Upside Down(13)

Wait. What? “Michael, what are you saying?” I whispered. “Are you cheating on Vee? Because that’s not cool, and that’s not like you. Man, I thought you were happy? I thought you were both so happy it was vomit-inducing.”

He laughed. “No, it’s not like that. Of course I’m not cheating on Vee. I would never…”

“Then what is it?”

He shook it off with a bit of a laugh. “Nah, it’s nothing. I’m just thinking about something else.” He grinned at me and laughed it off again. “So, how’s working with Rob?”

If his change in subject was a distraction, it worked. Because yes, one of the biggest contracts we had right now was with my ex-live-in boyfriend, Rob. He’d wanted a new website for his fire-safety company, which was growing exponentially. Sure, he was successful, but he was also a jerk. And he wanted the best corporate website engineer company, which was us. “Ugh. Getting there. The port parameters need work but, it’s just time consuming.”

“We have a month till the relaunch,” Michael said.

“Easy.” And so began a more in-depth conversation about the job, and I didn’t give Michael’s question about loving two people any more thought.

Later that afternoon, I snagged an empty double seat and sat in the aisle, giving my messenger bag the window. I felt bad for hogging a seat, and truthfully if someone needed it, I would have gladly given it to them. Or mine, if needed. But thankfully the bus wasn’t completely full, and when Jordan stepped on and swiped his Opal card, he looked up and saw me. I lifted my bag and slid over and he grinned, then totally tried to rein it in, but failed.

He sat beside me, his messenger bag on his lap. “Uh, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I replied. “I thought you might need a seat.”

“Oh yeah, I really did. The other day, I sat next to a lady who was like, I don’t know, eighty something, and of course I said motherfucker—” He froze. “I didn’t call her that. I just said it in general, but she heard it and I’m convinced she thinks I’m possessed by Satan. Pretty sure there was a string of Hail Marys mumbled under her breath. You know, to save my soul. Or whatever people pray for. I wouldn’t know. I’m not inclined to pray. Unless it’s to the bean god, Java.”

“Java?”

“Yeah, you know coffee,” he said without missing a beat. “But thank you for the seat. Were you waiting for me? I mean, it’s totally cool if it was just a coincidence and all, I appreciate it at any rate.”

“I uh, I did save it for you,” I said. “If that’s okay…”

“Oh sure. But if someone else needed it, you should have absolutely given it to them.” He looked around behind us and made a face. “Except for the lady three rows back. She’s the one who prayed for me.”

That made me laugh.

“Was there any reason?” he asked. “That is, for saving me a seat. I’m glad you did, don’t get me wrong.”

“Actually, I wanted to ask you about your book.”

“My book?”

“The one you were reading, with the red cover.”

“Oh.” He opened his bag and took out the book in question. “This?”

There it was. He was definitely reading old French literature. The jolting of the bus made me look up and I realised we were almost at my stop. “Shit.” I stood up, holding my bag, and Jordan had to move his legs so I could get out. Once in the aisle, I stopped to say goodbye but noticed he was frowning.

“Is there something wrong with my book?” he asked, looking up at me from his seat.

I grinned and shook my head. “Absolutely not. It’s perfect.”

He blinked and smiled slowly. “Oh.”

Then the doors beeped to signal they were about to close, and I realised that everyone who had been waiting to get on were taking their seats, and I had to dash off the bus. I looked up as the bus pulled away and saw him grinning.

The next day I saved him a seat again, and I slid my headphones off so they were around my neck as he sat down. Today’s scarf was green to match his shoes. “This is becoming a habit,” he said shyly. His cheeks were slightly pink. If it was from the cold or if he was blushing, I wasn’t sure.

“If you’d rather I didn’t,” I hedged.

“Oh no,” he shot back quickly. “It’s fine. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful.”

“You didn’t sound ungrateful.” I pulled my headphones off from around my neck and shoved them into my messenger bag.

“Which audiobook are you listening to now?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s called Death’s End. It’s um…”

“It’s good, apparently. I haven’t read the trilogy myself, but I’ve heard good things.”

“You know a lot about books.”

“I do.” He swallowed hard, and that was apparently all he was going to say on that subject.

“I like your scarf today,” I said.

He laughed and looked down at the ends of the scarf and ran it through his fingers. “Thanks. I like to add a little colour to an otherwise drab uniform.”

“It matches, every day,” I said.

“Of course it does.” He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “I’m gay. Of course it fucking matches.”