Harrison wanted to walk me home? But this wasn’t a date. Guys only walked other guys home at the end of dates, didn’t they?
My mind floated back to memories of the dance floor, the way it seemed like Harrison’s lips were grazing against my neck, gently gliding along my skin…
Was this a date?
“Would you be okay with that, Morgan?” Harrison asked, his eyes focused on mine.
I gathered myself before I replied, “Yeah. That would be okay.”
“Have fun, you two,” Taylor chuckled. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, Morgan.”
“That’s a very, very short list, Taylor,” I teased as I stood up from my seat at the table. “Are you ready to go, Harrison?”
“Ready whenever you are.” Harrison smiled.
And I turned away from him, not wanting him to see the heat that rose to my cheeks in response.
4
Harrison
What the hell was I doing?
Dancing with Morgan at the bar had been fun at first. I was surprised by how nervous he’d been, assuming that Morgan’s confidence carried over into every aspect of his life. But when the song changed, and I’d pulled him closer to my chest, I had no idea what came over me.
I was kissing his neck before I’d even realized it. It felt like second nature, wanting to make Morgan feel good like that. But by the time I’d snapped out of it, Morgan was moving away from me, heading back to the table with his friends.
And as soon as we’d sat down at the table, I’d wanted to apologize for overstepping. I wanted him to know that I was sorry for crossing the boundaries of our friendship, and I was never going to do anything like that, ever again.
But when Avery asked Morgan about catching a cab home, something else came over me. It was a strange feeling, one that I hadn’t felt too often in my life. In fact, I hadn’t felt it since a middle school dance, when a girl I’d asked to the dance spent most of her time flirting with another guy.
Jealousy.
I knew it didn’t make any sense. I didn’t even know what Avery and Morgan were to each other, besides roommates. They could’ve seen each other as brothers, for all I knew, and yet, I didn’t want Morgan to go home with Avery.
I wanted Morgan to go home with me.
But since I was currently crashing at Kimmie and Dirk’s place, I figured I’d go back to Morgan’s place, instead.
We were walking back to his place, with Morgan keeping his eyes on the sidewalk. I suppressed the urge to tell him that he looked even more beautiful with the glow of the streetlights on his face, how they framed him in a way that reminded me of a Renaissance painting.
“Did you have a good time? At the bar?” Morgan asked, breaking the silence between us. “Sorry. I should’ve told you that it was a gay bar.”
“I had a really good time,” I answered. “And it didn’t matter that it was a gay bar. The people who care about that kind of stuff are just… idiots.”
Morgan smirked. “I don’t know. I don’t think it makes you an idiot if you’re a straight guy and would rather spend your time chasing after girls at the bar than dancing to one EDM song after another.”
“Yeah, but if you’re a straight guy who’s not comfortable in that kind of setting, then you’re definitely an idiot.” I chuckled. “There’s this whole thing, you know, where straight guys always think gay guys are hitting on them.”
“Is that what you think about me?” Morgan whispered the question.
“What? No.” I shook my head. “I don’t think you’re like that, at all. If anything, with you, it’s—"
It’s the other way around.
I kept that last part to myself as I continued to walk down the street. “So, uh, you and Avery…”
“Shit! I forgot to tell Avery that I still have his electric shaver.” Morgan snapped his fingers. “I’ll just text him when I get back to my apartment. It was the only thing he left behind, and I think he only forgot it because he used it the morning he was moving out—”
“Did he move out because you two… broke up?”
“What?”
“Were you two dating before?” I asked, nervous to hear the answer.
“Avery? And me?” Morgan laughed. “Oh my God. No. Never. I mean, Avery’s a nice guy, and he’s one of my best friends but we’ve just never had that kind of connection. He’s basically my brother.”
“Oh.” I was instantly relieved. “So, you two just lived together then?”
“Yep.” Morgan nodded. “Avery helped me out a lot with my catering business, so it just made sense. But then, he found an apartment he liked a whole lot better than mine, so out into the world he goes.”
“And what was all that? About Avery not paying his tab at the bar?” I was curious to learn more about the dynamic between Morgan and the rest of his friends. “You and Taylor were kind of making a joke about it.”
“Well, I don’t know if you noticed, but Avery is very… pretty,” Morgan continued. “And in the past, Avery has used that to his advantage. A lot. He usually doesn’t have to pay for things, unless he’s dealing with people who are completely immune to attractive people.”
“Is that something you do, too?”
“Something I do?”
“Yeah. Use being pretty to get away with things,” I clarified.
Morgan didn’t answer my question. Instead, he took a few steps ahead of me as he crossed an apartment building’s parking lot. He walked up a short set of steps, and I followed right behind him until we were standing in front of a bright red door.
“This is me,” Morgan said as he pointed to the door.
“This is you.” I smiled down at him.
“Thanks for walking me home,” Morgan went on. “If you wanted to call an Uber or something, I could wait with you until your ride shows up?”
“Actually, I’m feeling a little tired,” I replied. “Would it be a big deal if I just came in for a cup of coffee? Just something to wake me up for the road.”
The coffee trick.
It was something I’d picked up in my years of flirting. If someone was interested in me, they’d at least let me come in for a coffee. It was also a good way for me to gauge if they were attracted to me, too.
Because no one ever poured a cup of coffee for a guy they didn’t want to see naked.
It was just science.
“But you’re not driving,” Morgan murmured.
“I still need to be awake to tell the Uber driver where to turn to get into Kimmie’s place,” I said. “What are they going to do if I’m passed out in the backseat?”
“Yeah. That makes sense…” Morgan looked at me, a little suspicious.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just…” Morgan shook his head. “Sorry. Usually, when guys try to use the coffee trick on me, it’s because they want to… but I know you wouldn’t want to…”
He then turned around to unlock the door to his apartment before he quietly walked inside.