“How have you been?” Leo asked as he popped the polystyrene lid of his snack pack and attacked a chip with a wooden fork.
“Alright. I’ve mostly recovered from last night, but looking at your face makes it all rush back.”
Leo laughed heartily. He was a sweet guy. Rome was right. Not many guys would have reacted to the misunderstanding as calmly as he did.
“What about you? Did you have class today?” I asked.
“Yeah, the one that my model is for, so I got a chance to ask my tutor a bunch of questions.”
“How is your model coming along?”
“Good! Well, I’m not panicking yet. Usually, I start all my projects early and work on them slowly until I realise there’s more to do than I thought, and so I spend the night before it’s due rushing the rest. But, like, in a fun way. I put on some music, make coffee, and work. It’s nice. I like using my hands.”
My eyes flickered down. Leo didn’t have the type of hands I associated with artists or craftsmen. They were big, like the rest of him.
“So, what happened to the guy you were supposed to go on a date with?” Leo asked.
“He emailed me last night, actually. When I was” — I fought the urge to cover my face with my hands again because we were past it now “— kissing your neck.”
“What did he say?”
“Mostly, he tore me apart for standing him up, etcetera, etcetera.”
“It’s not like you purposely stood him up,” Leo said.
“I said that. I wrote him a response, explaining the whole thing, but I doubt he’ll believe me or reply.”
“What if he did, though?” Leo asked. “Would you go on a date with him?”
I ate some food and chewed slowly, taking a moment to consider it. “I’m not sure. To be honest, he seems a bit…uptight. But that might’ve been because he was angry. So actually…” I started nodding. “I think I would go on a date with him if he wanted to.”
“Why?”
I stared at him. “What do you mean, why?”
He looked a little sheepish. “I mean, why are you going on dates?”
“To find a boyfriend,” I said it like it was obvious because it was.
“So you posted on LULL?”
“I feel like you’re judging me right now.”
“No! I’m not. Sorry if I sounded that way. I just meant…aren’t there easier ways? Like meeting in person or using dating apps? It should be easy for you because you’re…” he trailed off, not meeting my eyes.
“Because I’m gay?” I asked.
“Actually, I meant that it should be easy for you because you’re good-looking,” he said.
I stared at him, heat creeping up my neck. “Oh,” I said lamely because it wasn’t every day someone complimented my looks. Every time I went home, Mum told me I needed to lose weight before she fed me approximately 500 slices of gimbap.
“Speak for yourself,” I said, then paused. “You are single, right? Oh god, you must be since you let me kiss your neck. Although, you did say you only let me to save me the embarrassment —”
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Leo said firmly. “If I were dating someone, I wouldn’t let another person kiss me out of politeness.”
“No. You’d only do that if you’re single,” I said dryly.
“It wasn’t just politeness,” he protested. “I was overwhelmed, not thinking clearly—”
