“So much for the meek and mild kid I knew in high school,” Isaac said, but he couldn’t stop himself smiling fondly. They’d both grown up since then. He liked the way Julian had turned out, even if they hadn’t spoken a whole lot in the intervening years.
Julian had never once forgotten his birthday, though. He’d always sent a card. And Isaac had kept them.
He’d tried to remember Julian’s, but Julian was a summer baby, smack in the middle of the professional tennis season, and that meant he’d forgotten once or twice.
If Julian had noticed, he’d never said anything.
In some ways, getting in touch with him again was like meeting a new person, but the comfort of being with his best friend was still firmly there.
“I wanted to thank you,” Isaac said. “For taking me out last night. I actually… had a lot of fun.”
“I hate to say this, but I actually think I’m getting alittleold for that kind of fun.”
Isaac raised an eyebrow. “You’re turning twenty-seven this year,” he said.
“I know,” Julian said. “That’s why I hate to say it. Not that I didn’t have fun, too. I’m just… suffering for it today.”
“Poor baby,” Isaac teased.
Julian poked his tongue out at him, so he couldn’t have been feelingtoobad. Isaac got the impression that Julian was just generally exhausted these days.
Maybe he could help with that.
Not that he had any idea where to start. Generally, people tended to find him exhausting. Maybe he was making it worse for Julian.
Julian would have said something, though. He was here voluntarily, and until he said otherwise, there was no point in trying to make decisions for him. He’d only get mad if Isaac started doing that.
“I’m glad you had fun,” Julian said eventually.
“Did you see the way everyone was looking at me?” Isaac asked. He was still glowing from that.
“Hard to miss,” Julian sipped at the water in front of him, but he looked like he could really use that coffee.
“I could get used to that.” Isaac grinned.
“You, uh…” Julian cleared his throat. “You know you’re already kind of a gay sex symbol, right? I mean, before all this.”
Isaac hadn’t known that at all. It’d never even occurred to him to wonder before now.
“Huh,” he said, unsure what to think about that.
It wasn’t the worst thing. He’d liked the attention, and it definitely worked with what he was trying to do, here.
He’d woken up to a dozen excited people asking if they’d seen him out last night, all of them congratulating him on coming out.
It was… nice. Nice to feel wanted for once, to feel as though he was part of a community.
If all he had to do was go out to gay bars every now and then, hang out with people who were alotmore like him than he’d expected…
Right now, that felt worth it.
And he’d gotten to see Julian having fun, too. That was awesome.
“I guess people thinking you’re hot is always nice,” he said after a moment. “I really didn’t mind them looking at me.”
Julian rolled his eyes. “Your vanity is one of your most attractive qualities.”
“Something about the way you say that makes you sound like you’re not being sincere,” Isaac teased, faking a dramatic pout.
