Arlo John (boyxboy)

Chapter 8

Three minutes is enough time for me to make a quick assumption about a person especially if all they do is spend the time talking about themselves instead of asking me any questions.

The timer finally rings after an eternity, signifying it's time for the next round and for us to rotate seats.

I find myself in front of a young man I assume to be about my age and raise an eyebrow. He has a black cross earring dangling from his ear and a large tattoo on his neck that I can't quite make out.

"Oh, uh, was I not supposed to rotate?" he asks, placing a hand on the back of his neck in apparent embarrassment.

"No," I tell him. "The women rotate."

He raises an apologetic hand as he stands up quickly.

"It's fine," I tell him. "You can sit. I was getting bored anyway."

He grins and takes a seat. "You too?"

I nod. "My friend thought this would be a good idea."

He laughs, his blue eyes shining. "No luck, eh?"

"Not yet," I say. "How about you?"

His smile grows. "Seems I just got some."

"I'm not so sure about that," I say, unable to hold back a smile of my own.

He leans back and smirks. "What's your name?"

"Arlo," I tell him. "But I go by AJ."

"AJ, huh?" he says. "I'm Emmett. But I go by Emmy."

"Emmy?" I ask.

Emmett laughs again, clapping his hands together.
"Kidding."

"I'm calling you Emmy from now on," I say.

"From now on?" he says as he leans across the table, his eyes piercing into mine. "Shall we get to know each other, AJ?"

I'm a little taken aback. If I wasn't used to Dakota's flirty nature, Emmett's words would've surprised me more.

"Sure," I say. "I'd like to have more friends."

Emmett snorts. "Right."

The bell sounds and people begin to rotate but Emmett doesn't leave right away. He grabs a napkin from the table and quickly scribbles down his phone number on it before handing it to me.

"Nice to meet you, AJ," he says, placing a hand on my shoulder. "See you."

"You too, Emmy," I say, earning another laugh from the peculiar fellow before he walks away.

Well, to spare the details of an uneventful, boring last few rounds, no one else caught my attention as much as Emmett had. And when I catch up with Rory, he shows me a long list of phone numbers written on a paper he had brought with him.

"Jesus," I say. "Such a player."

He shoves my arm as we walk. "Shut up."

I tell him I have to use the bathroom before we leave but I should've known not to. It seems the bathroom has become a familiar rendezvous point for me and Dakota. It seems I had forgotten Marcy's bold date request.

He looks down at me as he always did and his lips form a straight line as if he's disappointed in me. I narrow my eyes and fold my arms across my chest like a child.

"What?" I ask, glaring up at my boss.

His lips curve up in a smirk in an instant and the sight is bewildering.

"Speed dating, huh?" Dakota says. "How's it going?"

"Great," I tell him. "Run along now."

He laughs, the same hearty laugh he did when we were together and it brings me back for a moment. A rush of sadness consumes me at the sound I didn't know I missed.

Because when Dakota laughed like that, nothing else in the entire world mattered. And I didn't realize how much I cherished those moments until they were gone.

"Shit," I say, my voice coming out no louder than a whisper. 

"Are you okay?" Dakota asks, his smile fading as I look to the floor, shaking my head.

"Yeah," I say, clearing my throat before looking back up at him. "I have to get back now."

I turn away quickly but Dakota's warm hand softly grabs my arm and halts me. I look down at his hand and he doesn't remove it, his eyes baring straight through mine.

"Let go?" I say.

"Wait," he says, his hand still on me. "Did something happen?"

"No," I tell him, pulling away as his hand drops to his side. "I really have to get back."

Dakota doesn't press me further and allows me the space to leave. I half expected him to stop me again but who was I kidding? I'm not in some movie.

And I probably would've burst into tears if he had.

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sorry for short chapter (,: