastically.
JP shoots me a thumbs-up. Elliot nods. Leo keeps stirring.
I follow Forrest out to the hallway, trying to shake off the weird heaviness in my chest. This is going to be fun.
Robots, good company, someone who actually wants to talk about engineering without their eyes glazing over.
Leo can be strange and cryptic in the kitchen all he wants.
I pause at the door. Just for a second. Long enough to glance back toward the kitchen, even though I can't see him from here.
He kissed me back… I know he kissed me back.
But he's made it clear that doesn't mean anything. And I don't know why he's being weird about tonight, it's just a friend, just robots, just a night out. I can't figure him out, and I'm done trying for one evening.
"Ready?" Forrest asks, holding the door open.
"Yeah." I step outside, and I don't look back.