The Midas Touch

Ch. 27

Kai
4 years ago

God he was so cute. Crooked teeth with a crooked smile, sweet as can be while also commanding in just the right way, a great leader...he was perfect.

Zade was perfect.

The absolute last thing I'd expected when I went to high school and waltzed in this nerdy algebra 2 class as a freshman was to develop a new man crush, but how could I not? I looked at him across the classroom, tapping his pencil on the desk to a rhythm only he could hear.

Feeling my eyes on him, he looked up, making eye contact with me for just a split second. I whipped my head back around, accidentally kicking the chair in front of me.

Midas turned around to glare at me, but I ignored him despite the cartwheel my heart was doing over his attention. Ugh. It was like a weird love triangle...except I was the only one that had the crushes. And one of them was from last year and my age, and the other was a sophomore who looked like he could bang.

Stupid, so stupid. But...I was so curious. I didn't have the balls to ask Midas out (he would definitely say no, of course. I made sure of that.) But maybe, just maybe Zade would say yes. Anything can happen...right?

The bell finally rang, setting me free. Walking on an air of unprompted and frankly baffling confidence, I brushed past Midas and went right up to Zade.

His new dreads fluttered as he looked at me like he always did: with interest and slight amusement. I swear I was doing everything I could not to blush. God, how embarrassing.

I cleared my throat. "Hey, Zade...um, if you don't have anything else going on, I'm free this Saturday. You seem really cool, and I've been wanting to ask for a while." I cringed at that last statement. I sounded like a total creep. Zade only smiled. I held my breath, trying to act casual as I scooched out of the way for my classmates. "Sure," he finally said, swinging his backpack easily over his shoulder. "I'm free."

-

Oh my God.

We'd been sitting in complete silence for the last fifteen minutes, and I was completely sick of it. Yes, we'd been setting up the Xbox for half of that time, but still. It was more awkward than it had to be.

I had no idea what to do about it though.

I side-eyed Zade, flustering at his half smile. Always with the half smile. My breath fluttered, and the soft noise took his attention back to me.

He laughed at what I'm sure was a grave expression on my face. "Zuya" he started, and I inhaled sharply on the nickname, "you've been fidgety ever since I've been here. What's up?"

He shifted just slightly closer to me, and my heart skipped a beat. I pictured a million things all at once, muttering out a response, distracted by the closeness. He smelled so good. "I don't know...nothing I guess....You are just.....you are really attractive" I sputtered on my words, immediately cringing at the admission. All Zade did was smile.

The loading screen turned blurry in my peripheral as Zade leaned just slightly closer. And closer. And closer.

"You're not too bad yourself, Kazu" he whispered, lips mere millimeters from mine. He was so close I could inhale his breath, and see the tiny mole in his right eye's inner corner. My breath hitched, and on instinct I closed my eyes, hand clumsily finding its way to the back of Zade's neck.