Sober

I lean against my door, laughing like a lunatic for way longer than I intended to. I eventually drag myself to my bed and lie down for the next ten minutes, completely flustered. I didn’t think I would ever have the balls to ask him such a thing, and I was surprised he understood my rambles and went along with it. He filled the entire room with his scent, and I kind of wanted to escape it, but at the same time laying on my bed was like being hugged by him in a cloud.

However, it’s so weird to look across the bed and not see another one directly across from me. Normally, I wouldn’t have minded the emptiness and the silence, but now that I had a few friends, I didn’t wanna be completely alone. Especially when it came to Kyler.

He has the energy of like three whole people, and when he’s gone, it feels like I’ve been abandoned in a void.

I roll over to my side, staring at the few remaining bins on my floor since I’m too lazy to put my stuff where it needs to go.

I swear, every time I hang out with Kyler, it just keeps getting even more fun. I can’t believe I passed out in his apartment and then slept in his bed, but technically I can blame Deja for putting me next to him instead of sitting me on the couch.

I decide to take a nap, and despite my twenty-four hours or so of sleep earlier, I wake up a few hours later around six, with an idea. I pull out the slip of paper with Deja’s number on it and text her and oddly, she responds instantly. I wonder if Kyler had already given her mine.

‘Do you know where Kyler works?’

‘Why? Do you wanna visit him??!! <3’

 I chuckle to myself.

‘Kinda.’

‘Okay! I’ll pick you up! I wanna bother him too.’

‘Wait, what?’

Deja doesn’t respond, and I jump out of my bed. She and Kyler don’t live too far from me, so she could be here any second.

I take off my hoodie due to the unattractive tears and throw on a multicolored short-sleeve button-down I’d found when cleaning up. I keep my jeans on and throw on some vans, just as I’m paged to the lobby. 

I frantically grab my wallet, forgetting to do anything with my hair as I run out of my dorm where Deja’s at the entrance, grinning.

“Hi again!”

She wears a jean skirt with a black turtleneck and a leather jacket. Her hair’s tied up with a few sparkly doobies in it or something, and she looks like a biker, but it’s cool.

“H-Hi.” I wave awkwardly as I follow her to her car.

“Did you just wake up? Your hair’s a mess,” She says and snickers.

I awkwardly hold my arm. “Uh, yeah.”

Once we get to the parking lot, I hop in the passenger seat, and she drives off. She has K-Pop blasting from her radio, and I can’t help but bob to it. Though the difference between her driving style and Kyler’s is terrifying.

He’s more of a gentleman, whereas Deja speeds through yellow lights, swerves around the people who are going the speed limit, and despite me thinking we’re gonna die, is actually quite efficient.

“I think there’s a comb in the glove box somewhere if you wanna fix your bedhead.”

I start digging for it, and I catch her smile. “But Kyler loves your big hair, so I don’t think he’d mind.”

I blush, and Deja snickers. “What? I’m only being honest.”

When we get to a stoplight, I pull down the visor and attempt to do my hair in the tiny mirror. Quickly afterward, we arrive at the bar, and Deja does the same and puts on some lip gloss. 

Once I finish fixing my bangs, I watch her, and she glances at me.

“You want some?”

I put my hands up. “N-No, I’m okay,” I stammer quietly.

She smiles at me as I rub my arm again, my leg shaking a little. Man, she’s so pretty it’s scary somehow. The same goes for Kyler, but at least I’m friends with him, so it’s less terrifying.

“Am I bothering you too much?” The woman asks awkwardly.

“Huh? Oh, no. Sorry, you’re fine.” 

“You sure?”

I nod, looking out the window as a BTS song comes on that I recognize.

“Um,” I begin. “Do you think Kyler will be annoyed that I came to his job?”

She chuckles. “I highly doubt it. I’m always the one who annoys the shit out of him—at least for a few minutes. Then I go mingle with customers.”

“Is…it a gay bar?”

Deja snorts, and I blush. “What? No, but there’s a lesbian one a few blocks from here. You can come with me sometime if you’d like.”

“But I’m not a lesbian.”

She snickers. “But you’re cool. My gaydar senses you’re on the LGBT spectrum somewhere. As long as you’re not a weird straight guy, they really don’t care.”

“O-Oh. Yeah, I guess. That means you’re a lesbian, right?”

She nods. “I figured Kyler would’ve told you.”

I shake my head, and she shrugs. “Well, yeah—that’s me! All of this is kind of weird, though,” She mutters. “I’ve known about Kyler’s other friends like Nate and the redhead, but, weirdly, he kept you a secret.”

“What?”

She checks her nails. “Well, I met you at the redhead’s party by mistake but didn’t really hear about you until Tuesday.”

“O-Oh.”

“I mean, I’m happy I know you now! But it would’ve been nice to get to know you earlier.” She chuckles as I nod.

“Ah yeah, sorry about that.”

“It’s fine!”

The song goes off, and we sit there awkwardly. 

“If…you don’t mind me asking, what exactly happened at that dinner or whatever? That, y’know, I guess made both of you miss out on sleep for several days. Did you do drugs?” She whispers, and I snicker. “I promise I won’t tell.”

I scratch one of my bruises, though most have faded already.

Kyler hasn’t come out to Deja yet, and if I give her every detail, I’m sure her ‘gaydar’ would start sensing stuff about her roommate. There’s nothing gayer than straight up kissing another man. I didn’t wanna fuck anything up or potentially piss Kyler off by spreading his secret.

He told me and only me for a reason, I guess. 

I’m slightly honored, but I can’t help but feel bad by dodging the question whenever he asks me or mentions anything about relationships. I could only dance around the subject but for so long.

I hated to admit it, but I guess I was bi. I’d been interested in both teams since middle school, though I always preferred girls. Just like Kyler, I hadn’t told anyone. I just let people assume whatever, although it would always come back to bite me in the ass.

Given that I had some queer relatives, I knew my parents would be supportive, but I still didn’t feel compelled to tell them or…anyone. I just…hated talking about it.

“We kinda got in a fight.” I mutter.

“That made you lose sleep for that long?!”

I blush. “Y-Yes?!”

She gives me a weird look. “Well, things are okay now, right?”

I nod, and she exhales. “Alright, good. I was so goddamn worried, but Kyler wouldn’t say anything. He just slugged around the house, tired and depressed with his head in the clouds.” She stares at the dashboard. “Kyler isn’t much of a fighter though,” She ponders. “That’s my thing. He tends to go with the flow, but recently he’s been off too. I actually got in a fight with him last week.”

“Oh, I remember hearing about that.” I perk up. “B-But things are good with you guys now, right? Or are you two just faking it?”

Deja snickers. “Nah nah, we’re good. He’s just…I don’t know.” Her smile quickly fades. “There’s definitely still something going on with him, unrelated to me. I just wish he would talk, I guess.”

I stay quiet. I guess that was something we had in common.

“But anyway!” She beams, her expression switching instantly. “Who wants to see bartending Kyler?” Deja turns off the car and hops out, but I continue to sit there.

“Nick? You coming?”

I awkwardly get out, and Deja walks over to me.

“I-I just don’t know what to say or do, really.”

She chuckles. “Well, you guys are friends, so just be yourself. I don’t know what else to say. He’ll probably be flattered that you came!”

“What do you usually do?”

“Oh, me? I call him out flirtatiously while his back his turned and scare the shit outta him, order like one drink, and then mingle, occasionally coming back to spill tea about him to certain customers.” Deja states proudly.

“Wow, okay. That’s a lot.”

“Y’know, it probably would be funnier if you flirted with him because he’s used to me doing it. What do you say?”

I smirk. “That could be amusing.”

She gives me a high five. “Alright! So, what’re you gonna say?”

“Uh… D-Damn Shawty, where the hell have you been all my life? How about you bring that ass over here and pour me a drink!” I stutter awkwardly while doing finger guns.

Deja stares at me dumbfounded and exhales sharply. “Wow.”

“Shut up! What would you say?!”

“You slam your hand on the table to get his attention and go, ‘Damn! You looked so beautiful the last time I saw you that I forgot what I was going to say.’”

We snicker, and I try again.

“Can I borrow a kiss? I-I promise to give it back.” More finger guns.

“I like that one! ‘You remind me of my next boyfriend.’” She does finger guns as well and winks at me, causing me to blush a little.

“Come live in my heart. It’s rent-free.”

“Let’s flip a coin. Heads, I’m yours. Tails, you’re mine.”

As we continue coming up with terrible flirts, passersby give us weird looks, and some of them laugh. But we keep going. I can’t imagine saying a single one of these to Kyler, but it’s still fun.

“Alright,” Deja says. “You got one?”

I nod, grinning, and we walk inside. There are several people, probably because it’s happy hour, and I immediately start freaking out again.

“There he is,” Deja states, pointing to a guy with a man bun in the distance behind the counter. There’re a few open seats in front of where he’s standing.

“Want me to go with you?”

I crack my knuckles and take a deep breath, still smiling. “Yeah, why not?”

The woman follows after me, but as I sit down, she takes a step back so Kyler doesn’t notice her. His back’s to me, and I clear my throat.

“Hey, lover boy—let’s flip a coin. Heads, I’m yours. Tails, you’re mine.”

He still doesn’t face me, and the people beside me glance over.

“Eh, let’s skip the games,” He starts, and my heart skips a beat. “They say nothing lasts forever, so will you be my nothing? I promise I’ll treat you right,” He says as he turns around and almost drops the glass he’s holding.

My jaw drops.

“N-Nick?! Wh— What the fuck are you doing here?!”

His entire face is red, and I start laughing, though I’m sure mine’s just as red as his. I hear Deja cackling in the background as I try and catch my breath.

What makes it worse is that Kyler’s wearing some slim-fit dress shirt with skinny jeans, and he looks hot as fuck, not to mention the suspenders and the bowtie.

“You didn’t even know I was there!” I exclaim. “Why’d you respond like that?!”

Kyler runs over and hands one of his customers their drink. “I-I don’t know! People flirt with me all the time, so I just go with it! I never thought I’d be saying that stuff to you!”

I laugh some more as he groans, embarrassed as hell.  “W-Well, does the offer still stand?”

The customers laugh as he continues to freak out. And then he finally stops jumping up and down.

“This has Deja written all over it! Where is she?!”

I point to one of the tables behind me, and she waves at him. He flips her off, and she laughs as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

“You guys are awful,” He groans as I continue to laugh.

“Anyway,” Kyler glares at me. “You gonna order something or just continue sitting there all pretty and junk?”

I place my face in my hands, and he snickers. 

“God, shut up. Can I have a strawberry daiquiri?”

“Alcohol and all?” He asks, worried.

I sigh. “After this whole mess, I need something.”

“Eh…alright.”

I watch as he walks off and goddamn, does he look hot in suspenders. He looks great in everything but like, seriously. When Kyler returns, I take a few sips of the drink as he helps out some other people. I can’t stop staring at him, and Deja walks over.

“Damn, if it weren’t for all the rehearsing we did outside, I’d think you actually have a crush on him.”

I roll my eyes and drink some more. “Shut up.”

She laughs and ruffles my hair. “Yeah, yeah. Well, I’ll be back over here. I think you’ve embarrassed Ky enough for the both of us.”

I nod as she returns to a table that has like three other people. How she managed to randomly join them? That I don’t know.

Kyler eventually comes back over. “Sorry, it’s packed tonight. I can ask if I can take my break now so we can talk.”

“No, it’s fine! I don’t mind watching you work!”

He smiles. “Yeah, you do.” He teases. “I might need to get you a bib for all that drooling you’re doing.”

I blush. “I’m not trying to!”

“Don’t worry,” He says, leaning in and moving some hair out of my eyes. “Everyone does it—they know I’m sexy. You too, it seems.”

I push him away. “Fuck off, go do your job.”

Kyler smiles at me and goes back to bartending. I watch as he interacts with the other customers, beaming as usual. He looks so professional—it makes me wonder why he was majoring in dance when he could just work in some high-class hotel. I’d love to do that if I weren’t so bad at talking to people.

I drink a bit, staring at him some more.

It would be fun to work with him, I bet. Thanks to his looks, he probably steals all of the tips, but hey, he’s putting that cute face of his to good use.

Now and then, Kyler would look up from what he was doing and smile at me. I’d always avoid his gaze afterward, but he just cleaned up so nicely. I’d seen him in dress shirts before, obviously, but wow.

“He’s hot, right?” The woman next to me asks, and I jump. She looks like she’s still in college, but maybe graduate school.

“W-What? Oh, I mean yeah, kind of.”

She snickers. “Funny how he can win the hearts of anyone, no matter their gender. He’s just that good.”

“Well, at least he seems to be using that power for good,” I say awkwardly.

She shrugs. “I suppose, except for all the women who come here and get drunk as hell, only to get depressed when they ask for his number, and he shoots them down.”

I laugh as she moves some hair out of her eyes. 

“You wanna ask him out?”

“What?!”

She snickers again. “What? Y’all were already flirting—I bet you have a better chance than all of us in here combined.”

My face turns red, and I gulp down the rest of my drink. “I-I’m good. We were just joking anyway.”

As I say that, Kyler smiles at me from across the bar again, but luckily the woman doesn’t notice.

“Seriously? You’ve been ogling him since you got here.”

I groan, and as I place my head in my hands, Deja comes over.

“Hey, you having fun?” 

I peek through my fingers. “I’m not sure.”

“Your shy little friend here wants to ask out everyone’s favorite bartender,” The rando next to me says, and I perk up.

“You wanna ask out Kyler?!” Deja beams.

I reach up and cover her mouth. “No, don’t yell that! We’re only friends! Asking that would be weird anyway!”

The other girl shrugs. “Aw come on, live a little. Just blame it on the alcohol,” She says with a wink.

Deja laughs awkwardly. “Wait, Nick, do you…actually like him though? Like that?”

“Who doesn’t like him?! He’s Kyler!” I blurt.

“You’re dodging the question! What about you? You do like guys, right? At least somewhat?”

I gulp down the rest of my daiquiri. God, I need another drink. I forgot that it wouldn’t just be me, Kyler, and Deja in here. There would be other people ordering drinks, eating food, going to and fro, and when you’re sitting at the bar, anything can go down. It’s almost just as stressful as those frat parties. It’s easy for strangers to get into your business.

“W-Well, yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’d like Kyler by default, especially not like that.”

Deja raises an eyebrow, looking me over. Of course I like Kyler! But I can’t just admit that—I don’t even know how! I could already feel myself heating up from my one drink, and the last thing I needed was to lose my filter and spread my business everywhere.

And Kyler wasn’t too far from me either.

I think I’d pass out if he heard.

“I don’t know, kid.” The darker girl places her hands on her hips, clearly skeptical. “That day you two passed out was suggestive as hell.”

I rapidly tap the counter. “We’re not dating!”

“I never said that!” Deja laughs. “You can date people and not actually like them,” She muses. “Some relationships I’ve been witnessing across campus are fucked up.”

“True,” I mutter under my breath. I mess with my hair, moving some strands back into my face so she couldn’t read me as well and I would panic less. I wasn’t one to wish illness on myself or any others, but I’d kill for shitty vision so I couldn’t see the weird looks people would give me. Especially with my shitty luck, I’d be guaranteed to either lose my contacts or break my glasses.

Deja grabs my stool and spins it around so the rando who caused this mess in the first place would stop staring at me.

“Nick, c’mon.” She says softly. “If you do like him, I’d love to be your wingman. I know the most about him,” She chuckles. “At least, I think so.”

“No, it’s fine.” I mumble. “I don’t…like him like that. A-And even if I did, it wouldn’t matter. I’m bad at relationships, anyway.”

Deja’s excitement dissipates and her frown makes my stomach drop.

“T-That’s just how it is for me—it’s fine.” I attempt to reassure her. “Don’t pity me. It’s cool. Promise.”

“Nick…” She whispers.

“It doesn’t matter right now anyway! It’s irrelevant! Even though I’m kinda bad at friendships, I’d like to keep hanging out with him, at least. You too, I guess.” 

Deja sighs. “Well, the people I’ve been sitting with have been begging me to come to some party tomorrow night. Ky and I always go to those types of things together, but I’d love if you joined us. I bet he would too.”

I stare at my empty glass. “Ah yeah, sure.” I’m sure I could survive one more, but when Deja waves Kyler to come over, my heart starts racing again.

“What’s up?”

“Can I have another one of these?” I blurt before his roommate can speak.

“Really? You sure want another?” He asks hesitantly. “I thought…”

I hid my face a little. “Y-Yeah, but it’s easier to pace myself since you’re serving me and all, and you know I’m dumb. I also only have but so much cash to spend.”

Kyler chuckles. “Alright, I guess.”

I watch as he makes me another cocktail and when the other woman who was bothering me gets up to go to the bathroom, Deja happily takes her seat.

“Alright, here you are,” Kyler says, sliding it to me with a wink. “Yet another, made with love and strawberries. Mainly strawberries, though.”

I laugh and take a sip as he turns to Deja.

“Hey, so those chicks are inviting me to a party tomorrow night. Do you and Nick wanna come as my plus one?”

He snickers. “Don’t you mean plus two?”

She rolls her eyes. “Shut up.”

Kyler’s gaze returns to me. “I thought you didn’t wanna go to those kinds of things anymore.”

I shrug. “I mean, if I’m with you, I’ll probably be fine.”

He blushes a little. “Yeah? Well, I just don’t want you to get super drunk.”

“I thought you liked me when I was drunk.”

He chuckles awkwardly as Deja gives him a weird look. “No, that was solely because you’re mean to me the rest of the time! You’ve kinda loosened up now.”

He pauses and I quickly consume more of my drink. The reason behind it was obvious, I just knew I’d go insane if I thought about it again. Especially since I got him to kiss me before leaving my dorm. I don’t think I was gonna recover from that.

“I don’t wanna have to worry about you jumping down a flight of stairs.” Kyler finishes.

“I won’t, don’t worry.”

The brunet ruffles my hair. “Good, then I’m in.”

Deja gives us a thumbs up and runs back to her friends, whereas Kyler comes to my side of the counter and sits in front of me.

“Wait—don’t you have to work?”

“Nah, I’m on break now.” He smiles.

“You…don’t mind that I’m here, right?”

Kyler adjusts his sleeves. “No, of course not! It’s fun having a friend here as opposed to a bunch of drunk horny women,” He says and laughs.

“Do guys hit on you too?” I ask.

He groans. “God, tons. I mean, it’s flattering, but all in all, it gets kind of weird. At least with you here, I can use you as an excuse to run off instead of having to hold conversations with them.”

“Seriously? You get all that attention, yet you’d rather just have mine.” I cock an eyebrow.

“Hmm. Yes.” 

He laughs as I hide my face. “God, you’re so weird.”

“Y’know, with how much I get on your nerves, I’m surprised you haven’t cursed me out in Spanish yet. Or reverted back to your native tongue when drunk.”

I roll my eyes. “You’ve only seen me drunk like twice, and when I’m plastered, I usually don’t even talk. Also, that’s not even how that works.”

Kyler chuckles. “Okay, that’s fair. Still, though, I wanna hear you say something again!”

I groan. “No.”

He exhales and leans back on the stool a bit, continuing to smile. “Do you know more Spanish or more English?”

“Uh, Spanish. I sound smarter when speaking it too,” I say and laugh a bit. “I forget a ton of big words in English, so when I try to explain significant stuff, I often sound like an idiot.”

“Wait, which did you learn first?”

“Spanish. It kinda made preschool complicated, but I pushed through. Though, I still sucked with those reading and writing classes in elementary. And in junior high.” I pause.

“And high school?” He asks, smirking.

I blush. “Yeah…” I take a few more sips from my glass. “I’ve kinda got the hang of it now, though. It’s probably because I’m not going back home every day and then speaking Spanish with my parents, so I’m kinda forced to adapt.”

Kyler continues smiling at me, and though it’s sweet, my heart keeps racing. I’m not used to people asking me about myself or being genuinely interested in whatever word vomit I spew for ten minutes.

“But when we were moving your stuff earlier today, I noticed you had a ton of novels with titles…I couldn’t read.” He adjusts his bowtie, laughing at himself. “So, you haven’t been completely ‘Americanized,’ I guess?”

“I-I guess yeah. I’m still better at Spanish overall though, especially when it comes to talking about something that interests me where I can ramble non-stop.”

Kyler leans on his hand, staring at me. “Like?”

“Like what?”

He snickers.

“O-Oh, yeah duh. I don’t know—I know a lot about aircrafts. Mainly planes and fighter jets and junk.” I stammer as I feel my cheeks burning.

Kyler’s face lights up. “Really? Then tell me something! Even if I don’t understand a damn thing, I still wanna listen to you!”

“Huh?! No!” I attempt to grab my drink, but I fear the sweat on my hands will make me lose my grip, and I’ll make an even greater fool of myself.

“What, why? I think it’d be cool! And hey, I could learn some new words—well, probably a ton of new words, but that’s beside the point.” He adjusts his sleeves. “If it’s easier and more comfortable for you to speak Spanish, then you should.”

I struggle to find what to say and stare at my lap as I try and wipe my palms on my jeans. 

Kyler leans in to make eye contact with me. “C’mon,” He whines. “Say something—anything!”

“Shut up, Kyler.”

He clears his throat. “In Spanish.”

I swat at him. “Leave me alone.”

“What? Is it embarrassing?”

I scrunch up my nose. “Tch. Everything’s embarrassing when it comes to you.”

“I think that’s intended to be insulting, but I’m gonna say thank you anyway.”

He smiles, and I drink some more. Honestly, if it weren’t for this, I think I’d be hiding in the bathroom about now.

“Y’know, if you’re fluent, you should teach me! So, when I see your parents, I can be authentic!”

Kyler looks so excited, and I laugh. “N-No! They made apps for that kind of stuff!”

He gazes at the ceiling. “But imagine how proud your mom would be to know that you made a friend and taught him Spanish. That’s like, extra points.”

I scoff. “I think just me bringing you to meet them will be enough. Knowing my mom, she’d probably get so excited that she’d invite you on vacation.”

“What? Really?!”

I smile a little as his cheeks turn red. “She’s always asked if I wanted to invite someone with us when we’d go back to Costa Rica, but I always said no ‘cause I never had anyone or was so close to anyone to the point where I wanted them all in my business.”

Kyler pauses. “Wait, you brought that up earlier today, but would you seriously be cool with me coming along?”

I rub my arm. “Y-Yeah. I think it’d be fun. That is—if my parents do end up liking you. I mean, I have no doubts, but you’d at least have to come over for Thanksgiving first or something,” I mumble.

Kyler turns completely red, beaming. “That sounds awesome! That means I’d really need to brush up on my language skills, just in case they whisper things about me to you, thinking I can’t understand.” He smirks.

“But what would I bring? Do you guys have your own version of Thanksgiving, or do you just have the generic dishes? Well, maybe I could just bring cake—that’d be easy!” He goes on.

Kyler continues to ramble, and I keep drinking, staring at him fondly. It’s so weird to see someone excited about something that relates to me. Or I guess he was just excited about me and the possibility of us being together.

Then again, what am I thinking? Bringing Kyler to meet my parents?! Hell, they’d see how flustered I am around him and completely read me like a book.

Knowing my mom, she’d ask something cheesy like when our wedding’s gonna be, or just straight up ask how long we’ve been together. Meanwhile, all we’ve done is make out in a bathroom stall.

“K-Kyler, it’s not even close to November yet,” I attempt to explain, but he’s still thrilled.

“Yeah, and? There’s nothing wrong with planning in advance! Halloween’s right around the corner, and after that, we’ll just have a few weeks to go!”

I grab my head and laugh. “No, it’s not, you adorable idiot! Calm down.”

“Ha!” He exclaims. “You just called me adorable!!”

I blush. “I called you an idiot—emphasis on that part!”

Kyler leans in and places a finger under my chin with a smirk. “Man, I don’t think I’ve ever told you how cute you look when you’re mad.”

I shove him, and he wobbles on the stool. “Shut up! Shut up, shut up! You’re obnoxious!” I exclaim while smacking him a little, but he just keeps smiling.

Kyler grabs my hands, so I stop flailing. “A question, though.”

I pull away. “W-What?”

“I mean, I don’t know which way you swing or anything or if you even swing at all,” He mumbles. “But are you out to your parents?”

I tense up. “Um, no. I never had a reason to mention it. Why? I’m sure if you do somethin’ gay in their presence, they won’t care if that’s what you’re worried about.”

The guy chuckles. “Alright, well I guess that’s good. You just speak highly of them, so I figured they’d be open enough that you’d come out.”

I shrug. “I don’t know—it doesn’t matter right now. I-It’s not like imma show up at the house unannounced to introduce my boyfriend or something. I’ve never even introduced girlfriends to them.”

“What? Why not?”

I finish the rest of my drink, bouncing my leg off the footrest of the stool. 

“I don’t know,” I mumble. “We never felt close enough to the point where it felt appropriate.”

Kyler leans on his hand. “Yet…you’ve only known me for maybe two weeks now, and you’re inviting me to Costa Rica.”

I blush. “Fuck off.” I hand him my glass. “Can you make me another one of these?”

He takes it and then sits it down. “Nope. I’m on break.” He smirks at me. God, if he wasn’t so hot, I’d punch him in his stupid pretty face. “Why are you trying to run away again?”

I look away. “I-I’m not.”

“It doesn’t have to be physical,” He glances at my empty glass. “Don’t you like talking to me?” He grabs my hand and holds it close to his face, yet he doesn’t kiss it.

“I mean, well, yeah. You’re just really goddamn embarrassing. Like, all the time. And we’re in public.” I add.

He interlaces his fingers with mine and glances at our hands before gazing at me.

“Okay, so would you like me to stop?”

Oh my God, I swear he just keeps getting hotter. I’m not sure if I’m sweating from the alcohol or his body temperature, but it’s driving me nuts. Every time we have a conversation, he finds some way to fluster me. And I mean, it’d be fine if all his tiny actions didn’t already make me blush on a daily basis.

Kyler continues to stare at me with those icy blue eyes, awaiting my answer. I gulp and cross my legs. “I-It’s fine.”

He removes his hand from mine and fixes my hair, giving me a chill as his finger brushes against my ear. “You sure?”

“Won’t you get in trouble for being horny with the customers?”

He snorts, his face red. “What! I’m not—huh?”

“T-Then why the hell are you so touchy?!” I whisper loudly, trying not to get any weird looks from the other customers.

Kyler rolls his eyes. “To be honest, you started this whole thing by flirting with me out of the blue. Now I’m just in the mood.”

“I was joking!”

He smirks, squinting a little. “Were you now?” He pulls a quarter out of his pocket, preparing to flip it. 

I frantically try and grab it, but he leans away. “You—! Don’t you dare!” I hiss, though he’s so cute that I can’t even be mad.

“Aw, come on! Let’s do it just for fun!” He beams.

“K-Kyler—no!” I squeal, just for him to flip it immediately afterward. 

He leans into me. “Tails. You remember what that one was?”

I shove him out of my face. “No—weren’t both options just the same but worded differently!?”

Kyler laughs. “You tell me! You’re the one who said it!!”

“I got it from Deja!”

He places his hand on my thigh. “So? The words still came out of your mouth.” He smirks, his hand creeping closer to my groin. “Guess you’re mine now, huh?”

There’s not enough room on the stool to pull my knees to my chest, yet I try anyway and wobble a little. “You work here, Kyler! Be professional!”

He laughs, unfazed.

“Aren’t your coworkers gonna spread rumors?!” I whisper.

Kyler shrugs. “Heh, maybe. They already call me a sex magnet thanks to all the weirdos that’ll ask me to meet them in the bathroom.”

“W-What??”

He snickers. “Yeah, yeah. But I’m used to it, and it’s always amusing. It gives me good stories to tell at parties too.”

“Wait, do you actually—?!

Kyler grins. “Of course not! I think I’d be fired for that anyway!”

I sigh and lay on the counter. “Can you please get me some water? I think I’m gonna die.”

Kyler motions one of his coworkers to do so and then pats my head. 

“Y’know, I’m surprised that you’re not all over me now that you’ve had two of those. At this rate, you inviting me to the bathroom would barely catch me off guard.”

“Fuck off. I’m holding it in.” I mumble quietly with a groan.

His friend gives me my water, and I take several sips as Kyler grins.

“Holding it in?”

I take more sips, almost finishing it immediately. 

“S-Stop holding it in then!” Kyler beams. “Let your lightweight-of-a-self show!”

I scoff. “You just want me to give in to your flattery.”

“Yes, and?” He admits proudly.

I groan and wipe my face. I feel like if I give in, I’ll end up kissing him again, and just the thought of that makes me overheat even more. I never thought I’d have a thing for guys in formal attire. Or just Kyler in formal attire.

Or Kyler in general. 

I place my head on the counter, gripping my glass.

God, what I wouldn’t give for him to drag me into the bathroom, push me against the stall and kiss me till I can’t even stand. Not necessarily sure if kissing someone enough could make them do that, but with my lack of experience and how easily flustered I am, I’m sure it wouldn’t take long.

I swear to God, I think I’ll let him do anything to me if he stays dressed like that.

“Nikki, are you good?”

“I’m great.” I squeak, still lying on the counter with a smile.

I hear something beep and then some shuffling.

“Damn, my break’s over.”

I peek up. “When are you getting off?”

“Around ten, I think. You should probably get home, though, so you’re ready for class tomorrow.”

I sigh. That’s right. Back to my empty dorm.

I sit up. “Um. Can I stay with you again?”

Kyler turns red. “W-What?”

I finish the rest of my water. “You said I could come by whenever, right?”

“Well, okay—yeah, but I won’t even be there for a while. You should just go back to your dorm. We’ll meet up tomorrow night anyway!”

I sigh and lean on my hand. Kyler looks frantic. I was attempting to “give in.” I didn’t mean anything weird by it.

“But last night was fun!”

He rolls his eyes. “Nikki, we blacked out from sleep deprivation,” He says and laughs. “We needed Deja to remind us of what even happened and…for those first few minutes without her, it was quite anxiety-inducing.”

I suppose he was right. 

I just…didn’t wanna be alone again.

Yeah, I’m an introvert but there’s still some people I’d like to be around and he’s at the top of my list. While it was nice to know I wouldn’t wake up with Zeke peering over me despite having his own bed, the empty space would still be uncomfortable.

“Aw…” I pout.

Kyler sighs and kisses my forehead, standing up afterward. “Nikki, I’ve gotta get back to work now. You can come over another day, I promise.”

“You promise?”

He nods. “Mhm! We can watch a movie or play cards, and Deja can join us—we’ll make a whole day of it.” He smiles at me.  

“Okay, fine.”

Kyler ruffles my hair, and I watch as he walks off. And he was right—at least I’d get to see him tomorrow.