Utterly Forgettable | MM Romance | Complete

Thirty-Eight: You've Become A Pirate 1/2

Josh had never seen Mark's apartment so crowded. There was Michelle, the usual gang — Zoe, Dan and Sam — and a few other people with whom Mark wasn't quite so close, but who he still counted among his friends. Josh had met them all at various points in time, though he had the hardest time remembering their names. There were also a few friends of Michelle's, and if the apartment was already small for previous birthday parties, it was a can of sardines when the number of attendees doubled.

The table where they usually played board games had been set aside, currently holding a number of finger foods meant to serve as dinner, an assortment of drinks, including Josh's favorite brand of energy drink, and enticing desserts. He picked a plate and helped himself to a slice of cheesecake, eyes scanning for his best friend.

Mark had a kind of glow to him, as if he were walking on air instead of being elbowed in the ribs or back, sometimes both, by every other guest, and he wouldn't stop smiling. Michelle, too, seemed to float on clouds, which was quite a feat for someone walking in very real, undeniably fashionable high heeled boots. And there was Emery. Emery, who looked right at home, chatting left and right with people Josh hadn't even met — Michelle's people, then — who all looked like they knew him. Which made sense, considering how many people ended up using his services once both Mark and Michelle sang his praises.

Once upon a time, Josh remembered, Emery had mentioned he wasn't good at interacting with clients. That it was Roger who served as a mouthpiece, as a PR expert. This man wasn't that Emery. It was only now, with the benefit of hindsight, that Josh realized not all of Emery's aloofness had been a result of shyness or poor social skills. That it had likely been a byproduct of Emma's impending death, and of the time Emery had been unwilling to waste explaining things he perceived as simple to those less gifted than himself.

Granted, he was still direct and abrupt, but it was clear these people had been treated to his best side at some point, and not just his dismissive attitude. Emery wasn't hiding anymore, and it made him appealing. Handsome. Beautiful, even. He'd finished whatever conversation he was having for the time being and seemed content to stand closer to the kitchen, surveying the room much as Josh himself was. Their eyes met. Josh looked away first, towards his plate. This wasn't supposed to be a night about Emery.

He tried a piece of his cheesecake to clear his mind; at the explosion of flavor, he rushed over to Emery, navigating the overpopulated room to share his delicious discovery before he could think it through. "Have you tried the cheesecake? It's so good it's probably illegal in some states."

He loved it when the corners of Emery's lips curved upwards because of something Josh said or did.

"I haven't. Is it truly that good, or is it one of your quirks, like the leftovers?"

Josh speared another piece of cheesecake and held his fork in front of Emery's mouth. "Try it and see for yourself."

Emery opened his mouth so Josh could feed him, and couldn't disagree that it was, as far as cheesecakes went, a work of mouth-watering art. There were too many people between the two of them and the table to go and get Emery a slice of his own; relatively secluded in their own corner, it felt only natural to continue sharing.

#

Somehow everyone had managed to sit down for dinner, spread out between couches, chairs and the rapidly-shrinking floor space. Emery was sitting right beside him on the floor, looking dignified and composed; it would be unkind of Josh not to brush away the single crumb that had settled on Emery's tie, or to fix said tie afterwards. If Josh leaned a little into his orbit in the process, it was only so he could be certain there were no more crumbs to be brushed. There was a softness in Emery's warm brown eyes, crinkled at the corners the way Josh found so endearing, that he'd never seen in public. It made him want to —