The Other Book by Roe Horvat

Author:Roe Horvat [Horvat, Roe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786453044
Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing
Published: 2019-01-29T16:00:00+00:00

7

My life was different. I spent every possible moment with Joel. We stayed at his place often, but we also ventured to a pub around the corner from my apartment. I guessed nobody we knew would be there. Joel didn’t seem to care at all. I wondered if he worried about secrecy as much as I did.

Two weeks after Joel and I admitted we loved each other, Joel’s father was taken to hospital again.

Joel visited him three or four times a week, and even if he wouldn’t tell me, I could see it in his eyes the morning after he went there. Time dragged slower than ever—maybe just for me because I hated, hated to see Joel in so much pain. In one of my many attempts to distract and relax him if only for a few hours, I dragged him with me to meet Christoffer and Adam.

We had dinner at a restaurant in the suburbs. The place was busy, pub-like, with delicious food but a laid-back atmosphere. The patrons were the perfect mix of couples, friends and the after-work crowd, which made me feel safe about Joel being in public with us. We looked like a group of coworkers having a drink. Except when Christoffer and Adam touched on occasion. They behaved—mostly.

Joel didn’t say much at first. But Adam and Christoffer’s easy chatter soon made him relax. His leg pressed against mine under the table, and I was content to see him laugh with my friends.

Adam kept looking at Joel, though, in a way that made me nervous. It was a sort of speculative stare, as if he was figuring something out. When he realized I’d caught him staring, he just waggled his eyebrows, grinning. Either he was trying to ascertain how likely it was Joel would do something asshole-y to me, or he was wondering how to get Joel into bed with them. Knowing Adam, it was both.

“I read Ty won you a Golden Egg last year,” Christoffer said, making me frown.

“You read it?” Joel lifted his eyebrows.

“Tyler didn’t tell me, of course.”

“Of course,” Joel confirmed, shaking his head at me. “It was for the Breast Cancer Fund campaign. The missing letters? Well, you saw the ad on TV for sure.”

“I remember,” Adam chimed in.

Joel jabbed a finger my way. “His idea from scratch. He drove the whole production forward. I didn’t believe he could make it work. He proved me wrong.”

“Guys,” I grumbled. I didn’t want them all to focus on me.

“Oh, shut up,” Christoffer said. “Let me be proud of my friend, okay?”

Time to escape. “Well, I’m going to remind them we want more drinks. Joel, IPA for you. C, you want Pilsner, right? Adam?”

“Chardonnay, thanks.” Adam smiled, putting his empty glass on the table.

“Got you.”

When I got back, the topic had shifted, thank fuck.

“Three years,” Adam was saying as I sat down, handing Joel his bottle of IPA. The server would come with the rest of our order.

Christoffer looked at Adam in the particular way that made it instantly obvious what they were talking about.

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