Toni was quiet for several long seconds, before he echoed, “A date-like-thing?”
Gem nodded. “Mhm.”
Leather creaked as Toni jumped down from the counter, and Gem focused harder on the pieces of machinery in his hands, refusing to look at his best friend at all. His gaze was hot and heavy on the side of Gem’s face, and Gem’s fur puffed up in response, his defenses rising automatically.
“You’re dating someone?” Toni accused, sounding both annoyed and hurt. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m not dating anyone,” Gem said, and it wasn’t a lie. He and Rusty weren’t dating, technically speaking. Right? “It’s not… honestly, I’m not really sure what it is.”
Again, not a lie.
“It’s new, and maybe it’s not gonna turn into anything. We’re still figuring it out, you know? It’s why we haven’t—whyIhaven’t said anything.” Gem swiveled one eye in Toni’s direction, flinching at the furious expression in the Elas’s pitch black eyes. “Come on, Toni, don’t look at me like that. I’m allowed to have something that’s just mine.”
Toni reared back at that, the frustration morphing into genuine pain. “But I’m your best friend.”
“I know.”
“We don’t keep secrets.”
“It’s not—okay, listen.” Gem set the pieces of the espresso machine aside and faced the Elas. “It’s really new. As in, like, a week-ish type of new. And we’re taking things really slow, and he’s really private.”
“Oh gods, he’s in the closet, ain’t he?” Toni sneered, and Gem smacked his shoulder.
“He’s not in the closet. He’s just a private person, and neither of us wanna go blabbing about stuff when we don’t even know what this is between us. I mean, I like him. A lot, actually. He’s funny and really sweet and an amazing kisser, by the way. He does things with his tongue—actually, that’s not important,” Gem said with an embarrassed titter. “I mean it is important because physical attraction and compatibility are vital, but it’s not everything, is what I mean.
“Like, even though our first kiss was the best first kiss I’ve ever had in my life, I could still tell that he was a bit inexperienced. Which I didn’t think I’d be into, but Iam!I liked that I was the first person he’d ever really kissed, you know? Apparently, I have this weird, masculine energy inside me that is possessive and primal. Like, I wanna hunt for him or build him a hut or something.
“I mean, I wouldn’t know the first thing about building a hut, but I could do it. My gay audacity would make up for my lack of skills. And it wouldn’t be anything too complicated. Something a little cottage core chic, you know? ’Cause it’s still gotta be cute. It needs lots of pillows, so he can build his little nap nest in the corner by the fire, and I’ll, like, bake him pies and have his theoretical babies.
“Not his real babies, though, because I obviously don’t have the necessary anatomy and I don’t want kids. But, like, that would be the vibe. And we’d live off the land, even though I have no idea what’s edible out there. Sure, I’d get bored, and maybe we’d argue sometimes about how I wanna go to the club, and he’d be like, ‘Gem, there is no club, because we live in the forest, remember?’ And I’d be like, ‘Why do we live in the forest? The outdoors suck.’
“Then I’d remember that it was my fault because I’m the one who built a stupid hut in the fucking forest. Which, honestly, not my smartest move, but then he’d look at me, when we’re old and gray, and I wouldn’t regret a fucking thing. I’d give him anything, because the way he looks at me—” Gem swallowed the sudden lump in his throat as he traced the cow pendant hanging from his neck. “Toni, the way he looks at me. I don’t think anyone’s ever looked at me like that, and…”
Gem drifted off as he met Toni’s wide, glassy eyes. He was staring at Gem like he’d never seen him before, like he was a stranger. Like he had lost his fucking mind. And he had, hadn’t he? Because he’d just waxed poetic about Rusty in front of Toni, of all people.
“It’s just not that serious,” Gem whispered at long last, “and I don’t want to jinx it.”
Sniffing pathetically—because had he seriously been about to cry?—Gem started fitting the espresso machine back together. Toni’s silence was heavier now, and Gem’s stomach knotted.
“Gemmy,” Toni said, so softly.
“Anyway, I’m not trying to be weird or secretive. It’s just super new and ambiguous and I figured I’d talk to you about it when… like, when—”
“When you have his theoretical babies?” Toni said with a grimace, and Gem balked.
“Ew, Toni! Gross. I don’t want any babies, theoretical or otherwise.”
“But you said—”
“That’s not important,” Gem interrupted, face sweltering with embarrassment.
“You said you wanted to build him a hut in the forest and bake him pies!” Toni cried.
Panicking now, Gem stamped his foot childishly. “I don’t even know how to bake a pie.”
“It’s not that hard. The crust is the most complicated part. I could teach you if you want,” Toni offered, and Gem simpered.
“Aw, that’s sweet, but no thank you. I’m not a trad-wife. I’m more trophy-wife material.” Gem gasped dramatically, making Toni jump. “Oh my gods, what if he published his graphic novel and got famous and really rich? Not that I’m a gold-digger, but also, life goals! I’d love that for me.”
