Trust Me

Ch. 3

The next day was pretty quiet; the book signing went smoothly, and Leon and Sav made it through dinner without being recognized for the first time.  As they walked to the parking garage after dinner, discussing the day's events, Sav stopped in her tracks and grabbed Leon's hand. 

"Le! Look!"

Leon's eyes followed her outstretched arm to see that same head of curly hair walking down the street. "Sav, stop it- that might not even be him." Sav shook her head, squeezing Leon's hand. 

"But what if it is? You should go talk to him!"

Leon glared at her, blushing furiously. "Sav, he might not even be gay! Why would I go talk to him if I don't even know him?" Sav rolled her eyes and began pulling on his arm. "Le, I love you so much, and I've really tried to be patient with you over the last six years. There is one thing I will not let you do: I will not let you be lonely, which is what has happened since grad school." She looked back at him, staring hard. 

"I'm tired of watching you refuse to approach men you're attracted to. Remember that thing about your comfort zone? We're starting today."

Leon drug his feet, trying to slow her down, but knew that her tenacity would always win. He stared at the ground, trying to hide the heat on his cheeks as he pretended she was pulling him to the parking garage.

"Hey! Hello!" Sav called, waving her arm. "Hi, yes- my friend here thinks you're incredibly handsome, and would love to get to know you."

Michael glanced at Leon, who refused to look up. "He doesn't seem very interested, in my opinion." He looked back up at Sav, who furrowed her brow at Leon. "You sure he's okay with this?"

Sav pulled Leon up next to her, patting his back and giving him a reassuring smile as he looked up at her. "He's shy; he has a habit of avoiding anything that scares him, which includes approaching others." She turned to look at Michael, who was eye level with her. "Give him a chance to open up. Just one dinner, and if it doesn't feel right, then you guys don't have to see each other again."

Michael looked back at Leon, who did his best to avoid the piercing gaze. "How about this; I'll follow you on social media- my public social media- and if you're ever ready to talk, I'll respond."

Leon met Michael's eyes, his mouth agape.

"That sounds perfect, actually," Sav said, smiling at him and bringing out her phone. "Let me pull up his username."

Michael nodded, pulling out his phone as well. Sav showed him her screen as Leon stood next to her, hands folded in front of him. Michael typed on his phone for a second, shooting it a small grin when he pulled up the account. "An author, huh?"

"Sure as sure- in fact, we're here right now on a small signing tour," Sav said, putting her phone away as Leon's dinged. "You live here?"

Michael stared at her for a moment and clenched his jaw. "Sorry, I don't really give out that information." Sav put her hands up, nodding. "That's okay; you don't have to tell if you don't want to."

Michael sighed, shoving his hands in his front pockets. "Okay, well I have somewhere to be tonight, so it was really nice meeting you guys." He looked at Leon for a brief moment before turning to walk away. "I hope to hear from you."

Leon watched him leave, his jaw still hanging as his face turned the same shade of red. 

"Wow, Le, it seems like he likes you- and he was so considerate!" Sav said, nudging Leon. "Sav, I love you." Leon looked up at her with a frown. "Please don't ever do that again. That was mortifying."

Sav shrugged, hugging him. "I hate to see you let opportunity slip through your fingers, Le, and you've done it so many times since grad school- since Toby."