“Elio!” Milo begged in a pleading whimper. His face and ears were getting hot and he was close to crying.
“Call me Eli. We’re friends now, aren’t we?”
Milo nodded slightly. “I think so. If you want us to be.”
“I do,” Elio replied in a low rumble. A teasing smile curved his lips as he watched Milo. “My friends and family call me Eli.”
“Okay…Eli.” Milo squirmed nervously. “Is that why you picked me and why you’ve been standing up for me?”
“No.” Elio shook his head. “I picked you because youarethe smartest physicist I know, excluding myself, and I can’t stand bullies.”
Milo could also add a flipping tummy to his list of symptoms. “Thank you.”
“You know, they pick on you because you’re better than them.”
“Maybe. I know they’re insecure and need to dominate others to feel good about themselves. I just wish I could be more like you and not give a crap,” Milo said, making Elio chuckle.
“Maybe I’ll rub off on you.”
“That might not be so bad,” Milo mused and attempted to turn back to his tablet but Elio stopped him.
“What did they say? We’re partners and friends now, right? And I have a feeling it was about me.”
“Some of it,” Milo confirmed as he avoided Elio’s eyes. “Brad called me your pet and implied that we were intimately involved.”
“Of course, he did. What else?”
“Um…” Milo wished Elio would open a black hole in Starlight. He’d run headfirst into it. “Tyler called me Mild again and said that I was too boring for you. What’s unlimited head mean?” he whispered and Elio flinched andhisface turned red.
“Bloody…fuck!That’s uncouth bymy standards. I’ll handle this,” he said, turning to go but Milo grabbed Elio.
“Please,don’t.It won’t help and it doesn’t matter.”
“How can you say that?” Elio demanded. “You are not boring. They’re the ones who are too shallow and dim to understand what you’re capable of. They’ll never grasp how beautiful your brain is or appreciate the way your mind works so they mock you.”
“Wow, Eli… I—” Milo risked a glance at Elio and found him staring. There was something odd and intense about his gaze, as if he was seeing something strange and new. “What is it?”
“What?” Elio said, still staring at Milo’s mouth or his nose. His nose began to itch and Milo was too aware of his lips and didn’t know what to do with them. Smile, cover them, bite them, press them against Elio’s...
Wait. What?
“Is there something on my face?” Milo asked weakly but Elio shook his head.
“No… Your face is…” He cleared his throat and licked his lips. “It’s a very nice face. An objectively handsome face, actually. They’re probably jealous about that too.”
“My face?” Milo asked as his brow furrowed. “I’ve never understood the value of symmetrical features and jawlines in determining a person’s attractiveness. Brad and Tyler are super jerks and treat everyone like crap but they’re popular because they’re conventionally attractive and come from wealthy families.”
“Proof that we are still silly monkeys,” Elio concurred, giving his head a shake and stepping back. “Stop listening to those monkeys and believe in yourself.”
“I’ll try. Thank you…Eli,” Milo said and gave his hand a grateful squeeze. Elio’s brows pinched and he stared at Milo’s hand like it had extra fingers. “Sorry!” Milo swung his hand around his back, ducking apologetically. “I get it, I’m not a toucher either. I don’t know what that was about.” He turned around and this time, Elio didn’t stop him.
“Don’t be sorry. I don’t mind when some people…touch me,” Elio mumbled and it was followed by a few hard thuds of a tennis ball.
“O—kay.” Milo squinted awkwardly at his tablet, embarrassed because he had liked touching Elio’s hand and the words “touch me” had conjured a shockingly inappropriate desire to touchmore.
The torque formula was tattooed on the inside of his right wrist and whenever Milo saw it, he longed to push Elio’s sleeve up and see what else was under there. Where and what Elio had chosen to etch onto his body enthralled Milo. It also made his tummy and boxers tickle in odd ways whenever he wondered ifElio was tattooedeverywhereand what was hiding in his most secret, personal spots.
Milo wasn’t supposed to be thinking about what was under Elio’s clothes! Pondering polynomial time and nondeterministic polynomial time was Milo’s business, not the mysteries of Elio’s body. If Elio had an inkling of what Milo was thinking, he’d probably laugh and begin to question his intelligence.
