My Buddy Archie [1]

11..

 “I hate coming in here,” Bucky muttered. “We look like creeps.”

“We only look creepy because we’re two men in Victoria’s Secret together,” I chuckled, unable to help myself from eyeing up one of the employees across the store. “Just relax, go ask for help.”

“I don’t need help. How are they going to know what perfume Connie will like?”

I gave him a look, “Do you see the girls working in here? You’d be stupid not to ask for help.” He took a second to glance around before realization washed over his face.

“I see what you mean.” He waved over an employee and explained that he was looking for a perfume for his sister for Christmas. She was more than happy to help. It was funny actually watching Bucky flirt with this girl, because she was falling for everything—putty in his hands and all he was doing was sniffing her wrist when she sprayed the stuff. It was weird, but genius. When we got out of there, Bucky had four different sprays with a 20% discount that the girl just gave him. And then he asked her out.

After they exchanged numbers, I muttered, “You’re ridiculous.”

“She was cool,” he laughed. “Couldn’t pass that one up.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“Hey, whatever happened to that girl from the bar? Are you still talking to her?”

I shrugged, “We’re just friends.”

“Are you serious?”

“I told you, I don’t want to date.”

“I get that but…you don’t need to date her…” I only shrugged again. “You’re hopeless.”

“No, I’m Christmas shopping. Sorry if my attention is on a three year old and not getting laid.”

He laughed, “Well, I’m glad you don’t mix the two.” I laughed too as we turned into a toy store. “What’s on Archie’s list?”

“A bunch of stuff that’ll get his head cracked open or a finger cut off.” I scanned over the Lego sets on the shelves. “Some okay stuff too. He wants a lizard.”

“A lizard?” he laughed.

“Yeah, I was all for it at first, but then I remembered he’s three and I’d be that one taking care of it, not him. And I don’t really want a lizard.”

“Get a dog.”

I snorted, “That’s even more work than a lizard, Bucky.” Speaking of work. “Oh, uh, I’ve been meaning to ask you, does Connie know about Archie?” He gave me a weird look.

“Did you tell her?”

“Well, no, but…I thought you might’ve…”

“It’s not my business. I haven’t said anything, but it wasn’t on purpose or anything. Why? You don’t want her to know?” I put two different Lego sets in my cart before moving on to the big wheels—Archie told me to put one on his list to Santa that he wanted a trike to drive to the shoe store. Those were his exact words.

“No, it’s not that. I just remember you saying she doesn’t really like little kids, and I didn’t want to, like, upset her or something if we were talking and something about Archie slipped out.”

He eyed me for a second, making me both uncomfortable and tense, before just shrugging, “It’s not like she’ll say anything. You can talk about him if you want.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to hit a nerve.”

“I guess it’s up to you then, man.” He paused, “Does Mary-Kate know about him?”