Nicotine | bxb [ON HOLD]

4

It was Saturday again, so I didn't have work. Ace had been back for a week, and things were starting to go back to normal. Normal for us, at least. I was taking a walk. Sometimes I just needed time by myself, to think. It was hard to think in our small, smoky apartment. Maybe it would help if we kept the smoking to outside, but it was too late for that now for both of us.

I walked by the gas station, debating on whether or not I should go in. I didn't need anything right now, but I'd gone in plenty of times when I didn't need anything. Deciding against it, I kept walking. When I got a little past it, I looked back, and I'm glad I did. There, leaning against the side of the gas station store, was Byron.

He was looking down at his phone, a coffee cup in one hand, and one of his feet on the wall behind him. He looked like he was modeling for something, the way his dark hair fell over his forehead, and his pink lips were slightly parted. I turned and walked towards him, and he looked up as soon as my feet hit the gravel that surrounded the back of the building.

"On your break?"

"Yeah."

"Mind if I join you?" I gestured towards the wall he was leaning on.

"Not at all. Just don't lean on the door. You never know when it might open." He smiled at me, and I made sure to avoid the door that said Employees Only. It made us stand a little closer than I would have, but I didn't feel like falling backwards if someone opened the door.

"That coffee is shit." I pointed towards the gas station cup he was holding.

"I know." He sighed, and took another drink of it.

"Then why are you doing that to yourself?"

"It's the only coffee close enough, and I don't have a very long break."

"Just don't drink any at all then." He smiled again, and I couldn't decide between focusing on his lips or his blue green eyes. His lips were seriously a very distracting pink.

"I'm afraid that just won't work for me. I can't go a day without coffee. You should understand that."

He didn't say it in an offensive way or anything. It was obvious that I was addicting to smoking. I came here all the time to buy cigarettes, and I probably smelled like smoke right now. I was so used to the smell that I didn't notice it, but I wondered if it bothered him.

"I see. Well, then enjoy your shit coffee."

"Thanks, I'll try." He took another sip, and pulled a face. "It gets even more bitter near the end." I laughed, and he set the cup down on the ground beside him.

"So, what brings you to the back of the gas station?"

"Just taking a walk, then I noticed you leaning against the wall. It looked comfortable so I thought I'd join you."

"And find out that it's not very comfortable after all." He smiled again.

"It's not really. You guys should invest in a bench or something."

"We should. I usually just walk during my break though, so I don't really mind."

I had been coming to this gas station for the last few years, and had seen quite a few employees come and go. Working at a gas station wasn't exactly anyone's ideal job. Byron had only been here a few months, and I hardly knew anything about him. All I knew was that he was easy to talk to, and I felt at ease standing beside him.

"Where do you walk?" We didn't live in the most scenic area. In fact, there wasn't really anywhere to walk but down the streets.

"Just around. I don't live very far from here, so sometimes I walk home and back."

"Oh I see. There's not much to see around here, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, I found that out pretty early on. I have to drive a few miles just to find a place I walk my dog."

"What's your dog's name?" His eyes had lit up the instant he mentioned his dog, and I knew I had found something we could pass the time talking about.

"Sebastian."

"Sebastian?" I mean, I wasn't expecting Brutus or Rover from him, but I never would have thought of Sebastian as a dog name.

"You know, like, Sebastian Stan." He blushed ever so slightly, and I felt a strange emotion stir within me when he did. It was a confusing feeling, and it made me want to end the conversation right then and there, and continue my walk. But I couldn't just leave when I was finally having a conversation with him that wasn't over the counter.

"Oh I see. Celebrity crush?" The guy was obviously not straight, so I didn't think he'd have a problem with the question.

"Yeah, you could say that. I was obsessed with him for years. Ever since I saw him in Captain America."

"I was always more into Chris Evans, but Sebastian Stan is quite something too." He was looking at me with wide eyes, his mouth slightly open.

"You're-you're into guys?" I tried to hold back a grin at his flustered face, but I was finding it more difficult by the second. He was instantly embarrassed for asking the question, and decided to put him out of his misery by answering quickly.

"Yes I am. I'm assuming you are too if you named your dog after a guy celebrity."

"Well, yes. I'm pan to be precise, but yeah." He was still blushing, and I was finding it hard not to stare at his face. He was beautiful. There was no other word for it.

"Oh!" He looked at me quickly, eyes lit up again. "So that guy who came in here the other day is your boyfriend?"

"Who?" I mean, he could only be talking about Ace, but how he made the connection was beyond me.

"He was kind of tall, dark hair and eyes, and I think his name started with an 'A'." I was looking at him blankly, trying to figure out how he had traced Ace back to me.

"Never mind, sorry, I must be mistaken." His cheeks were pink again, and I knew I should probably say something soon to let him know he was right. "He just used your number for your rewards account, and I just made the connection, but I guess-"

"Yeah, he's my boyfriend. You seems to have noticed a lot about him. Were you checking him out?"

"What? No! I just saw your number and wondered who he was, so I couldn't help but-"

"Dude, chill. I was just joking." He had been talking so fast I almost didn't catch everything he said. It was adorable how easily he got flustered.

"Oh, oh I see. Well, I wasn't checking him out. He's all yours, man."

If only, I thought bitterly.