When Best Friends Kiss

The Floating - Part 3

Malcolm's question, "Have you made any friends?" echoed in my mind. Obviously, I hadn't made any. The people at work were cold. As far as Alex's friends went, Rashaad and Riley were the two I'd gotten along with best at the party, but I didn't chat with them on a regular basis. I just followed their Instagrams.

Because Riley had offered me his number and we had some things in common, I decided to call him up to see if he wanted to hang out. I was nervous; I didn't want to offend him again. Though maybe he personally wasn't offended and that face he made was just secondhand embarrassment.

Either way, Alex looked pleased as I left the apartment on Friday. When I got to Tim Horton's, Riley was already there waiting.

"Hey!" He greeted me from a table. I wondered what shampoo he used to get his dark hair so shiny.

"Hey." I smiled and gestured towards the counter. "I'm gonna order something."

He nodded and I made my way to the cashier to order an iced coffee and a sandwich. When I got back to the table, Riley was texting on his phone. He quickly put it away as I placed my coat on the back of my chair and sat down.

"I'm glad you called me," he said. "I wanted to talk to you."

"You did?"

He flashed a wider smile. "Yeah. I mean... At the party, you seemed like you had a lot of things you wanted to say and talk about." He narrowed his eyes. "Also, I haven't met anyone else like me."

Did he mean only falling for one guy?

"A romantic." He did that goofy smile he'd done at the party. "Eran is the beginning and end of my universe. I heard you're the same way with Alex."

He heard what? "From who?"

His tongue paused on his front teeth and I knew the name he was about to say even before he stopped hesitating. "Lexi?"

"Hm..." Unsurprising.

"You don't agree?"

"I agree. Alex is my everything."

Riley leaned forward. "If he was sick, would you stay home with him?"

"Of course."

"If he was craving ice cream at midnight, would you get it for him?"

Was Riley's husband pregnant? Either way, my answer was, "...Yeah?"

"I don't know anyone else like that. See, we're alike?"

I nodded. "Are you and Eran similar?" I wanted to know how alike we truly were.

Riley hesitated. "We're pretty different? Eran is a no-nonsense person. Serious about his job. Assertive about his likes and dislikes. Really blunt. I'm definitely a more go-with-the-flow, playful type of person. I think that's what makes us work, though."

Alex and I had plenty in common. We'd been best friends, after all. No, we were still best friends. He just had these sides to him I didn't know. It seemed like Riley knew everything about his husband, though.

"Alex and I met in grade 2, but we weren't friends from grade 9 up until two years ago." I wondered if I should tell him that it had been my fault. No, it wasn't necessary. "I know he's changed a lot. He's doing so well and I feel like I'm falling behind..."

Riley was looking at me with his full attention. Why did I tell him those things? That wasn't what I wanted to talk about.

"Anyway, he has this world I don't really understand. And I feel like even though I love him and we're the same gender, I'll never understand it."