Simon & Arthur vs. the cupids agenda

Chapter 4 - Arthur

Arthur

"Sure", we said simultaneously, looked at each other and laughed.

"Look at them", mom said as if we were a couple taking prom pictures.

"Here you go", said Simon's mother, whom for the record was really pretty. Not that I'm going for girls now. No, no, no, I'm still hecka gay, but I'm just saying. She gave Simon 20 bucks, and we were on our way to the elevator.

"So, when did you get here?", I asked. It wasn't just to fill the silence, - the awkward elevator music did that all on it's own - but I was actually interested in this guy. He looked cute, and he was a guy, and I had been lonely in the city of New York for three weeks, desperate for someone my age I could talk to.

"Just four days ago", he said, and before I was able to open my mouth, he continued:

"My sister Nora and our dad came with us, but they had to go back home, cause Nora has this cooking class".

"Nice, how old is Nora?", I asked.

"She turned 13 last month. The two week long cooking class was a gift from grandma, who obviously didn't know we were coming here for a couple of weeks". He said it with an ironic tone, which actually made the whole statement kind of funny, and I couldn't help but laugh. We got out of the elevator to a busy, but clean lobby. We got out the door, and the sun was shining like crazy, and its light was reflected in all the cars driving by, so we were both blinded a bit.

"So, do you live here?", Simon asked once the light man across the street turned green.

"Um, no. My mom got a promotion, and was asked by her company to work out here. She said she'd agree to it, if I could get an internship for the summer. I'm going back to Ohio this fall to live with my dad and finish my last year of college there."

And just like that we were in the line at Starbucks.

"You want to study law? Follow your mom's footsteps?", he asked me.

"Yeah, my dad is actually a lawyer too. Mom and dad haven't split up yet, but mom had to come here for the job. It was probably best for everyone". Okay, hear me out here: I didn't want to spill my heart out to this stranger right away, but it just felt really nice to finally have someone I could say all this stuff to. I had kept it in me all summer long, and I could finally get it off my chest. Jeez, I immediately felt like ten pounds had been lifted off my shoulders.

"Four vanilla bean frappuccinos, please", Simon said to the bartender.