Asher's foot tapped absently against the building behind him as he waited for Goose. He was late, but, as he reminded himself, Goose was always late. Behind him, the main door slid open and Asif walked out, fussing with a tangled pair of earbuds. "Hey," Asher said.
Asif glanced up from his headphones and smiled. "Hey!" He walked over to where Asher was leaning. "You waiting for someone?"
Asher nodded, looking down the street again. "Yeah, my roommate. We're going to Friar's.
Asif tilted his head slightly.
"You're kidding." Asher's eyebrows raised so high, they were in danger of disappearing under his hairline. "You've never been to Friar's?"
Asif shook his head, looking confused.
Asher grinned. "We go there all the time. You should come!"
Asif blushed and raised his hands up. "Oh, I couldn't-"
Asher shook his head, waving Asif off. "Really. If you don't have plans, come with. It'll be fun."
Goose rounded the corner at the end of the block and jumped up, waving to Asher. He waved back, and turned to Asif again. "You in?" He grinned wolfishly.
Asif chewed the inside of his cheek for a moment. "I'm in," he decided with a smile.
Asher grinned as Goose approached. He waved, bouncing up excitedly. "I have been craving a burger all day," he enthused, then looked at Asif with a quizzical expression.
"Goose, this is Asif. He works in the mailroom. He's gonna tag along."
Goose grinned at Asif. "Nice to meet you." He turned and began to lead the short walk to Friar's.
Friar's was busy when they arrived, even for a Friday night. They pushed their way to the back and hovered around Goose's favorite table until it freed up. Goose slid in on one side, Asif and Asher on the other. A waitress came by quickly, taking everyone's order.
"Well, welcome," Asher said, gesturing broadly with his arms.
Asif chuckled. "It's nice!"
Goose laughed. "It's a shithole."
"But it's our shithole," Asher finished, smiling.
Asif nodded, smiling. "I understand."
Asher glanced at Goose. "Rachel coming?"
He shook his head. "She's got some crazy deadline or something."
Asher frowned. "Lame."
When he looked back to Asif, he was frowning at his cell phone.
"Everything okay?" Asher asked.
Asif looked up and laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, my girlfriend was just wondering where I am."
Asher smiled. "What's her name?" Of course Asif had a girlfriend. He was very handsome, it would be more surprising if he was single.
"Jane," he said, pressing a few buttons on his phone. He pulled up a pixelated photo of the two of them. She had long, straight, brown hair and a long face. Asher blamed his preference for men, but he thought Asif was much more attractive.
"Cute picture," Asher grinned.
Asif smiled, glancing down at the photo. "We went to France last year for our five-year anniversary."
"Wow," Asher mused. His longest relationship had been more like five months. He couldn't imagine being with anyone for that long and not getting sick of them.
Asif laughed.
The waitress reappeared with their beers, setting them down on the table.
"Are you seeing anyone?" Asif asked over his drink.
Goose snorted into his beer, almost choking.
Asher sighed at his friend. "No, I don't date much."
Goose laughed more, beer sloshing down the sides of the glass. "No shit."
Asher waved a hand at his friend to silence him. "Goose is single too," he added.
Goose rolled his eyes. "Easy blow," he chastised. "Bad form."
Asher smiled bashfully. "I can't believe you've been with Jane for six years. I was only with my last boyfriend for a few months."
Asif looked surprised for half a moment, but laughed softly still. "She's really great. You'll have to meet her sometime."
Asher breathed a sigh of relief. He was finally becoming comfortable mentioning his sexuality casually, but he didn't think the anxiety of telling someone new would ever go away.
"I would really like that," Asher smiled.
