Cute, Cozy, Queer Stories

Part 39: Jules & Zee (continued)

 When they were both moving Zee's furniture and boxes into the house, in the days afterwards as they navigated who would use the bathroom first in the morning, in the evenings when they watched Netflix and learned each other's nighttime habits—and all the time—Jules found it hard to look Zee in the eyes. Their eyes were light, bright blue, and seemed to sparkle in every light. With their dark, curly hair and a comforting, patient smile, Zee's presence was somehow both relaxing and exciting. Jules looked forward to—and also dreaded—every minute with them.

"Are you going running?" Lounging on the couch, laptop in their lap, Zee looked up as Jules headed towards the door. Dressed in sweatpants and a zipped sweatshirt, Jules's running attire wasn't too different from their normal wardrobe. They'd wanted to 'dress up' around Zee, but quickly realized they didn't know how—they didn't know what or who Zee was even interested in.

"Yup." Jules glanced at Zee's sparkling blue eyes and saw them glance from Jules's shoes, up their frame, back to their eyes. Jules tightened their laces needlessly, biting their lip and trying to hide a blush. Sweaty work-out clothes. So sexy. Not. They held in a sigh.

"Can I come with you?"

Looking up, Jules's eyes widened.

Zee chuckled. "Or not."

"N-no. I mean, yeah. Of course." Jules smiled. "That'd be nice."

"Are you fast?" Closing the laptop, Zee got up from the couch.

"No, not really. It's more of a run-walk. I don't do times or anything. Just for fun. Like, I did races a while ago, but then..." They paused. Rambling. Stop it! "Yeah. No. I'm not fast."

"That's great. I'm not fast at all. Let me go change. Two minutes." Zee dashed upstairs.

Sitting down on the chair, Jules itched at their jaw. They never mentioned running before. Maybe they want to spend time with me? Their thumb found a pimple. Fuck. Don't be an idiot. You're just friends. Don't even go down that road. They'd certainly been down it enough times. But, as often as they told themself not to fall for Zee, they couldn't help it. Probably because it was too late.

Zee returned, wearing black leggings and a long, fitted pullover. A purple-yellow-black-white headband kept their dark curls out of their eyes, now seeming to shine even brighter.

They're pretty. Pretty people date pretty people. The end. Looking into Zee's eyes, Jules sighed soundlessly.

"Ready?" Zee gave a small, comforting smile that had already become familiar.

"Yup." Jules got to their feet.

Heading out the door, they took a deep breath of crisp, fall air. Zee followed, closing the door behind them. "So, how far do you usually go?"

"Not too far, just down to the park." Jules nodded to the left.

"I'm not sure where that is. But I'll follow you."

"Great." Jules started down the sidewalk, past the neat, small front lawns and mostly-dead gardens and little square or almost-square houses. Jogging at a steady, thumping pace, they usually noticed the neighborhood's little details—the pumpkins set outside, the trees that had lost more leaves or gained more color, skeletons and fake cobwebs waving in the breeze—but this time, they couldn't take their attention off the figure jogging at their side.

"Do you run a lot?" Jules asked.

"I used to do 5K's and 10K's every year. I even did a marathon once," Zee answered.