Once inside, he took off his wet hoodie and wet shoes. He opened the closet to look for some dry clothes, when he saw Mr. Alfredo on top of a pile of CDs, computer games, and dirty laundry.
Jake smiled to himself, sitting down on the floor, and taking the stuffed dinosaur out to look at it. It was supposed to be a T-rex, but it was goofy looking, with big, crossed eyes, buck teeth made of white felt, and a long, bright green tail that had been sewn up underneath from when it accidentally got torn.
Jake bet Ezra knew a lot of stuff about dinosaurs. He knew things about bugs and birds, so he’d probably know stuff about them too. But Jake wasn’t going to get to ask him. Ezra was angry with him, he was sure. Ezra hadn’t called him back or paged him or anything.
“What should I do, Mr. Alfredo?” Jake asked. He felt a little silly, but if Mr. Alfredo could talk and give Jake some advice, he’d certainly listen right about now. “Guess I’m just a screw up, huh? But you still like me, don’t you?”
Mr. Alfredo’s crossed eyes stared blankly back at Jake, and he rolled his at how ridiculous he was being. He sighed and went to put the toy back in the closet when he saw Ezra’s tuxedo shirt in the pile of dirty clothes.
Jake picked it up. He forgot about it, and Ezra probably did too since he’d left it here. Jake held that shirt in his hands and thought he might actually cry. How lame would that be? But this might give him a good excuse to go to Ezra’s dorm. Maybe Ezra would let him in, and they could talk.
Jake looked at the tuxedo shirt and got a better idea.
He snatched the flyer out of his gym bag and read it over. It didn’t say anything about having to be in the LGBTQ club to go to the dance. And he didn’t have anything else to do that nightexcept study. He might be making things worse, but he had to try.
And hope for some luck tonight.
He was going to need it.
Jake hadn’t ever been to an LGBTQ club before.
Or a Gay Prom.
Truthfully, he didn’t even know a club like that existed on campus until Ezra said so, and that probably wasn’t good. And so, Jake was nervous. There were lots of reasons why, but one reason was because he wasn’t sure if Ezra would get his message. Jake couldn’t find him anywhere, so he left him a voice message, and slipped a note under his door. Jake would have written it on the dry erase board, but he was worried Sean might see it. Ezra was upset, but that didn’t mean he and Sean wouldn’t make up. Jake had to hope for the best.
When Jake got to the ballroom, he wished there was a mirror somewhere so he could check himself again. His mom had also made him take a tuxedo with him to college, just in case, and he should probably call his mom and thank her for that.
As he walked in, he felt a little self-conscious and even a little guilty, like he wasn’t gay enough to be here and he was intruding. There were rainbow decorations everywhere and guys dancing with guys and girls dancing with girls. A few girls even wore a tuxedo like Jake’s. Everyone looked so happy. He relaxed a little bit.
Jake glanced around. He didn’t see Ezra anywhere. Or Sean, thank god. There was a DJ in the corner who looked like Sinead O’Connor in a peach, puffy ball gown, playing some music. There was a slow disco ball spinning, casting dots of light all aroundthe dance floor. Jake watched couples dance together, as he took a seat at one of the big, round tables that had been set up.
He put the boutonnière he bought last minute on the table. He got it after paging Mindy911and getting her to take him to a flower shop. All of this had been very last minute, but Jake wanted to make sure he did everything right. And having a boutonnière to give Ezra seemed like the right thing to do in this situation.
Now, all Jake could do was wait.
And wait.
He watched the couples dancing for a bit. Then he went and got some punch. He drank all the punch and then went to get some more. Songs played, couples danced, and Jake drank more punch. It didn’t have alcohol, but it made him have to pee a few times.
As songs kept playing, Jake had to wonder how much time had passed. It had to have been over an hour now. Or maybe longer than that. Jake wasn’t sure. He hadn’t thought to bring a watch with him, and it was hard to see the time on his pager in the low lighting.
So, Jake just waited.
He turned to look at the door a couple of times, but there wasn’t anyone there. No one coming in, anyway, but there were some people leaving. It must be getting late now. Jake’s stomach began to sink. He was going to have to accept the obvious—Ezra wasn’t coming.
Damn, he’d really fucked this up more than he thought. Boyz II Men started to play, and it made Jake feel even worse. Jake sat in the chair at the table, elbows on his knees, hanging his head. He’d really fucked this up, then. He’d probably embarrassed Ezra in front of the whole choir and made a fool of himself in the process. He should have handled it better or just stayed out of itcompletely. It wasn’t any of his business, but he’d been unable to control himself. He’d been so angry at Sean, and—
“May I have this dance?”
Jake looked up, his heart hammering with hope. Ezra stood in front of him. He was wearing a tuxedo and his Sally Jessy glasses. Ezra looked so good, and Jake was so surprised, his eyes started to water, and he couldn’t find his voice.
Ezra shyly smiled his dimpled smile. “I’m sorry I’m late.” He ran his fingers through his hair, and Jake knew right then he’dneverget tired of that. “I took on another tutoring gig and wasn’t in my dorm all day. I just got your messages, like, thirty minutes ago. I was getting ready. I was afraid you’d be gone by now.”
Jake was finally able to speak. “I would’ve stayed here all night waiting for you.”
Ezra smiled all bashful again. He nodded to the dance floor. “So, how about it? I’ve got to put all that practice you gave me to good use somehow.”
Jake felt himself blush a little at the word practice, but he stood up and took Ezra’s hand. They’d taken a couple of steps when Jake said, “Oh, wait.” He went back to the table and picked up the boutonnière. It was just a simple white rose with a bunch of other little white flowers that Jake didn’t know the name of. His hands shook a little as he pinned it to the lapel on Ezra’s tux.
