Teenage Fever

Can I Kiss You?

I was making bread fast. Faster than I thought. When I got back to Damario's place out of boredom I decided to look up apartments. I wasn't too thrilled about getting an apartment in Damario's building despite the fact he had ghosts for neighbors. I don't want to experience any more shoot outs. So I looked up apartments near Tahj's neighborhood. His was the nicest I've seen so far.

"Let's go out for dinner?" Damario asks out of nowhere.
"Why? What's up?" I ask distractedly.
That shit looked too expensive. I kept scrolling.
"Nothing. Don't need no reason to eat out. I want some hibachi, though."
I finally look up at him.
"That shit's expensive."
"I'll pay."
"You pay everything."
He frowned at me.
"You gonna make me go by myself?"
I sigh.
"No."
"Did you want something else?"
Food wasn't on my mind, Damario was always trying to feed a nigga.
"Nah. It's okay, I might take some for lunch tomorrow."

He took me to a nice hibachi spot. As we waited for a table with the chef we sat at the bar.
"You gotta try their Long Island Ice Teas."
I roll my eyes and chuckle.

Damario really showed out tonight. He had his twists under a backwards red cap, a bright red leather bomber jacket over a black T, acid wash jeans and bright red sneakers. I looked simple next to him in a long sleeved, collar and buttoned down but open black top over a white T, dark jeans and white sneakers.

"Here, it's not even strong."

He passed me a green looking drink. It looked pretty. I took a sip and immediately snapped my neck to look at Damario with a raised eyebrow. He caught my look, his eyes smiling at me over his own drink.

"It's good, right?"
"A lot better than the drink you gave me the other night."

It was the perfect combination of Damario's Long Island Ice Tea from LIPS and Tahj's fruity drink he let me take a sip of at the gay bar.
Weird.

We got seats at the chef's table 10 minutes later. We sat with two other couples. One was a lesbian couple on our left and across from us was a black woman and a white guy. One of the girls from the lesbian couple caught my eye. She looked at Damario then back at me and smiled. I was slightly confused and I know my face showed it. But the chef came out and started making a racket.

"I've never had hibachi before."
Damario looked at me in awe.
"Aww, man, this shit is banging!"
He opens a menu and turns until he gets to the hibachi dinners.
"What you getting? I typically get steak and shrimp."
I look over and shrug.
"That sounds cool with me, actually."
Before the chef got started a waitress came around and grabbed our orders.
"You want soup or salad?" D asks me.
"Soup."
"Rice or noddles?"
"Noddles," I answer.
"When she get to us just tell her soup, noddles and steak and shrimp."
I did just that when she came to us and informed her how I wanted the steak done.
"Together or separate?" She eyes us.
"Together," D says while gathering up the menus and clearing the spot.

I watch the waitress's eyes wander back and forth between us before taking the menus and stepping away.

"Everyone seems funny in this place," I say with a shake of my head.
"What you mean?" D asks me obliviously.

I just shake my head. I start to feel my phone vibrating. I take it out and Tahj's name is in my face. Shit, I forgot he said he was going to call. The chef comes back with all that noise again so I just put my phone away, I'll call back when we leave.

D was really hyped. He started squeezing my arms and rocking us side to side before going back into still and chill mode.

I watched the chef do his performance, while he did the waitress came back with our appetizers. D and I both had soup which was really good. The chef made noodles and rice while we ate the soup.

"Sake!" The chef called at one point during us eating.
Damario raised both his arms. I watched as the man squirt sake into Damario's open mouth.

Hell nah. But can you put some in a cup for me?

It was fun to watch. When D signaled for the man to stop.... he didn't. I started dying laughing. This chef was trying to kill my boy! Eventually he stops and D tries to catch his breath.

"He got me," he laughs and cleans off his mouth.
"They always try to catch murder charges?"
He laughs some more.
"Nah, the last one didn't do that to me."
I watch the chef do the same thing to the white guy across from me.

We applaud the chef before he leaves. I look back at all the food on my plate. Everything was so good! D was right. And it was so much of it.
"How much this come up to?"
D waves me off.
"Don't worry about that, young blood."
"There you go with that young blood shit."
He laughs with noodles half way in his mouth.
"Let me get a shrimp," he says after he swallows his noodles and then goes for my plate with his fork.
"Fuck off! We got the same thing."
"I know but I want yo shit," he says with a shrug of the shoulders and a little roll of the neck.
I shove him away.
"I'mma mess you up, leave my plate alone."
But he's sneaky. I catch him wove his arm behind and around me to get to my plate.

The Tupperware they gave me for my leftovers was heavy. Not the Tupperware itself but I still had a lot of food to go to eat. Damario was looking about the same. We slowly stood up to leave

"I'm so full!" Damario says while stretching.
I lead the way.
"Same, but I'm looking forward to lunch tomorrow."
"Facts."
"Hey, guys."

I look to where the soft accented voice was coming from. It was the girl that was eyeing us the whole time. I couldn't say earlier because she didn't stop after her first glimpse of us earlier. But she was very cute. Brown skin with curly dark brown hair. Her eyes had this seductive look, they were beautiful and brown. It sounded like she had a French accent.

"I couldn't help but eyeing you earlier."
"I noticed," I say.
Yeah, it was a French accent. The way she was eyeing us then and now I already knew what was coming.
"I just wanted to say before we left that you two make an attractive looking couple. I couldn't help but to admire. Stay blessed."

Never mind. I did not see that coming.
She walks away holding her girlfriends hand with one last smile thrown over her shoulder at us before leaving.
This whole time I thought she was going to inquire about a three or even four some. But not this.

I look back at D with my 'What the fuck?' face. But his face is completely blank as he continues to watch the woman walk away.

I finally become the first to speak once we're outside in the huge ass parking lot of the plaza.

"That was weird as fuck."
Damario shrugs.
"Eh, I took it as a compliment."
"But how? It's not like she was only just "complimenting" you. Some part of me knew it. Just the looks we were getting. Two guys can't just hang out."
Damario's eyebrows bunched together with confusion.
"You sound almost offended."

I exhaled. I don't know why what she said or the looks we got bothered me. I obviously didn't care what people thought of my sexuality since I did ask a complete stranger if I could date his son earlier. Damario's my boy, I'm not embarrassed of him or anything.

But that's just it. He's my boy, nothing more. If someone or something were to imply otherwise... well I guess that was what was bothering me.

"I'm not offended."

I didn't know what to say to him without saying how I really feel and possibly making him feel some type of way. I don't even know.

"People just shouldn't assume," I say with a shrug.
I look over at him and he's staring at the pavement while nodding his head.
"True," he simply says.
"But you have been seeming off lately, what's up?"
He looks over at me.
"Where's this coming from?"
"Because you're kind of doing it tonight, just... more somber than usual, I guess."

He stares at me for an uncomfortable amount of time I'm not gonna lie.
When we get to his car a second later he turns and faces me.

"Can I kiss you?"