Learning Curves ✔ (bxb)

Chapter 10

Rowan^^

Theo's POV

Michael's car is nice. Black exterior with beige interior leather seats.

We pull up into the parking lot of an English pub. It looks pretty appealing with its brightly coloured signs. Loud music blares through the speakers, and the inside is pretty loud from both the music and the amount of people chatting. Michael informs the hostess there that we already have a table. We are led to the back where it's quieter compared to the loud, boisterous people at the front where all the sports games are being displayed.

A broad shouldered man with short, light brown hair is seated on one side of the booth, and I nervously slide into the other side before Michael joins me.

"Hey. I'm Rowan. Nice to meet you." The man greets in a low voice, extending a hand to shake. I take it.

"Theo. N-Nice to meet you too." I swallow nervously. This guy is actually pretty big... and strong. His grip is pretty strong.

"Hey." Michael greets, smirking at his best friend who rolls his eyes.

"I saw you less than 2 hours ago, dude. No need for formal greetings." Rowan snorts before looking at me. "You're special aren't you? Mike hardly ever goes out of his way to meet a friend." I hear Rowan grunt before he glares at Michael, so I assume Michael just kicked his friend under the table.

"Mike?" I question curiously.

"Mike, Michael, Mikey. Whatever you wanna call him." Rowan chuckles.

"It really would be in your best interest to avoid calling me Mikey." Michael wrinkles his nose, "and what do you mean special?"

"I'm just saying, whenever I've met a friend of yours, you never put so much effort into this. Seems more like I'm meeting your boyfriend." Rowan comments before grunting again, glaring at Michael who, I assume, kicked him under the table again.

"Shut up." Michael hisses, before smiling at me, "He's just joking, don't worry." A waiter comes and quickly takes our orders before leaving.

"Yeah, joking," Rowan discreetly rolls his eyes, "So, what do you study again? Michael says you're still in undergrad."

"Er... Psychology." I answer hesitantly.

"Nice. I'm studying masters to be a Physiologist maybe." Rowan nods his head. He seems like a pretty okay guy.

"How... how long have you been friends for?" I ask curiously. Rowan lets out a chuckle.

"Ah, a few years. Met year 13 (grade 12). We got along really well though. Became best friends pretty quickly." Michael answers while Rowan nods in confirmation.

"Interesting. I met my best friend in year 8 or 9 (grades 7 or 8). I met the other people I regularly hang out with around year 10 (grade 9) though." I inform, tapping the table quietly.

"Oh, how many people do you usually hang with? People person?" Rowan raises an eyebrow curiously.

"Only 3. I'm... not very good with new people." I admit sheepishly.

"Really? You seemed pretty okay with meeting me, and Mike says you two met at the cafe, with you at the counter... don't you have to deal with a lot of people?"

"Yeah. Part of the reason I took the job was to improve my people skills." I admit with a small smile.

"What about you guys? What do you do for fun?" I ask both Michael and Rowan.

"Gym." They both reply in sync before snickering at each other.

"Uhh... working out?" I question, slightly confused. Michael nods.

"We're gym buddies, I guess. We both love to work out at the gym, it gives us something to do, and it's refreshing." He explains. I shudder, causing them both to laugh.

"Not your thing, I assume." Rowan chuckles.

"Yeah, no. My friend Ethan does dance and loves to go on jogs. He's probably the most athletic out of all of us. My other friend Liam doesn't dance, he's more into music. Liam sings and plays the piano, but also regularly goes jogging." I explain. They both nod understandingly.

"You said you have 3 other friends. What about the last one? Does he also exercise regularly?" Rowan asks.

"Ah, my last friend is a girl actually. Her name is Brianna, but we call her Brie. She doesn't work out, no. She plays flute, and is studying business at the same university. We're all at this university, actually."

"A girl huh? Any one of you or your friends crushing on her? That's usually the case I find." Rowan comments casually. I feel Michael tense beside me, much to my confusion.

"Uh... no. We're way too close to date. She's more like a sister. Plus, two of us are gay anyway, and the third one's Bi." It slips out of my mouth before I process it. I freeze when I realize my mistake.

"I... I mean... er..." There's really no way to cover up what I said without lying, and I've always been a really shit liar.

"Hey, hey. It's fine. Not gonna judge." Michael reassures me. He's got a fond smile on his face that makes my insides melt from happiness. I'm so grateful he's not homophobic!

"Yeah, it'd be really hypocritical of me to judge, anyway." Rowan says, tapping his fingers on the table absentmindedly.

"What?" I ask, surprised and slightly confused.

"I'm bi." Rowan smiles at me. I smile back. Michael says nothing, although his jaw tenses the tiniest bit when Rowan and I smile at each other, making my heart sink a little. Does that mean Michael as no interest in guys at all?

The food comes right at that moment, and we all relish the amazing smells of some really unhealthy fish and chips, fries, burgers, etc. All three of us are pretty quick to dig in, previous conversation lost.

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After dinner (all 3 of us split the bill), Michael drops me off with Rowan in the car. Again, I ask if they'd want to stop in for a quick drink or if they need anything, but they both politely decline and drive off after saying their goodbyes.

"Hey Theo! How was dinner with your man and your man's friend?" Ethan waggles his eyebrows at me, sat at the kitchen table munching on some chips. I roll my eyes.

"He's not my man. I don't even think he's into guys." I sigh. Ethan frowns.

"Why not?"

"Sexualities came up as a topic when we were talking. His friend said he was bi, but Michael didn't say anything." I say, disappointment tugging at my heart.

"Maybe he was nervous. He didn't know how you'd react to him being into guys and asking you out for dinner twice." Ethan suggests, and yeah, that seems like a pretty solid argument...

"Whatever. I shouldn't get my hopes up." I shrug. Liam comes out from his room with an empty cup.

"Hey Theo. Your date went well?" Liam asks, filling up his cup with water. Ethan laughs as I scowl. Liam looks confused.

"It wasn't a date. Even if that was his original intention, his friend was there anyway." I explain.

"Oh, sorry. Ethan told me it was a date." Liam smiles apologetically. Apology accepted Liam. Ethan however...

"You ass! You knew it wasn't a date. Why'd you tell Li it was?" I scowl at the boy who's currently trying to stifle laughter.

"I just thought it was amusing." Ethan chuckles.

"Soooo, what about the friend, eh?" Ethan smirks. I roll my eyes again.

"Yes, I'll admit, he was hot." I grumble. Ethan cheers.

"Maybe you should stop chasing after every attractive body you see." I huff.

"I don't chase after everybody! You and Liam are off limits, and so is Brie." Ethan refutes.

"That doesn't count and you know it, E. We're all too close to even consider dating each other." Liam laughs.