A Wall Between

Chapter 9

"I was next door with Sasha," Cooper announced as he entered the apartment, because that was the answer to the question that would surely follow his return.

Ellie's eyebrows lifted as she took him in. "Did you leave your pants next door or did you go next door without pants on?"

"I went next door without pants on, but only because I shut myself out. It wasn't nearly as weird as you'd think, or at least not in the ways you're thinking."

Abra yawned and stretched out on the bed. "I'm not sure we have a clear idea what to think. We still haven't met Sasha."

Ellie patted the bit of Abra's tummy that had been revealed when his shirt rode up. "We haven't even seen him, which means the possibility that he is a ghost is still on the table. Like, Sixth Sense style or whatever."

"Our fingers touched when he handed me some noodles, so if he's a ghost he's one I can touch. Does being alive or not really matter if you can touch?"

"Yes," Ellie said. "I'm almost certain necrophilia is a crime."

"It's not necrophilia if it's with a ghost, right?"

"True. I doubt anyone's made laws specifically addressing the issue of fucking ghosts, anyway."

"Is sex on the table?" Abra asked. "This seems to have escalated quickly."

"Oh, no, absolutely not," Cooper said as he joined them on the bed. "I just get carried away when it comes to boning the undead. You know how it is."

Ellie lay down and rested her head on Abra's chest. "Have you even determined whether or not he swings that way yet?"

"Nope. We talked about dating, or... mostly I talked and he said nobody would want to date him. But I made sure to mention all the dudes I've blown at parties after I talked about my ex-girlfriend so hopefully he at least gets that I'm bi."

"Oh, well, that's... one way to do that," Ellie commented.

"And then we were talking about hanging out again and I said maybe we could do it when you guys had your date night next week and we could have a date night of our own and he said he'd make me dinner so...?"

"If you explicitly said it was a date and he agreed, that sounds like it might be a date," Abra said.

"Mmmmm..." Cooper said. He wanted to agree, but he also didn't want to get his hopes up and make an idiot of himself. "He might have just thought I was joking or something."

"Okay, here's what you do," Ellie said. "First time, you show up and you bring a packet of chocolate chip biscuits or something. Nice and safe and neutral. Second time, you bring chocolate, but it's one of those mini chocolate bar variety packs that you get when you have to bring something but you don't know what. Third time you bring more chocolate, but this time it's nice chocolate and hopefully by this point you're getting a sense of whether or not he's picking up what you're putting down. If you think he might be, the fourth time you bring wine and then it should be clear."

Cooper made a face. "I don't know if he's really the wine drinking type. I don't even like wine."

"It's not about drinking the wine, Coop. It's about what you communicate by bringing the wine."

"Couldn't you skip all this and just... talk to him about how you're feeling?" Abra suggested. "That's what I did and it seems to have worked out for us."

Ellie scoffed. "Abraham, we had been practically dating for two months before you asked me out. Don't pretend you were brave and open about your feelings from the second you started having them."

"True," Abra conceded. "We were like sixteen, though. If I had to do it again, I'd be more direct."

"Yeah, 'cause now you know I'd say yes. It's not so easy when you don't know."

"Also true."

"I'm probably going to just play it by ear?" Cooper said. "Honestly I really don't think anything's going to happen, but I do like to torture myself with a good crush."

"Aw, come on," Ellie said. "You've tortured yourself with some pretty bad crushes, too."

"Listen..." Cooper said. "Yes, I have. You're completely right. But this is a good one."

"If you say so."

#

That night as Cooper lay trying, and failing, to get to sleep on his futon mattress on the floor, a horrifying realisation struck him. "Oral sex."

There was a long moment of silence, as though Abra and Ellie were both waiting for the other to field that remark, or as though they were both asleep.

Finally, it was Ellie who responded. "...What?"

"I thought I told him about blowing guys at parties, but I think maybe what I said was that I gave oral sex to people at parties. To not be too crude, you know. But that's gender neutral. What if he thought I meant girls? What if he thinks I'm straight?"

"Are there many girls lining up to receive oral sex from strangers at parties?"

Cooper lifted his hands up above his body in a wide shrug. "Not in my experience, but it happens, right, and I doubt he's even ever been to that kind of party so how would he know? He wouldn't know, Ellie. He's gonna think I'm straaaight."

"How awful," Abra commented.

"It is when he's a guy and I'm a guy and I'm trying to maybe see if something could happen there!" Cooper said. "Ellie, how do I make it clear that I'm not straight without being weird?"

"Is not being weird really a requirement here?" Ellie asked. "Your first attempt involved telling him about all the dick you've sucked. Or trying to, anyway."

"And I couldn't even do that right," Cooper murmured into his pillow.

Abra rolled over so that he was laying along the edge of the bed and reached a hand down to pat Cooper's head. "Slow down. You don't need to rush this. Just enjoy spending time with him and the rest will sort itself out with time."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, dad."

Abra gave Cooper's head a light smack and rolled back over.