Page 4 of Can't Stop Now
Jacob sighed deeply, frustrated. He was anxious about going back into the living room and facing Will again. But he figured he might as well do it quickly and bite the bullet. He opened his bedroom door, making his way to the living room.
He found Will with his backpack and suitcase next to him, sitting awkwardly on the black leather couch, on his phone. He looked up and stood when he saw Jacob come into the room.
“Hey man, listen - I am so, SO sorry to do that to you. I tried to call Freddie like four times to ask for your number, but he wouldn’t pick up… so I just came by.”
Jacob forced a smile. “It’s ok, man. It is what it is.” Jacob saw Will now in the daylight, and noticed that he was definitely objectively good-looking. He had his brown hair grown out a little bit, and kept running his hands through it nervously. He was a few inches shorter than Jacob, and was naturally slim. He was wearing fitted black jeans and a black shirt. Jacob was sure that he must get all kinds of hook-ups in the gay world or whatever.
“Jeeze man, how the hell do you wear jeans in this heat? I would die in those things,” Jacob said, hoping it wasn’t an awkward question.
“Yeah, I know. Heat doesn’t bother me too much, and I gotta stay lookin’ good or whatever,” Will said, laughing and shrugging.
Jacob laughed. “Um, ok. I can show you where Freddie’s room was if you want?”
Jacob had been prepared to yell at Will for showing up unannounced and early, but he now found that he couldn’t do it. When he saw Will sitting on the couch, barely taking up any space, Jacob almost felt sorry for him. The guy didn’t have anywhere to stay, and had at least tried to call. Jacob couldn’t help but be sympathetic. And he was actually kind of glad to no longer be alone in the house.
He took Will to Freddie’s old room, just down the hallway from Jacob’s room. It was bright, with sunlight streaming in.
“Yeah, so this is the room. The apartment came furnished, so you can just put down your sheets on the bed and you’re good to go. Hope it’s alright.” Jacob said. He watched as Will threw down his backpack and suitcase on the floor. His backpack had all kinds of patches on it – bands, artsy-looking things, a keychain hanging off of a zipper.
“So you knew Freddie from art class or something?” Jacob offered, trying to break the silence.
“Yeah! From sculpture class. I was actually assistant teaching the class, since I’m an art major. Or…wasan art major, I guess. Weird to say that,” Will said, turning his head to look out the window, squinting in the bright sunlight.
“Yeah, it’s weird. I’m happy to be done with school, but also have no clue really what my future is gonna be like now,” Jacob said.
“Tell me about it. I don’t have any job prospects at all yet. Yay for fine arts degrees, right?” Will laughed. “What about you? Any immediate plans?”
“At the end of this week I’m driving out to California, actually. I got a job offer in San Diego at an IT consulting firm. Figured I’d drive to save money on flights, and see the country for the first time. Make it into a week-long road trip.” Jacob said, surprised that he actually didn’t feel awkward chatting with Will at all. Freddie was right, the guy was pretty damn friendly.
“Shit, that sounds awesome! I love road trips. I’ve never really been on a long one. Actually, I’m from Arizona, so I used to take small road trips all the time to San Diego and LA. You’ll love it there. Congrats on the job,” Will said, seeming genuinely happy for him.
“Thanks. It’s definitely good to have a job, but also scary. We’ll see how it goes.” Jacob said.
There was a pause, where the two of them looked around the room, unsure of what to do next. Jacob looked up at Will.
“Um. Alright then, I’ll leave you to unpack a little, or settle in and stuff. Was nice to meet you Will,” Jacob said.
“You too… even though we… technically met last night,” Will said, laughing.
Jacob looked back at Will and noticed that his eyes were a beautiful grey-blue in the daylight. Jacob looked back down, feeling himself blush slightly.Did he seriously just bring up last night?!
“Uh, yeah, don’t worry about it, man. It’s totally ok,” Jacob said awkwardly, and left the room.
He had felt so comfortable talking to Will that he’d almost forgotten their encounter last night. He hadn’t known if Will had been drunk and forgotten about it, but clearly, he hadn’t.So much for not being awkward, he thought, sauntering back to his room.But fuck it,he thought,just a few more days.
Four
Will
“Finallyit isn’t so damn hot out here anymore!” Will shouted, on the phone with Maya. He was walking down the street to get dinner. It had been a day since he’d started sleeping at Jacob’s apartment, and unlike the previous few days, it was actually kind of cool outside.
“Enough about the damn weather,” Maya said, “how’s shacking up with a stranger going for you, Will?”
“Hey, he isn’t a total stranger! I told you I hit on him the night before in the bar right?Ugh, I’m such an idiot.” Will walked over a small bridge, running his hand over the stone railings and looking at the river below.
“Yeah, but it’s not like it’s the first time you’ve had to awkwardly interact with someone you hit on. You hooked up with half the art majors at school and then had to go help them with their paintings the next day,” Maya laughed.
Will missed Maya. She was his best friend, his confidante. They would check out guys together, and gossip over wine on the weekends. She had already left after graduation to begin a Master’s program in Art History, all the way out in Boulder, Colorado.