“Just ask Noah, this is my third hair color, and it hasn’t done anything bad to my hair! We use really gentle bleach at the salon, and the color is free of harsh chemicals,” Aspen said, throwing out their arm and pulling Noah in by his waist. They leaned their head on his chest, which he didn’t mind in the slightest, but that seemed to sort of defeat the purpose of chatting up these two men if they were just going to act like a couple.
“What do you think, mensch? Would Kevin in HR write me up if I showed up with pink hair?” the guy with the barbed wire tattoo on his neck asked.
Noah squinted at his nametag, which read Leon in jagged handwriting. The other man’s nametag said “James he/him” with the same trans sticker Noah had on his own nametag.
James seemed to take in Aspen’s hair before gazing back at Leon. “He would definitely not be thrilled. I think you could pull it off, though.”
Leon leaned his shoulder into James’ and smiled down at him. “I’ll do it if you do it. I bet you’d look hot in pink.”
James snorted, and his cheeks darkened as he turned his head away but continued to peek up at Leon through his lashes. “I’ll, uh, think about it.”
Ah, so maybe that was why Aspen was clinging to Noah’s side. There was clearly something going on between these two if even Noah could pick up on it.
They continued talking to the two men for a few more minutes before Aspen announced they wanted a drink. They released Noah as they got in line for coffee, but they were still standing practically on top of him.
“I thought you were going to try and meet some new folks tonight?” Noah asked quietly.
“I just met James and Leon,” Aspen said, gesturing across the room towards where the two men had sat down. Leon’s foot was resting rather obviously against James’ leg under the table.
Noah rolled his eyes. “Yes, but it seems like they’re a bit preoccupied with each other.”
Aspen snorted. “That’s for fucking sure.”
They stepped forward in line, and Aspen remained glued to his side. “I meant, I thought you were going to try andmeetsomeone.”
“I am!”
“Then why are you attached to me right now?”
Aspen was so close to him, he could feel the muscles in their leg shift as they tapped their foot. “I’m just getting myself a cute little drink, then I’ll go socialize some more.”
It was their turn to step up to the counter, and they ordered tea for Noah and a double caffeinated, over-sweetened abomination for Aspen.
“The sugar will give me strength,” Aspen said as they walked over to the other side of the counter to wait for their drinks.
“Lord, givemestrength,” Noah mumbled, and Aspen elbowed him.
“This was your idea, so you get to suffer through this with me.”
Noah tried to do a subtle sweep of the room, noting that most folks seemed to have come with at least one other person, if not a group of friends. It wasn’t really conducive to flirting or one-on-one connection.
“It’s okay if you just want to socialize tonight. There doesn’t need to be any added pressure.”
Aspen shook their head, their newly dyed pink hair flopping back and forth. “It’s fine. I’m working myself up to it. You know it takes me a little while to get going.”
Noah nearly jumped out of his skin when a curly-haired stranger stepped into their little bubble. “Sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear. Are you guys as nervous about talking to strangers as I am?”
Aspen, who had been staring off into space, turned to look at the newcomer. Her nametag read ‘Rachel she/her,’ and she had a similar build to Aspen, but was around an inch or two taller. After giving her a quick once-over, the corner of Aspen’s mouth curved up into what Noah had come to think of as their customer service smile. Before they could say anything, though, Rachel’s eyes went wide, and one of her hands flew up to her chest.
“Oh–sorry!” she said, a blush rapidly spreading across her freckled cheeks. “I mean–are, uh,y'allas nervous as I am?”
Noah wasn’t really sure what to make of that, but before he could ask her to clarify, Aspen laughed.
“Oh, honey, you’re fine. I respond to guys, gals, pals, y’all– it doesn’t matter.”
Ah, she’d been responding to Aspen’s pronouns, which they had as a pin on their sweatshirt, as well as written in bubble font on their nametag. Noah immediately felt more endeared to the woman for her overcorrection.
“To answer your question, it’s not quite nerves, so much as the fact we’d agreed to try and meet other people tonight,” Noah said. “But Aspen has been practically on top of me since we got here.”
