Coury: Hot Damn! Told you. Now it’s time to celebrate!
Liam: Coffee shop?
Coury: When?
Liam put a hand on his leg to stop it from bouncing. He’d been planning what to say ever since dinner with Helen. Why had Coury not corrected her? Why had he covered his hand after diverting everyone away from that embarrassing story?
He’d written and deleted several dozen text messages to ask, but he wanted to talk in person. Their not-dates were more like dates than any Liam had had before. Coury treated him better than any previous boyfriend. He’d assumed it was just who he was.
Until Saturday night.
He needed to know what Coury was thinking.
“Hey!” Coury had snuck in when Liam was lost in thought, white Harrison baseball hat glistening with little bits of snow. He held out his hand for a loud high five, and then shocked Liam by pulling him up and into a brief hug. “I’m really proud of you. This is awesome.”
He spun a chair around and sat facing Liam.Could Coury be more of a jock if he tried?
“After the interview, I wasn’t sure. I mean, he didn’t seem to care if I knew the subject matter.”
“Luke’s dad once told him that ninety percent of the people who apply could do the job well, so the key is who the person hiring wants to work with. Whatever you talked about got you the job.”
“I guess that makes sense.” They’d talked about stuff. Glover had been interested in why he was living with his grandfather, why he was tutoring Coury, what he wanted to do when he graduated.
“It doesn’t matter why, you got it and that rocks. Not everyone can say they got their dream job on their first try.” He pushed up from the chair. “Let me get you something to celebrate.”
“No!” He jumped up, chair skidding loudly. “This is my treat. Remember?”
“You can’t buy yourself a drink to celebrate a job offer.”
“Is there a law that says that?”
“Yeah, it’s called the unwritten law of friends. I think the exact language is, ‘Upon pain of death, thou shalt never let a friend buy the first round when he gets his first job.’ Do you want me to suffer a painful death?”
“Unless I’m wrong, it’s the same punishment for letting your friend buy when he passed his test.”
Coury nodded, but his grin said he had a snappy comeback. “Correct, except there’s an asterisk that adds, ‘except when your friend is the amazing tutor who helped you pass. In that case, thou shalt buy for your friend.’”
Liam snorted. “That’s so ridiculous. I suppose there are exceptions foreveryscenario where the rule points to me buying.”
Coury made a gun out of his hand, closed one eye, and “fired.” “Bingo, smart guy. So what do you . . . never mind, I know what to get you.”
“You do?”
“If I’m wrong I’ll let you rewrite the laws.”
“You realize I could say you’re wrong just to gain that power, right?”
“Somepeople might do that, but you’re a good person.Youwouldn’t. Be right back.”
Coury dashed off, leaving Liam more convinced this was some weird reality where Coury tried winning Liam over by showing him how it would be if they dated. Only Coury wasn’t pretending. He was just being himself, and that made Liam want him more.
He watched him talk to the cute barista, who clearly thought Coury was hot. The stab of jealously left him mad at himself. Coury wasn’t his—probably never would be—so he should look away and not care.
Any second now.
The barista laughed, and Liam gritted his teeth, folding his arms tightly.
Coury turned back suddenly and smiled at Liam.
