Bitter Affectionate

Chapter 14

Calvin stood out like a beam of light in the parking lot. Maybe that was because he was so handsome, and everything in and around that school was so mundane. But seeing him made me nervous. I felt like I had a gay energy radiating off of me. I wondered if anybody else could see it.

"Cal," I said, glancing over my shoulder before focusing on him entirely. "What are you doing here?"

He still did look very angry. He put his hand on his hip and pursed his lips at me.

"We have to talk," He said. My chest felt tight with anxiety. "You haven't been answering my calls or texts, so seeing you in person was my only option."

I nodded in understanding. He was right. I had been ignoring him, and I probably would have kept ignoring him if he hadn't showed up.

"Can we go somewhere?" He asked. "So we can talk?"

I sighed and said, "I have to wait for Brent. I'm driving him home."

He huffed. "Brent. Of course."

I furrowed my brow at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"All you ever do is spend time with him," He said. "That boy has got you totally whipped. Do you even have a life of your own outside of spending time with him?"

That did fuel some anger in me. Brent was a touchy subject for anyone to bring up to me. He was basically my brother. Of course, some part of my life revolved around him. And his revolved around me. But we still had lives.

"Obviously I have a life," I retorted, "But he needs me right now."

"I need you right now, Drew!" He shot back, and the volume startled me enough that I shushed him. That seemed to offend him even more, but I didn't care. I glanced around the parking lot. A couple people were idling by their cars or bicycles, and a small percentage of these people were looking at us. I turned back to Calvin, feeling flustered already.

"Get in the truck," I said, "We can talk after I drop Brent off. Okay?"

Calvin sighed heavily but he nodded. He got in the passenger side and I climbed into the front seat. Once both doors were shut, he turned in his seat to look at me. His eyes danced around my face for a moment, and the fury in him seemed to have vanished.

"Be honest, Drew," He said. There was something in his voice that made me hold my breath. "Should I be worried about you?"

I hesitated and looked away from him. I felt his eyes boring into my skin but I didn't know how to respond. How do I answer a question like that?

Thankfully, I didn't have to. Brent hopped in the back seat and saved me.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Brent said as he buckled his seatbelt. "Coach wouldn't let me leave. It's because of my fucking math grade. I don't know what my ability to do algebra has to do with football, but-"

"Brent," I interrupted, turning around in my seat to see him. "This is Calvin."

Calvin gave Brent a small smile and Brent raised a brow at me.

"Calvin?" He repeated, as if he should have recognized the name. I sighed.

"College guy," I clarified. His eyes lit up.

"Oh," He sang. He flashed Calvin a big smile, his puppy-like best friend excitement as strong as ever. "Nice to finally meet you! I've heard a lot about you."

He said that suggestively, though it wasn't entirely true. I didn't talk a lot about Calvin. What we had was ours, I didn't want to share it with anybody. Not even Brent, for some reason.