Right in Front of You

22. Dangerous Attraction

"Here." Joey shoved a plastic bag in Kyle's hand.

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "What's this?"

"Two cans of coke, croissants, a bag of chips and a bag of sunflower seeds," Joey answered, looking everywhere except at Kyle.

"Sunflower seeds," he said skeptically. He knew very well what this meant, but he wasn't going to make it any easier for Joey.

"Look, I don't know what proper stargazing food is, okay?" he said exasperated. "Just take it and have a lovely evening outside."

To do it, or not to do it. This was so hard. Ah, screw it, he couldn't help it. "Cause I may be bad, but I'm perfectly good at it," he sang.

Joey blanched and held up his hands. "No, Kyle, please."

"Come on, the next verse was the relevant one. And I didn't even get to the chains and whips part."

"Stop it, seriously."

"Why the hell are you so nervous? It's not like it's your first time."

"No, it's her first time." He paused. "And the first time it actually matters for me, too."

Oh. Now Kyle felt bad for teasing him. He still didn't know why Joey was so nervous about something good about to happen. He should be excited, but whatever. Kyle was done making fun of him, at least until the morning.

"Okay, just give me some blankets. It's probably gonna be a while."

It was Joey's turn to raise his eyebrows. "Blankets, huh? Want a condom, too?"

Before Joey could make a move to dodge or open his mouth to laugh, Kyle punched his shoulder.

"I have a girlfriend, asswipe. And even if I didn't, Kay's just a friend. And even if she weren't, I wouldn't take advantage of her when she's so vulnerable."

"Wow, you've given this a lot of thought," Joey said rubbing his shoulder. "When are you breaking up with Cecily anyway?"

Kyle halted just as he was about to bump his fist against Joey's shoulder again. He wasn't sure he still had the girlfriend. "Actually, we're kind of on a break."

This drew Joey's attention from imminent love making because he looked fascinated. "Really? But just a break. Not broken up for good?"

He couldn't even tell the difference. Not that Cecily had spoken to him since. He'd sent her a text at one point asking if she was okay, but she never answered.

"I guess not. But why would you even care if we broke up or not?"

"I don't know, probably because the two of you have nothing in common? What do you even talk about?"

Kyle frowned. "I don't know. What she did that day, what her friends did, what she thinks about certain things. Never a dull moment with her."

Joey rolled his eyes, but dropped it and pushed him toward the door. "See you in the morning."

"What, really? You expect us to stay out all night? For something that will probably take you ten minutes?" Kyle said to the closed door. "Ten minutes is me being optimistic," he mumbled to no one in particular and headed around the cabin to the patio. Joey forgot the blanket.