Page 12 of Tastes of Him
“Are you sure?” Brody asked, stepping closer to me. “You know I’m here for you, man, if you have anything that you need to talk about.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I know you are. But I don’t think this has a resolution anytime soon.” I forced my mouth to close before I divulged any more information about the real reason I wasn’t my normal self. “Just a little sad that today is the last day for us all to be together here. I guess I got so used to looking at and relying on you guys that it’s going to be a little weird when I turn around and none of you are there.”
That was a little more truthful. I was sad that my time with all of us together was coming to an end. I was excited to have the next week and a half off where I could relax and gather myself for what I knew would be an even more stressful next few years as I got things off the ground back home in Atlanta. I was looking forward to it as a new start for the rest of my work life, and I was supremely excited about being back home with Cameran and my folks, and even more importantly, the person who I hoped would continue to be in my future—though in a much more intimate reality.
“Yeah, it’ll be really weird to not have you guys here with me to continue on,” Brody agreed. I could see the sadness in him as he ran a hand through his hair. It wasn’t something I often saw in his expression, and it made me feel even worse about being so preoccupied with everything else.
“You know you can always come visit me in Atlanta,” I replied, reaching out and clapping him on the shoulder. “My house and my city are always open to you. Seriously, anytime you have some free time, I know we would all love to have you and show you a little bit of our version of Southern hospitality.”
“Trust me, bro, I’ll be taking you up on that sooner rather than later. But before I do that, you should probably do something about Sean. I don’t want to show up and have you guys still be as awkward as you were before.”
That made me pause. It was no secret, my feelings for Sean, especially not in my friend group, but Brody wasn’t the one who normally brought it up. “What are you talking about?”
Brody cocked his head, looking a lot like the golden retriever we always compared him to. But the twist in his lips was new. It was sly in a way that I never associated with him before. “Rod, my guy, every time you looked at him at the bar, there were literal hearts in your eyes. I don’t know how he didn’t see it, but your feelings for him are like a neon sign. I’m sure it was probably visible from space.”
That startled a laugh from me, and I shook my head but didn’t deny it. It would be pointless, as clearly, I wasn’t the least bit slick about it.
“Listen, I’m working on it. There’s been some weird tension between us, I know,” I said, slowly letting the frustration bleed into my tone. “I just don’t know how to approach him when it comes to this. I don’t want to seem too pushy. Trying to push Sean is like trying to push a mountain. You’re more likely to hurt yourself, cause a rockslide, and find yourself buried underneath the weight of his sharp words.”
Brody’s smile widened. “Yeah, he seems like a firecracker, that one.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Man, you have no idea.”
“But you’re not going to give up, right?” he asked. “I mean, it seemed like he likes you too, especially when Kevin was all up in your business. When he offered to join you on your road trip back home, I thought Sean was going to haul off and deck him. Actually, I might have enjoyed seeing that.”
I snorted. Kevin had been a bit of an issue as of late. “Yeah, well, Sean doesn’t really like strangers,” I replied. “Especially strangers who can’t take a hint.” I hadn’t really brought up the Kevin issue to the larger group, but Brody knew my feelings about it.
I had gone on one date with Kevin years ago, and while it hadn’t gone terribly, it just wasn’t for me. I had thought we could be friends after with no residual awkwardness, but now I was beginning to wonder if maybe that was just wishful thinking. It was something I knew I needed to address, especially once we got back to Atlanta. I planned on introducing Kevin to some of my other friends in the hopes that he might find what he was looking for in a romantic partner because I wasn’t it.
“Yeah, I don’t know about not liking strangers,” Brody replied. “I think he liked me just fine. But then again, I’m also not trying to get in your pants.”
I laughed. “That’s because you don’t know how good my pants are,” I replied with a sly grin. “But yes, you’re right, he did seem to like you just fine. I wonder if that’s the reason for the weird tension between us now.”
“Weird tension?”
“Yeah. The past couple of days, he’s been giving me the cold shoulder, and I’m not sure why. I tried asking Cameran and Julie, but both of them decided that they firmly are going to stay out of things for now.” I didn't quite believe that, but I wasn’t sure how to push it. Or even if I should.
“Really? What happened?”
I scratched a hand through my beard and made a note to trim it as soon as I got home. “Well, you know how we only have two rooms in my apartment? Cameran and Julie are sharing Jermaine’s room, and I didn’t want to pressure Sean into having to share a bed with me, so I offered him my bed, and I’ve been sleeping on the couch for the past couple nights.”
Brody’s eyebrows raised, and I froze. Clearly, there was something there that he saw that I had missed.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“So, let me get this straight. Did he say he was uncomfortable sharing a bed with you?”
I frowned. “No, but I didn’t want him to feel pressured.”
Brody shook his head and chuckled. “I don’t know the guy that well, but I don’t think he’s the type of person to let you pressure him into anything.”
“Yeah, you are right about that.” That did make me think. “I guess I just wanted to be chivalrous. Now I’m not so sure if chivalry was the way to go.”
“I don’t know, man, if I liked you and I had the chance to share a bed with you, but you decided to fuck off and sleep on the couch, I would feel rejected.”
My eyes widened at his words. That was an angle I hadn’t considered when making my decision to sleep on the couch. Now that I thought about it, that was when the weird tension started. When he’d come out of the shower and seen me set up on the couch, there was a look on his face that I hadn’t been able to read. Maybe he took me trying to be nice as me not wanting to share a bed with him, which was the furthest from the truth.
“Oh, shit, maybe he did think I was rejecting him,” I mumbled. I looked up at Brody. “Fuck, man. That wasn’t what I was trying to do at all.”