This earned a laugh, which caused Noel’s shoulders to relax a bit. He has a nice laugh. “Okay, admittedly that was a bit cliché, but I had to try something. I’m not too great at approaching people I don’t know. At least this place is pretty small.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “It’s…one of the reasons why I come here sometimes. And…yeah, I do live nearby. Hard to find shops like these when there’s already a Starbucks on every corner. Gives a nice sense of community and what bad coffee should taste like.” Good job! You said like three sentences without screwing up. Bravo.
“Seriously? I have no idea about finding my way around. I’m attending the university now.” He continued, nodding.
“Really? What year are you?”
“Sophomore. Or, whatever they call ‘just under 60 credits’.” Both of them laughed at this, and for a few minutes, Noel completely forgot about his coffee. There was something oddly comforting about Nate, now that he stopped fretting about being outed, and it made him feel…normal. Normal…
“You know,” the blonde found himself saying, “I could show you around. A bit, I mean. The college.” Ten minutes had already passed and he hadn’t noticed the time until that moment.
From the back, the elderly shopkeep called, “Nate? Vanilla Bean frappachino, muffins bran-”
“That’d be nice. Excuse me for a moment,” he hurried to the counter and hushed the woman in the gentlest of voices before meeting Noel again.
“Bran muffins?” Noel bit his lip. “Are you…having a few issues?”
“Hey now, leave the teasing for after the first date,” he joked, though he stopped after saying so. After a moment or two, he leveled his gaze with the blonde. “…are you free this week? Around Friday-ish at six?”
Noel could feel the heat in his cheeks again. “I…think so, yeah?” His heart hammered against his chest, as he waited.
“Would it be cool if you showed me around campus then? I mean, if it’s no trouble. And maybe grab a bite to eat afterwards?” So smooth!
Ah. He’d known it was coming but now that it had been laid on the table, Noel wondered how to answer it. Should he say no? This thing, as he’d told himself several times, was not something that should be encouraged at all. What if someone found out? That…that stuff he’d said. The bit about swearing off men no matter what and sticking with girls. That was the right thing to do, right?
…but what if he missed something? What if, in the process of dating all of those women, he missed his soulmate, if they happened to be a man? The thought made him consider the decision in a much harsher light. If he started to date men now, he would be more inclined to do so in the future. Seeing as he had no problem with finding a girlfriend (regardless of whether or not he had kept her) before now, dating a man at this point in time could be a good thing, and possibly written off as “experimentation”. Or so he hoped.
….if he said yes…
If he said yes, there was a possibilty that he would have a boyfriend in a few weeks. A secret boyfriend, more like. The secret part was what bothered him the most. It made him feel like he was going to lose his lunch. Yes would mean embracing the part of him he had been taught to hate most. The part that made him different. It boggled his mind. Was that safe?
“…I…” He froze. Which? “…yeah. I’d like that. Here’s my number.” He began scribbling it on a napkin, his heartbeat drumming faster and faster to a beat that sounded foreign to him.
“Great!” God, his smile was great. “Here’s mine. I’ll see you then.” The bell jingled as it signalled his departure, and Noel looked down at his luke-warm coffee over thick rimmed glasses.
