Joel took a deep breath, interrupted by a vibration in his back pocket. He closed the book and set both volumes down next to him as he reached for his phone, which had apparently decided to work today. He didn't recognize the number, but he accepted the call, hoping it might be Davis.
“Hello?”
“Joel?” A recognizable baritone questioned him on the other end.
“Yeah, it is. Davis?” Joel asked, suddenly nervous and picking at a frayed thread on the stitching of his shoe.
“Yeah. Hey there.”
“Hey. How's it going? I was starting to think you didn't want to get together after all,” Joel casually remarked, tryingand failingto not let his insecurity or abandonment issues show.
“No, no, I do!” Davis was quick to protest, causing Joel to smile. “I've been having shit luck with my car. It got keyed when I was in the store talking to you, then when I got out of dinner that night, all four of my tires were slashed. I got it back from the shop and three days after that, the battery stopped charging. It's so weird. But other than that, I've been good, and I do still want to take you out. I have a loaner car from the dealer finally, so do you have any plans tonight?”
“Tonight? No, I'm free.” Joel scratched the back of his neck. He hadn't been on a date in, well, ever. He had as much luck dating as Davis seemed to have with his Tesla.
“Great. Are you good with Indian? There's a place I love off the 101 outside Hollywood called Paree’s. It's in kind of a shitty area but the palak paneer is one hundred percent worth the risk.” Davis laughed and Joel’s mouth crept into a tentative smile.
“Indian is good. That sounds great, do you want me to meet you there?”
“Definitely not. I'll pick you up, if that's okay? I am a gentleman, after all.” Joel could hear some papers shifting around on the other end of the call.
“That's fine. I'll text you my address then? And don't worry, I'm in Echo Park, I'm not a commuter from the valley or anything.” Joel teased, but was being serious. Traffic in L.A. was no joke. He tried to stay east of the 405 and south of the 101 at all costs.
“Sounds good, Joel. I can't wait. I'll pick you up at six.”
“Six is great. Bye, Davis. See you soon,” Joel responded before ending the call. He quickly saved Davis’s number and sent him a text with his address. Sliding his phone back into his pocket, he reached down to pick up theLes Misérablesvolumes, but they were gone. “Fuck,” he mumbled under his breath, looking back over his shoulder. He hadn't even heard anyone come up, or he would have stopped them. Joel did a quick once-over of the house, but didn't see anything else he wanted, and he didn't see anyone with the books he’d intended to buy. Joel pulled his sunglasses down onto his face as he exited the house and headed toward his car. He needed to get home and prep for his date with Davis.
***
At 6:07, his phone rang.
Davis.
Joel sighed inwardly, prepping himself for the inevitable cancellation. “Hello?”
“Joel! Hey, it's Davis.” Joel sat down and took his shoes off, anticipating the letdown.
“Hey...everything OK?”
“Yeah, funny you should ask. I was having a hell of a time getting this loaner started and I'm running so late.” He was running late, not canceling.See? Joel thought to himself,you were overreacting.“Anyway, I realized this spot is only like ten minutes from your place. I hate to do this, but I'm starving and coming from the other direction. Can you meet me there?”
“Yeah, of course, sure... Just send me the address and I'll head over.” Joel put his shoes back on.
“Awesome! I'm so sorry, Joel. I'm normally much more put together than this. I must be making an awful impression,” Davis chuckled.
“You're fine. I'll see you in a bit. Drive safe.”
“You too, Joel.”
The call disconnected. Grabbing his wallet and keys, he locked up and headed off to meet Davis.
***
Joel was driving in a loop between Normandie and Kingsley, trying to find a parking spot that wasn't on Sunset so he wouldn't have to deal with all the traffic on a Saturday night. Davis had not been kidding when he said the restaurant was in a questionable location. It wasn't the worst part of town, but it definitely wasn't the best either. Joel turned down DeLongpre, one block down and about three blocks over from the restaurant. A car pulled away from the curb, so Joel flicked his blinker on and slid his car into the vacated spot. He flipped down the sun visor and opened the little mirror, the two small yellow lights clicked on and cast him, quite literally, in an unattractive light. He flipped the visor closed and adjusted the rear view mirror so he could see his eyes.
“He wants to go out with you. This isn't a pity date. He thinks you're cute,” Joel pep-talked himself into what he hoped was a halfway confident outlook on the date with Davis. Joel was confused about why Davis even asked him out in the first place, but he was trying to roll with the punches. He was nineteen years old, almost twenty, and he worked in a hole-in-the-wall bookshop people always mistook for a BDSM store. He lived in a shitty one-bedroom apartment on the questionable side of Echo Park, he could barely afford the rent, and he was alone. Mostly alone. No parents in touch, no siblings, no pets. Only Athena and sometimes her brother, Adonis.
It was to be expected, at least. Joel had always been a disappointment. His father had died when he was young, and his stepfather hadn’t ever been the kind of role model he needed. It had gotten worse when he was a teenager and figured out that he was gay. His stepfather didn’t like that, so Joel tried to stay out of the house as much as he could. His mom wasn't supportive of him either, often threatening to send him away if he didn't straighten up… literally. The day Joel graduated high school, his mom and stepdad left for the east coast, leaving Joel on his own with a phone number for his mom’s mom who lived somewhere in Beverly Hills. Joel hadn’t even spoken to his grandmother since he was a pre-teen. She was not what anyone would consider a warm and loving grandma. There were no fresh-baked cookies waiting for him. He wasn't sure if it was because of him being gay and driving his mom across the country, or more of a dislike for people in general that caused the issues between him and his grandma. But he took the move and the guilt in stride, understanding their move across country was their way of dealing with what a letdown he had been. The list of reasons he had failed them was endless, the main reason obviously being that he was gay, then you could add the fact that he wasn’t tall enough, he wasn’t athletic enough, he wasn’t social enough, his dyed hair was too attention grabbing, his tight jeans were too immodest, and his taste in music was questionable at best. The list of his shortcomings went on and on. Being painfully shy as a result of a life spent being told he was not enough of anything meant he didn’t make or keep friends easily, but he had gotten used to the solitude. He preferred to be with his books and his records anyway, if he was being honest. They all had better stories to tell.
