Josh laughed, then pointed to the beginning of the blurb. “Nah, it says Ricky and Joseph. Not Riley and Josh. A bunch of romances are about friends getting together. Sounds like every other story.”
“Yeah, but the rest of it? Living on the same street, a graphic design business, forced proximity on New Year’s? Josh, he’s talking about us.”
Josh put down his sandwich and slowly read the blurb one more time.
“So, if this is us… does that mean you think we belong together?”
“I— That’s not— It says everyone around us thinks we belong together. It sounds like he’s talking about us. His followup email says ‘I’ve been watching you.’ This guyknowsus somehow.”
Instead of answering, Josh grabbed the computer off Riley’s lap and hit reply on CJ’s email.
Is this about us?
A moment later,Yes, I’ve been watching you. I know things.
Josh responded,Where are you watching from?
I’m closer than you think.
Give me a hint.
I will. But not yet…
Is this Riley?
“What? I’m literally sitting right here,” Riley said.
“I’m testing him, don’t worry,” Josh said, filling Riley with worry.
What? No, Josh. Riley is right next to you.
How do you know that?
Because he is literally always right next to you.
How do you knowthat?
I KNOW IT ALL!
Riley slammed the laptop lid shut and pulled it awaybefore Josh could continue the back-and-forth with their stalker.
“Why’d you stop me?” Josh asked.
“Because it’s already pretty clear he knows a lot about us. He’s playing some kind of game.”
“Yeah, so let’s figure it out,” Josh said, reaching for the laptop as Riley held it out of his reach. “C’mon, I was so close to breaking him.”
Riley was stretching on the couch to keep the laptop out of Josh’s reach, until eventually he tumbled onto the floor to get away from him.
“You weren’t close to anything. You were egging him on,” Riley said as he stood, his laptop still in his hands.
Josh didn’t give up and followed Riley around the room. Riley was doing his best to hold the laptop out of Josh’s reach, twisting and wriggling to keep it away.
Josh forgot about the laptop and instead put Riley in a headlock, pulling him to the floor, Riley managing to toss the computer on the couch before it could fall.
Josh's hands were everywhere, trying to grab onto something so he could get an edge over Riley, but Riley was wily.
They rolled around, each fighting for dominance, Riley ripping off Josh’s shirt, Josh ripping off his. Josh used the nearby wall to push off with his feet and get on top of Riley, pinning his hands over his head, Josh’s weight settling on top of him.
