She narrows her sharp brown eyes at me, looking me up and down. Ella Toure is Wes’ second in command at the newspaper. I’m not sure what her official title is, but I know she’s been there as long as him. Unlike Wes, she’s always around, asking questions and taking photos. Over the years, she’s interviewed the team several times.
“It’s almost two a.m.,” she says, stepping out into the corridor.
She’s wearing a bright pink unicorn onesie, and I press my lips together to hold in my laugh.
“Sorry. I was looking for Wes.”
“I can see that.” Ella folds her arms across her pink fluffy chest. “What do you want with Wes at this time in the morning?”
I lean against the wall and fold my own arms, mirroring her pose. “Pretty sure that’s none of your business.”
We stare at each other until finally she huffs and turns back to her room. “Wes left for winter break last night.”
With the click of her closing door, my heart sinks, and I sag against the wall. He’s gone. Of course, he has. Yet again, I’ve left things too late. It’ll be at least a month before I get to see him again.
Fuck. I’m back to square one.
WES
I hate the week between Christmas and New Year. It’s always the same. Everyone’s too tired, too stressed, to do anything, and it’s like traipsing through a bog of monotony. I get that the holidays are exhausting for most people. A few of my friends have huge families, and I can only imagine how tiring it is. Being an only child can be a lot of pressure, but at least it’s quiet. But there’s quiet, and there’s boring as hell.
Which is why when Toby and Shawna, my two best friends, invited me out to a club, I jumped at the chance. It has nothing to do with the fact that I’m avoiding being at home because I’m running out of excuses not to tell my dad about the job offer. Well. It’s not a job offer anymore. Not when I accepted it last week.
Shawna guffaws at something Toby’s said, her long dark hair trembling with the force of her laughter. It hangs like a sheet down to her elbows and I’ve always been both intrigued and perturbed by it. She started growing it in junior year of high school after discovering Alanis Morissette twenty years too late, and doesn’t seem to have gotten bored of it yet.
“You okay, man?” Toby asks, his freckled nose wrinkling as he bumps me with his shoulder.
“Yeah. Just finding it weird being out of routine. This is the longest I haven’t been in a pool for months.”
Toby grins up at me and Shawna shakes her head.
“Poor baby, Wes,” she says, patting my arm. “Are your big jock muscles deflating by the second?”
I roll my eyes and smile as they giggle at each other. We’ve known each other since seventh grade, forced together by circumstance. The circumstance being small, scrawny, gay, and blind.
Out of the three of us, only I knew I was gay back then. I was eleven when I realized girls held zero appeal, whereas it took Toby a couple more years. Shawna was a freshman in high school when she realized neither of us counted as her boyfriends and, while Toby and I ogled the football players, she was much more interested in the cheerleaders.
As for being blind, out of the three of us, I’m the only one who still wears glasses. Toby got his laser-corrected two years ago and Shawna wears contacts. I wouldn’t say Toby and Shawna are scrawny anymore, but they’re certainly short. I hit a growth spurt at fourteen and have towered over them both ever since.
We’ve been through it all together, and even though it’s been seven years since I discovered swimming and reaped the benefits of the physique it gave me, my two dorky best friends still find it hilarious that I’m ripped.
“The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else,” Shawna says. “That’s the rule.”
Toby looks like he might faint, his skin paling further beneath his freckles. “You know how awful I am at this. I’m a relationship guy.”
It’s true. Which is why when Shawna suggested this club, I knew he’d be out of his depth. I’ve had a number of hookups here over the years and it’s definitely not Toby’s scene. He’s more of a ‘gently in bed’ than a ‘blowjob in a bathroom’ kind of guy.
“You need to push your comfort zone,” Shawna persists. “Derek is an asshole, and it sucks that it took us all two years to see that. But you need to fuck him out of your system. Or at least let someone try to suck him out.”
I choke on my mouthful of drink and Toby makes a quiet wailing sound while Shawna laughs loudly.
“What about you?” Toby asks, desperation shining in his light brown eyes as he looks up at me pleadingly. “What’s going on with your love life?”
“Ha,” I deadpan. “I have no love life. Same old.”
“Liar!” Shawna points up at me, poking her finger into my chest. “You flinched! Who is he?”
I roll my eyes. “There’s no ‘he’.”