"You were fine, really," I say, smiling, enjoying watching his face strain to stay neutral as I continue teasing him.
"Alright, I'll spell it out for you then. What did you think about Harvey? Do you like him?"
"Yeah. I do. He's a nice guy." We reach a wooden bench and take a seat. I take another sip of coffee, looking out at the glistening water, the light dancing and shifting with every small ripple. A few peaceful beats of silence float by and then, "He said he liked us."
Zak turns sharply to face me. "Excuse me, what? When? When did he say that?"
"When you went inside to get the board games."
"Right. Okay." He swipes his hand through his hair, his eyes darting about, his mind making way too big a deal out of this, which is…par for the course for him. He's an excited bunny in human form. "And by us you mean…"
"I'm sticking to the Merriam-Webster definition of the word." I point between us. "So, you and me."
All traces of excitement suddenly leave Zak's face. "How do you feel about that?"
"Fine," I say slowly since I don't fully understand why he's asking me.
"It's just that you were flirting with him yesterday, so I don't want to get in the way of anything."
I finish my coffee and place the cup on the bench beside me. "And what else did I tell you yesterday? That I don't think I can have a relationship if you're not in it."
Another hair swipe. "Yeah. Still processing that one."
"What are you feeling?"
"Want me to be completely honest and unfiltered?"
"You don't really have any other setting."
He manages a small smile. "It was the best thing I've heard you say in a long time. There's a reason why our scenes were so hot."
"Because we love each other?" I hedge.
"Exactly. It's just that, well, we're friends. Admittedly, friends who have had on-screen sex plenty of times, who run a business together, who know each other better than anyone else. It's, like, all the ingredients are there…but something's missing."
I nod, knowing exactly what he means because I feel it, too. I watched a rom-com on Netflix recently about two longtime friends who take a yearly vacation together. They have some drama, resolve it, and end up together. Friends to lovers, I believe it's called. Worked nicely in the film, but this isn't a movie unfortunately. This is real life. Things are a lot more complicated.
I don't have any answers, but there's one thing Zak and I do better than anyone else. "Let's just keep talking, yeah?"
"Of course." He shuffles down the bench and wraps his arm around my neck. "We'll figure it out, Jack. We always have, and we always will."
6
Zak
"So, how big do you think Harvey's dick is?"
"Oh my god!Zak!" Jack glares at me, open-mouthed, from the dining room where he's setting the table. It's Friday, and Harvey is coming over for dinner and board game night. "He'll be here any minute."
"Oh, please. Drop the innocent guy act. I clocked the way you were checking him out."
"When?"
"When he helped us out with the car. Also, when he sat down on the back porch after dinner. I know about your bulge fetish, remember?"
His cheeks flush. "Ugh. Hate that you know me so well sometimes."
"And, hey, he was cool about the porn thing. Props to him for that."
