Shades Of Blue

14. Reunion

*WARNING FOR UNDERAGE DRINKING, DRUGS, AND SMOKING*

Benjie

September

Age 20

Their shot glasses clinked together in cheers before they downed the liquor inside. Neel had taken Benjie to a pub he frequented on his school's campus. It wasn't too crowded, Neel knew Benjie didn't care for crowds, and had a relaxed atmosphere.

"Another round?" Benjie asked the bartender as Neel's face soured.

"That one burned," Neel said, explaining that he usually stuck to beer.

"It's not that bad," Benjie claimed as he watched the bartender pour another round.

"When did you start drinking shots?"

"I dunno. A month ago, maybe."

Neel held his filled glass with an uncertainty Benjie picked up on.

"You don't have to drink it," he chuckled and ordered Neel a beer.

It turned out that booze did help to ease their nerves with one another, even if it was only to a tiny degree. If tonight continued on this path, Benjie decided that he would work up the nerve to ask Neel to come home with him. Nothing needed to happen, but all he really wanted was to be alone with his old flame again. Just to talk alone, one on one, would be the best thing to happen to Benjie in years.

Neel adjusted his glasses and looked him over. "Why'd you cut your hair?"

Benjie ran his hand over the short scruff covering his scalp, shyly looking down at his shoes then back up at Neel. "I thought it'd make me look older."

A toothy grin spread across Neel's face. "It didn't work."

"Thanks, I noticed," Benjie chortled. The truth was that Benjie's face was chubby in the wrong places, both blessing and cursing him to look younger than he was. Benjie hated it. Neel was standing next to him with a filled-out beard and chiseled features while Benjie looked like some kid visiting from high school to get a taste of college life. How would Neel ever take him seriously when he looked so fragile? He would have to prove himself, prove that he had grown and that he wasn't that weak, shy kid anymore.

He set his empty shot glass down on the bar. "Hey, you remember the nook in the treehouse?" he wondered, ready to tell Neel about how his loft was set up. He kept quiet when a young woman approached them and placed a hand on Neel's shoulder.

"I was looking for you," she told Neel.

Surprised to see her, Neel greeted her with a hug then motioned to Benjie. "Sorry, I have plans tonight."

"Awe, c'mon. You promised you'd show me a couple moves," she nudged him and smiled at Benjie. "You don't mind, do you?"

Neel flashed him an apologetic glance.

"Go ahead," Benjie said despite himself. "I don't mind."

With a sigh, Neel mouthed the word 'sorry' and said, "this'll just take a couple minutes." Forcing a smirk, he offered his hand to his female friend and guided her out onto a small dance floor in front of a stage. Neel took both of her hands and showed her a few basic Salsa moves, stepping back and forth. Periodically, he would twirl her around, causing her to glow through her fake tan.

From a bar stool, Benjie watched them dance, downing another shot. It wasn't shocking that Neel learned how to dance or that he still had the attention of various women. He wafted of the same confidence he always had, but now he seemed a little colder. It was nothing Benjie could really put his finger on, just a feeling that Neel's edges had sharpened over time. Even so, he put on a fake smile and flattered those around him, teaching the girls to dance, making them laugh when he twirled them around. This all seemed too familiar for Benjie's liking, so he went outside to smoke a cigarette on his own.