Knock Me Down - [COMPLETE]

7 - The Question

"Did you get lost?" Holden jokes.

I hit him on the shoulder as I walk past him to my seat, "No. Just had to go throw up from breathing in too much of your terrible cologne"

He looks panicked and smells the collar of his shirt, "Wait, really? Is it bad? Or is it just too much? Damn, I knew I should've gone for something else. Even worse, is it both?"

My eyes widen and I chortle putting my hands up, "No, no, no. I'm kidding. Kidding, damn, man. It's good"

"Oh" He blushes from embarrassment, "Sorry. Haha"

"So uptight. You have no reason to impress me anyways"

He smiles at me, "I know. Just I don't want to have the crusty party look be a lasting impression"

I disagree with him, "You don't look bad. Even when you're boozed"

"Thanks"

"So, save your extra swanky looks for a future love interest. What about that chick from the one party? Uh, Estephanie? I can't remember her name. You still have her number right?" I remind him, referring to the party prior to the last one where a pretty senior had asked for his number.

He's looking at me like he wants to say something, "Mateo, I don't–well, I do. But I'm not—uhm. I'm bi"

"And? That means she qualifies. Is she supposed to write in an application?" I tease crossing my arms.

He'a caught off-guard by how quickly I dismissed his confession but he knows how open-minded I am.

"Not if I'm already considering a candidate" He says it nervously. Not looking at me but at his partly eaten pizza.

"Huh." I say in a bit of a realization, "You like someone? How come I don't know? I'm socially inept at times but I still make a stellar wingman. Or at least a friend"

"Can't really talk about someone I like to the person I'm attracted to"

I squeeze my bicep with other hand feeling it flex and bulge out. I'm flustered. It rises from my stomach to my throat to my face. Jasper was right. Too soon. Too soon.

"I was going to do this over text. Or maybe piss drunk at the next party. Like a pussy. But I thought this would be better. And maybe that doesn't change your answer but I wanted to make sure you knew that I'm serious" He's so evidently overwrought I felt guilty.

He clears his throat and regains some confidence, "You can think about it if you want. You can say no. I still want to be your friend no matter what you feel, you know, man"

"Is that why... you came up to me the first time I was at the one party with my brother?"

Holden's face progressively became closer to the shade of a fire truck, "Um, well, not gonna lie man I thought you were really cute—"

Cute, again.

"But I just thought I don't want you to be a wallflower. Then I learned you weren't. You just liked your own company. But I still wanted to be your company. And then...I just didn't want to stop being in your company"

For once it was nice to not be the only one as red as a strawberry.

"How come you've never asked me to hang out before this? I-if you say you have fee–um, yeah"

He's mindlessly swirling the straw of his drink, "I wanted to. I wanted to ease myself into your life. So you could get to know me, uh that sounds weird but I wanted to get your attention slowly. And I thought it was too late since it was silently established to meet by convenience only, so asking you out would've been weird...but then I put on my big boy panties and had the nerve to...and here we are"