Count On Me

VIII

Cal:

"Dinner is ready!" The guy named Elliot yells. I stand up, silently telling Xavier to sit tight and let me get the food for the both of us.

I find the two men in the kitchen, and the young man named Elliot hands me two bowls of food.

"Thanks. This looks great." I say smiling and heading back towards the living room.

"Hey." The other guy says. Issac I think?

"Yeah?"

Elliot raises an eyebrow at him, and the man suddenly seems to stumble over his own words.
"Just—just be careful with him." He manages.

"Of course." I say.

"You've never been with a guy like this before, have you?" He asks.

"No." I admit.

"It's one thing to start something and not finish it." Issac says, "but it's also one thing to start something and not be able to carry through with anything. Finishing is tough, but starting something of harder, it's commitment."

He pauses then, stepping close to me. I want to lean back, but his eyes are hopeful and scared.
"I almost threw away the greatest guy on earth for me, and I didn't know it until it was too late." He glances back at Elliot. "Of course I was relentless."

I smile. "Persistence is key."

Issac presses his lips together, and he blushes then, glancing down at his shoes. "Yeah. He's a great guy. So is Xavier."

"He seems confident." I comment.

"He just doesn't want to show how vulnerable he is." Elliot murmurs then.

I smile and give a silent nod, Elliot retuning the gesture and tossing an arm around Issac.

I make my way back to Xavier to find him watching the tv, pale eyes darting back and forth, bored.

"Here." I say handing him a bowl.

He takes it graciously, and it's like the small time apart let the tension and awkwardness fade away. We talked about our jobs and our hobbies, our favorite colors and books and movies, and even some personal things like embarrassing stories and what our lives were like. It felt like nothing was holding either of us back, the open rawness just showed how honest and vulnerable we are with each other. It was pure and exhilarating, shy and bold at the same time.

Xavier saw me out the door a little after 10, and I take his hand, giving it a peck before letting go. His eyes were warm, but I could see his mouth silently trying to find the right words.

"What is it?" I ask quietly.

He's standing on the doorstep, hovering over me a bit since he's a step above me. He bites his lip, and the slight action makes my eyes zero in on it. We both notice it, and he smirks, glancing away and giving me the chance to look back at his eyes. I smile back at him guiltily, and he look back at me with a shy smile, those pale-purple eyes looking even more vibrant with the moonlight shining on him.

"You're okay with this?" He asks gesturing between us. His arms then wrap around himself, curling back and leaving me there to answer for myself.

"Well...yeah." I say laughing quietly.

"It doesn't bother you that you're with me? Me specifically?"

I shrug. "Yeah we just met, but I have this feeling that we're pretty good together."

Xavier pauses, looking a bit pale, or maybe that's just the moonlight.

I reach over, rubbing his shoulder. "I like you." I say smirking.