Swift as a Coursing River | Ongoing

14. Enjoying the view

Vincent sets up his "challenge" for next Friday, after confirming Edwin is free. They meet up at the Groenplaats and need to walk for a few minutes to their destination. It's the same bar where the meet-up for the walk was, Que Pasa. There's loud music and dusky-bright lights this time, and people are sitting at tables outside, despite the chilly temperatures. Still, Edwin's been here before, so it can't be that bad. As if reading his thoughts, Vincent smirks at him before opening the door.

Que Pasa is smaller than Bonaparte and that's even more obvious with the crowd of people they need to press through to get to the bar. They order a beer and Edwin is thankful for the glass in his hand to feel less awkward standing around.

Vincent nods to the left of the bar. "Come on, let's get more to the front so you can see. The show will start soon."

"The show?"

"I'm not just gonna have a drink with you and give you a lecture, honey." Vincent laughs. "I want to have some fun too. If you want the lecture, you should come when I'm actually giving a lecture. I'm not going out of my way for that, not even for a guy as earnestly charming as you." He winks.

Edwin is never in the shade for long in any conversation with Vincent. The sun burns. He feels the sweat already cooling in his neck, his armpits. "I can do that."

"Yeah?" Vincent smiles and pulls an eyebrow up. "I can send you the next few dates."

"I can learn," Edwin says. Why is he volunteering to spend even more time with Vincent? Stubbornness, maybe. "Don't look so surprised."

"It's pleasant surprise, sweetheart. That's a good thing. You're very willing to learn and change."

Edwin glances away from Vincent's piercing gaze. "I even looked up about Aids and non-binary ... agender," he mumbles.

That brings out more than the smile and eyebrows. "You did? Damn, darling, if you keep going like this, I'm gonna have to turn it up a notch."

"I was just thinking after the walk," Edwin says. "I asked my friends about Aids and they told ... Their stories ... I can't believe that all those terrible things happened and I was just ..."

"Those are your gay friends?" Vincent sounds oddly gentle.

"Yeah. I play basketball with them. They're like me. Older. But they always knew they were gay. Or bisexual. And one of them is ... has the agender thing, but he has a beard too and that's not like Kim, so I looked it up."

Vincent laughs. "Oh darling, you're actually a real sweetheart, aren't you? You're gonna be a real gem once you understand how we think and talk about things these days."

"I'm trying," Edwin grumbles.

Another laugh, and when did Vincent's laughs stop rubbing him so raw? More like a summer breeze than a biting wind that breaks the skin on his lips. "I know you are, sweetie. I'm proud of you. Did it help, looking things up? What did you learn?"

Edwin tries to ignore the embarrassment heating up his cheeks. Vincent shouldn't be proud of him. He shouldn't like it. "Just some facts. And the gender thing. Who you feel you are and how you want to look and surgeries."

"Damn, I'm impressed. Did you understand everything?"

Edwin hesitates. He wants to say yes, but ... "I don't know. It's weird. Not bad weird, but ..."

Vincent finishes his sentence. "But you don't really get it."

"No."

"That's okay. As long as you treat us well, you don't need to understand it. Maybe tonight will help. You can ask questions after the show."