Losing the Best of Us - 4. Made Up Rules

Chapter 3

Made Up Rules

Please, tell me I’m in the wrong house.

A two-story minimalist house stood splendidly before me. It was snow white with matching wooden structures that hugged the residence in a breathtaking way. I turned around expecting a less outstanding sight only to be rewarded with other posh buildings. I double checked the address again.

Should I go back? After all, I wouldn’t be able to afford a room in such a place.

Looking through the clear glass of the lower level I noticed a half moon shaped pool. Something I should probably avoid. The porch was surrounded with Japanese boxwood shrubs, perfectly trimmed. Ten points to Gryffindor!

I decided to try it and pressed the glossy intercom button.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

There was no response. A golden retriever strolled by and stopped to observe me. We locked eyes for about ten seconds before he wagged his tail energetically from one side to the other. A good start.

“Cool houses, huh?”

He barked once in response and mooched away, probably wondering if I was nuts for talking to him. There you go. I wasn’t able to keep up a one minute conversation with a dog.

Would he have stayed if I talked about the weather instead? Oh God, what the hell am I thinking?

I looked around to see if anyone had noticed the awkward conversation. A kid ran after his soccer ball as a cool breeze swept through the street.

Great! If I snuck away now, I’ll leave with my dignity intact.

“Coming!” a voice answered.

Well, there goes my escape plan.

I wondered what kind of rich guy lived all by himself in such a house. My thoughts were interrupted when I noticed a shape through the main door. The lights were too bright in the doorway and I couldn’t see clearly who it was, but his physique was familiar.

Familiar?

No. Fucking. Way.

“Hey there!” he waved, but when our eyes met, his tone and posture changed.

“Well, well. I never expected you to come.”

I gulped loudly.

Sean Farkas.

I stood there in horror. Part of me wanted to apologize and tell him it was all an accident, while the rest of me wanted to be swallowed by the earth. Besides, I hadn’t planned to meet him. What if Gerard was actually securing revenge on me by sending me to his friend’s house?

“I… think I got the wrong house. Sorry.” I laughed nervously.

I turned around and hurried to find my way to the bus station. I heard the gate opening.

Shit!

I tried to walk away as fast as possible, but stopped in my tracks when two hands bore down heavily on my shoulders. A scene of a cheetah catching its prey crossed my mind.

“Not so fast, Leprechaun. I think we need to talk about manners, don’t we?” he whispered in my ear.

Double shit.

Maybe under different circumstances, that whisper would have fueled erotic fantasies. But not right now. My muscles tensed up. The fear that ran through my body was mixed with a trail of anger as that word sunk in.

I had already got over the fact that I wouldn’t grow up more due to my genes, but the way he said it was really irritable. Leprechaun? Come on!

I was trapped in his grip and furthermore, he called me a leprechaun. What else should I expect today? Maybe Gerard showing up and laughing in my face for being this naive?

“Are you showing him around?” another manly voice asked.

We turned around.

Speak of the devil.

“Yup. He’s really eager to get to know the neighborhood.” Sean said quickly, before the situation hit me.

“But I bet he is really interested to see the house, right?” he tightened his grip on my shoulders.

“Yeah,” I answered almost convincingly.

Gerard seemed to have bought it at least.

“Tell me Sean, how long does it take for a steak to become charcoal?”

“Why didn’t you turn off the fire?” Sean groaned. He let go of my shoulders and ran toward the house.

While Sean had a problem with his steak, I had a problem of my own. My palms were sweaty and I looked up sheepishly at Gerard.

“Uhm…so…how come you are here?”

“Let’s say that I happen to share the house with Sean,” his voice dropped, he avoided my confused gaze.

What the hell?

“I thought it was your friend’s house.” I remarked.

“It is. But you wouldn’t have agreed if you knew it was mine, right?”

What was I supposed to say? A rude “Yes” or a desperate “No?

“Well…maybe.”

Gerard scratched the back of his head and smiled apologetically.

Trap avoided.

“Why don’t we go in? It’s chilly outside.” Gerard suggested while he patted my back.

I didn’t dare to look up because I could feel the heat radiating from my body at the slight contact we shared as we walked side by side. A calm silence rested on the air as it wrapped us in a cold, but comfortable winter breeze.

 

***

 

“That one is your room.” Sean pointed to the farthest door of the corridor. He sat lazily on the couch munching on his slightly burnt steak, which I assumed was his way of ignoring me.

“Isn’t it a bit rash? I mean…” I tried to make up an excuse. I looked around wondering where Gerard had gone. Strangely, I was missing his company already.

“Do you have a better option then? It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, Leprechaun,” he snorted.

He had a point there.

“You don’t have to,” I said, ignoring the bothersome nickname.

“Don’t get me wrong, Leprechaun. I’m doing this because Gerard asked me to. If only I had known it was you he was talking about...”

“The name is Zachary.”

“Whatever. Leprechaun.”

Ugh, this jerk…

“Muscle blockhead,” I retorted.

I admit that wasn’t my brightest comeback. In my defense, it didn’t seem we would actually use our real names to call each other from now on.

“Muscle blockhead? Seriously? For a nerd you don’t seem to come up with smart nicknames.”

“Oh, sorry. I thought it would be nice to use words you actually understood.”

He seemed to be pissed for a second but quickly recovered with a smug grin on his face.

“Does that mean you’ve been checking me out?”

“What?” I asked with my mouth wide open.

“The muscle part.” He winked.

“As if,” I scoffed.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to check…the room.”

“So have you, or not? I can take my shirt off right now if you want to get a better look.” I heard his laughter behind me.

For a second I considered the idea of looking back, but fortunately the hammer of reason inside my head beat me up properly. I plead guilty for actually checking him out earlier. Who in their right (gay or female) mind wouldn’t? He had huge biceps and … GAH! I rushed to the first room on the hallway.

“Hey wait! That’s-” he pointed out, but was late because I had accidentally opened the wrong door.

“Hey Sean, have you seen my green shirt? I can’t find it anywhere,” the brown haired guy asked while he rummaged in his cabinet. His gaze met mine and he stood up immediately. I instinctively took a step back and averting my gaze somewhere else.

“Uh …” I trailed off unable to pronounce a word.

“Uh… Zach, need something?”

I looked up as the shirtless guy asked in confusion resting his arm on the wall, which I assumed was his ‘cool pose’. He smiled expectantly to reduce the awkwardness of the situation unfolded.

“Haha! I guess I got the wrong room,” I managed to say returning the contagious smile.

“Give me a second to put on a shirt, okay?”

“Sure. I mean, sorry. I thought that…Sorry.” I turned around instantly, closing the door behind me. My eyes would have popped out if I had stared any longer.

I looked up to see Sean’s irritated look on me. Right, I still had to deal with him.

“I guess you figured out that’s not your room. It’s Gerard’s.” he pointed out as if I was retarded.

“End of the hallway, Leprechaun! Remember? Are you sure I’m the brainless one here?”

“Hey! Be nice!” Gerard said while storming out of his room. His sudden move pushed me forward and I fell on all fours.

“Sorry Zach!“ he apologized extending me a hand.

“Good job, Gerard! Jocks, two knockdowns. Leprechaun, zero knockdowns.” Sean said, throwing his hands in the air.

“By the way, I won’t be cooking tonight. Group date.”

He grinned and went downstairs. It wasn’t long until he was out of sight, fortunately. I turned around and tried not to meet Gerard’s eyes.

“I’m sorry for getting in your room without knocking. If I had known…”

Thoughts about him shirtless popped everywhere.

Get a grip on yourself!

“Bah! It was bound to happen anyway. No one locks doors in this house, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened again.”

Again? Well, now there was a good reason to move in.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Not really, but I guess we’re even now.”

He grinned and laughed out loud. .

“So, this is my room,” he opened his door wide revealing a spacious bedroom full of pencil drafts of sculpture designs.

“Wow, you are really talented.”

“Thank you. That room is Sean’s,” he pointed to the door next to my room. Well, mine if I ever moved in.

“Ready to see your room?” he asked with his signature smile.

The doubts vanished into thin air.

Screw it. It was MY room now.

I nodded, walking behind him hyperventilating.

I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to handle the whole situation. Even though I wasn’t in good terms with Sean, no, “muscle blockhead”, the talk between us was so casual it scared me. The invisible wall when two met wasn’t there in the first place; as if it was a natural thing.

I was too concentrated in my thoughts that I didn’t notice we were already at the end of the hallway. I stumbled into Gerard’s back and was pushed backward a few steps. I adjusted my glasses and was rewarded with an incredible sight.

“Oh,” was all I came up with.

“Did I get to the wrong room again?”

The whole room looked like the ones you could find in a designer magazine.

“Nah. If you decide to move in, dinner is included,” he chuckled.

“Really?”

God, I sounded desperately hungry.

“Yup. Sean is the designated cook in the house. I wash the dishes.”

That surprised me. The muscle blockhead cooking? I would have to see it with my own eyes to believe it. Oh no! What if he put laxatives in my food?

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to move in.”

“Bah! Don’t mind him. Even though he acted childish today, he doesn’t seem to be against the idea of you moving in. I haven’t seen him open up so fast to a guy.”

I could relate to that.

“I actually think you will be good influence to him. You know? I hope it doesn’t sound weird, but it’s really comfortable talking with you. As if we had known each other before,” he scratched the back of his head.

So I wasn’t the only one who felt that ‘something’. It made me blush slightly.

“So would you at least consider moving in?”

If he said it like that, how could I decline such offer?

“I guess I will consider moving in,” I smiled shyly.

“Let’s continue the tour then. You should at least get familiarized with it, right?”

***

“Thanks for the tour. It was… interesting.”

“Really? I thought it may have been boring, because I talked non-stop.” Gerard apologized.

“Oh don’t say that. It was really a cool tour.”

“Really? Which part exactly?” the muscle blockhead asked.

I thought I had finally managed to ignore his presence. For some reason, he tagged along in the middle of the tour.

“The… gym. Cool equipment.” I lied.

“That’s unexpected. You don’t seem to be the type to be into heavy things.”

“Well, I’d rather ‘exercise’ what’s up here. Unlike you.”

“Ouch, seems like you finally found your match, ‘muscle blockhead’.” Gerard chuckled.

“That’s dirty. Two against one. Anyway, I’m hungry, so let’s decide where to eat.”

“I thought you had a group date.” Gerard said still breathing heavily.

“She had to visit her cousin or something.”

“So you technically got…” Gerard started.

“… stood up.” I finished unintentionally. Sean glared at me and it was my turn to be uncomfortable.

“I think I should go home.”

“The tour is not done yet until we eat dinner.”

“That’s right, leprechaun!”

“Sorry, I didn’t bring enough money. I didn’t plan to stay this long.”

“Don’t worry. My treat.” Sean offered.

I didn’t have another excuse, so I nodded.

“I’ll get the car then. Sean, don’t forget to lock the gate.”

My eyes wandered around the house but ended on Sean’s muscular body. He put on his leather jacket and rummaged inside his jeans looking for the keys.

Is there some kind of natural law that jerks had nice bodies? Gerard is the exception.

“I knew it,” he accused. I darted my eyes away instantly.

Shit! Did I stare for too long? Did I out myself?

“You’re jealous of my body, aren’t you Leprechaun?”

Or not?

“What?”

“No matter how hard you work out, you will never have these,” he scoffed, flexing a bicep.

I didn’t know if I should’ve felt relieved or faked jealousy of his body. I ignored him and went outside. A few seconds later, he stood beside me while we waited for Gerard to get the car.

Maybe I’ll apologize now.

“Uhm, Sean?” I glanced at him.

Hell! He was indeed tall.

“What?”

“I’m sorry for what I said the other day. I was… stressed.”

There was a long pause until he answered.

“You are quite an interesting guy, you know?”

Was that a compliment?

Gerard honked twice to let us know he got the car.

“But apologizing is useless now. You better be careful from now on, Leprechaun,” he sneered and patted my head.

I stood there speechless while he walked toward the car. He stopped and turned around looking at me defiantly.

“What? Giving up already?” he taunted.

I had the urge to kick him in the balls, but then, I would probably have to forget about moving in. I smiled back and he continued walking.

I hoped I hadn't walked right into the lion’s mouth.

 

***

 

“Is it good?” Gerard asked.

“Yup, really good.” I replied.

The food tasted heavenly and it gave a homemade vibe. Furthermore, it was cheap and close to the house. The place was perfect!

Gerard smiled, satisfied with my response. It was really hard to look away, but someone had to ruin it. A pair of legs kicked mine under the table. I gulped down my food.

“Wow, such a nice meal. Ready for dessert?” Sean sighed while he stretched his arms flexing and showing off his biceps. I rolled my eyes and dug into the last bite of lasagna left on my plate. If only he knew I wasn’t envious of his body.

“So what’s your favorite dessert?” Gerard asked.

At that moment, his smile lit up the whole place. It was so contagious I smiled back too. Even though smiling wasn’t a valid answer to that question.

“L-l-emon pie.”

I sipped grape juice trying to concentrate on something else other than his eyes.

“Cool, lemon pie. It’s my favorite dessert too. I guess we’ll get along pretty well.”

“Two lemon pies and a chocolate cake, then?” Sean interrupted.

We both nodded and kept our wide smiles on our faces. The waitress took our order, but came back quickly with an apologetic look.

“We’re sorry, but we only have one slice of lemon pie left. Would any of you like to choose another dessert?”

“Oh. Then…” Gerard and I interrupted each other.

“I’ll have the pumpkin tart then.” Gerard said.

I nodded at him sheepishly and he gave me a warm smile. The waitress scribbled down the tart on a paper and went back to the counter.

“I’ll let you have this slice. But I expect you to buy me one generous slice on my birthday,” he narrowed his eyes with a playful tone.

“Deal!” I chuckled.

“Should we talk about the rent and house rules then?” Sean interrupted again as we got our desserts.

“Sure.”

“This is my price.”

He scribbled something on a napkin and pushed it toward me.

“It’s a joke, right?”

I looked at the number on the napkin and back at him in surprise. He rolled his eyes.

“I was trying to be generous,” he extended his hand to retrieve the napkin but I snatched it away.

“I agree with this price. Thanks.” I answered before he changed his mind.

It was a bargain for such a place!

“It’s settled then.”

His grin sent shivers down my spine.

Then I recalled the small conversation before we got to Maggie’s. So this was the price for making my life hell? In that case, I would show him I was harder to deal with compared to how I looked on the outside.

“When are you moving in? I can drop by your place and help you out with your things,” Gerard suggested.

“Probably by this weekend, if it’s okay with both of you. I still need to arrange some stuff before the semester starts.”

“Sounds good to me.” Sean asked for the bill.

“I need to use the restroom before leaving. Why don’t you guys chat a bit?” Gerard suggested, probably thinking he was doing us a favor.

Please don’t.

“Sure, I still need to explain the house rules, so take your time.”

Sean put his arm around my neck in a friendly way before I was able to beg Gerard not to leave me alone. Gerard walked slowly to the restroom, obviously buying us time.

“So what house rules do you have?” I asked squirming away to avoid physical contact with him, without success.

“One. You are forbidden to lock your room.”

“What about the basic privacy right?”

“Oh! You’ve already thought about doing nasty stuff in your bedroom? And I thought you looked innocent!” he sneered.

“I didn’t mean that! What if I’m changing clothes?”

“Are you a girl? Or are you actually embarrassed about your skinny body?” he snorted.

“That’s not the point.”

It seemed that this conversation wouldn’t go anywhere.

“Well, what if there’s a fire and you locked your room? It would be annoying to get you out of the room.”

“I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t ask you to.”

“I never said that I would help you out of the fire, Leprechaun.”

“So what’s the next rule?”

“Uhm...” he trailed off.

“You’re making them up on the spur of the moment, right?” I rolled my eyes.

“Of course not! Two. From now on, you are responsible for buying groceries so I can cook us dinner.”

“What about the third one? I have to do your homework?”

“Not a bad idea, but you’ll probably mess up my project with your dorky fingers.”

So the problem was my fingers now?

“You’re an idiot.”

“And you whine about every single thing. I already told you, didn’t I? I’m not letting you off so easily.”

“Should I take it as a challenge?”

“Probably,” he dared and raised his glass of iced tea.

I looked him in the eye and raised my glass of grape juice.

“Cheers.”

“Cheers Leprechaun,” our glasses clinked.

 

Game on.