Three Means Coffee

52

"The plan for the party was that all the guests would be present for dinner and cake, and then my family would move home to let the young people go wild, dance, and not watch them fool around. This moment was approaching, and somehow it turned out that we gathered in the middle, we danced, and of course, we were with Adam close to each other. At some point, we turned our way, and he approached me confidently, leaned toward me, and suddenly pushed me so that I fell to the floor. I didn't even notice when the music stopped and several phones were aimed at me..."

"Błażej..." Makary squeezed his hands tighter. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't..."

"Alright, I'd tell you anyway. Adam said something like "Are you that drunk you tried to kiss me?!" He spoke so loud and clear, his eyes darting over my friends and family, after all, this was his audience. "And I'm not sorry, you would do it without hesitation even sober", he said. Sometimes I still dream of the cackle that he gave them, the looks of relatives, and probably only Monika's parents smiled with relief that in the end, someone other than their daughter would be a disgrace to the family. "Sorry, but you were the only person I could test how far I could go for a role. It wasn't very informative, I didn't even have to try," he whispered and turned on his heel."

"What a...

"I was in shock, but you should see what fury seized Monika. All I heard was the click of her heels, she stood in front of him and slapped him. She once confided to me that she was even ready to take off her high heels and try to stab him with her shoe, but luckily my uncle stopped her. Well, the party suddenly ended, and everyone was too confused. My parents just wanted to know if it was true, and then you know, they separated me and told me to leave right after high school. It was hard until the holidays, but for the fall they found themselves some other drama."

"I'm sorry," said Makary sadly. "I understand why you have trust issues. It's one thing to be heartbroken but experience love, and quite another to be deceived." He was even more devastated when Błażej pulled his hands out of his and started rubbing the insides of his hands.

"Do you...?"

"No, but it was close a couple of times in the first month. Monika then did her best to keep me busy with caring for Tymek and reminding me that I must be an uncle to him. She tried to make me realize that I had to be strong and be a role model for Baśka. I know she wanted to help me too, but she didn't know how. What was Krystian doing then... Every two hours I had to give him a sign that I was alive. He allowed me a maximum of three minutes late, then bombarded me with calls and texts." Błażej laughed and smiled as if the greatest thing about this story was that he found out that someone genuinely cared about him.

"I'm glad you have people like that in your life." Makary grabbed his hand again and put it to his cheek. "I'd like to be one of them too."

"You are already." Błażej smiled at him. "Thank you for reminding me that having someone hold your hand can be a nice feeling."

"And you think I could just go home after something like that?" Makary closed his eyes, allowing himself to enjoy these words and the warmth he felt on his cheek.

"Then stay if you can," the first year replied, trying to hide his blush.

"Are you sure?" Makary almost jumped with joy when he heard the confirmation. "I'll just take a nap in the chair if I have to, or at most, I'll sleep in tomorrow."

"We'll see about that, but we still have time for one more tea, don't we?"