Tell Me It's Real(90)

Somehow, I managed to keep my eyes from rolling. I put on my best smile, preparing to relay to the group that I was just thrilled to meet them all, when I realized it was only Darren standing in front of me. The rest of Vince’s jock posse was gone, as if they’d never been there at all. I could only think about Darren with his arm wrapped around Vince’s shoulders, like he thought he had every right to be there. I thought I had every right to make him live the rest of his life as an amputee.

“Paul,” Vince said above the music. “This is Darren. Darren, this is my boyfriend, Paul.”

I held out my hand and Darren looked at it for a moment as if deciding whether I had scabies and running chances in his head of getting it himself if he touched me. It was about to get awkward when he reached out and shook my hand. “Nice to meet you,” I mumbled.

“What?” he said, raising his voice.

Hurray. This is weird already. “I said nice to meet you!” And of course, as I shouted this as loud as I could to be heard, there was a pause in the music and my voice echoed over the silent club like I was some screeching capuchin monkey who had just discovered masturbation. Everyone in the club (and most likely on Earth) turned to look at me.

“That was my distant acquaintance Paul, everyone!” Helena said into the mic. The music picked up again and she rolled back into her routine.

Vince chuckled quietly in my ear. “Still haven’t found that time machine yet,” he said. “I’ll keep a list for you of all the things you’ll want to undo.”

I glared at him.

“Nice to meet you too,” Darren said, smirking at me like I was the funniest piece of shit he’d ever seen. “I wish I could say I’d heard a lot about you, but that would be a lie.”

Oh, there goes the chance for the three-way. Maybe they’re a monogamous couple and Vince just sprung this on him out of the blue. “Oh!” I said back loudly. “That’s… I don’t know what that is.”

“No, it’s fine,” he said, as if trying to reassure me there was a chance it could have been not fine. “I’m just surprised that Vince jumped into this so… quickly.”

“That’s what I told him.”

“It’s a good thing I don’t listen to either one of you,” Vince said happily. “God knows where I’d be then.”

I rolled my eyes right as Darren did, and I felt a strange kinship with him, at least for a second, that we could both be exasperated by Vince. Darren caught my eye for a moment and a small smile formed on his face. It was either genuine or calculating, and since I didn’t know him, I couldn’t tell which. The next words out of his mouth didn’t bode well for the latter. “Hey, Vince. Why don’t you go buy us a round of drinks. I’ll keep Paul company here.”

Don’t leave. Don’t leave. Don’t leave.

“Sure! Paul, what do you want?”

To not be left here with the Homo Jock King. “SKYY vodka cranberry is fine. With a lime.”

“And I’ll have a beer,” Darren said, obviously way manlier than me. “No lime.”

Asshole.

“Be right back.” Vince leaned in and kissed me briefly, then took off through the crowd.

Darren and I sized each other up for a moment, and I realized only then just how big he was. Vince and I were almost the same height, but Darren had to have at least three inches on me. He was also very wide, built like a tree trunk. A very intimidating tree trunk with pale-blue eyes that were more shrewd than I cared for. He was all hard lines and planes, and I felt soft and squishy inside and out standing next to him.

He looked away for a moment to watch Helena perform a complicated series of kicks and twists, as if he knew her routine and when that part was coming up. Helena had worked months on getting it just right, and it was a sight to behold. His eyes softened a little bit as he watched, and I had this strange moment where I wondered if he liked what he was watching before the look disappeared and he turned back to me.

“So,” he said.

“So,” I replied.

“You and Vince, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

He moved closer to me so we could hear each other above the music. I wanted to take a step back to keep space between us, but he wouldn’t allow it, crowding me near the wall. “I’ve never known Vince to have a boyfriend,” he said.

“Oh? That’s… cool.” With the reception I’m getting from you, I wonder why.

“And then he disappears for a few days and comes back with bruises and the biggest grin on his face.”

“I’m not abusive,” I said stupidly.