“Sorry, Chris. I really am. If this is…”
“No,” he said, putting his hand over mine. “It’s fine. I’m glad you can call when you need a friend. But I know there’s a reason. So, go on.”
“Cliff and I were at Chained the other night. There was another little there.”
Chris was a good listener. Before Cliff, we went to each other about everything. Venting or asking for advice. Honestly, sometimes, it was simply getting things off of our chests. Weneeded friends who understood our lifestyle and who got our unique problems and situations.
“Another little? There are always lots at the club.”
“This one was different. We played and colored together. He was so cute and kind. Cliff played with us. But I had something in my head before that. The other day, when we all had dinner together.”
“What was it?”
“I was thinking that I’d like a little to be friends with and maybe more than friends with. Maybe it was because that idea was already in my head but…”
“Wait,” he said. “You’re talking about Edwin?”
Surprise bloomed in my chest. “How did you know?”
Chris smiled. “Because the other day, he was talking about you in the playroom. He moved into the Little House.”
“He lives here now? I…he was on a day pass. He lived out of town from what he told me.”
My friend shook his head. “He recently moved here. Like I said, in the Little House.”
“That changes things.”
“How so? You just said you liked him. Wait, please tell me you’ve talked to Cliff about this.”
He knew better. Or maybe he didn’t. I hadn’t exactly been the best communicator with my friend. “I did. I talked to him about my feelings and he said they were normal and human. Nothing to worry about. But that was when we thought Edwin lived out of town and we would probably never see him again. This…this is a whole different scenario.”
Chris and I took a few minutes to think about my scenario. He began to speak a few times but then stopped almost immediately.
I couldn’t believe it. Edwin was here. In this city. I would see him at Chained more often, and on the times I went to play at the Little House with my friends, well, I would see him there too.
There was no more denying being attracted to Edwin than there was my love of coloring.
And now, seeing him wasn’t a one-time thing. It would be an all-the-time thing.
I had to speak to Cliff.
“I have an idea,” Chris said.
“What?”
“Let’s have a little’s night. Bowling. Pool. Something. We invite everyone. We give you two a chance to know each other better. Feel him out. See if there’s a spark there as well. He was talking about you, after all.”
My cheeks warmed knowing that well after our Chained encounter, Edwin was speaking about me to his friends, his roommates.
There was a chance he was thinking about me just as much as I was thinking about him.
I had to find out.
“I should ask Cliff first.”
Chris nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. But don’t leave me hanging. We need a boy’s night out. Haven’t had one in a while. Now, let’s finish these carbs before they go cold.”
Even though they had gone cold, we finished off the pastries and chatted about his job. I listened and, while he didn’t ask for my advice, he got some things off his chest.
