bed where we got to know each other in the most intimate way possible. Yep. Of course the bed was still there. I had no idea why I thought it might be otherwise.
“So,” I started, meeting his eyes. Blue, like his mom’s, only his were much warmer, more alive. His were a type of blue you could get lost in if you weren’t careful, and when it came to me and him, I was never as careful as I should be. “You invited me over. Any plans for what we’ll do while I’m here, or did you want to repeat the last time—”
I’d said the last half as a joke, but Archer’s cheeks turned pink. “No, I didn’t think we’d do that.”
“I was kidding,” I said, hoping to save him from making a fool out of himself.
“Oh.”
A TV hung on the wall opposite his bed, and I pointed to it. “You got Netflix or something on that thing? We could always Netflix and chill, minus the chill.” Man, I should really stop making comments like that, otherwise he’d start to get the wrong idea.
The wrong idea was already in my head, clearly.
I sent him on a hunt for more pillows, and he delivered. We made a little pillow fort on the ground, took the sheets off his bed and laid them on top of the carpet as extra padding. He let me choose what to watch on Netflix, and I went for a cartoon series about a kid wielding multiple elements.
What could I say? I was a sucker for cute animation and amazing stories. I’d already seen it a few times, but Archer didn’t need to know that. If he wanted to be with me—really be with me—he’d have to be with the dorky Jaz, too.
“I never knew you were into cartoons, Jaz,” Archer spoke, his arm around me as we reclined on our mound of pillows.
“I grew up on Disney,” I said. “Of course I’m into cartoons.” I turned my face away from the beginning intro to the series, grinning at him. “Are you telling me you’re too cool to watch a cartoon with me?” I wouldn’t even get into anime with him. That was probably too much for his rich brain to handle.
Everyone in this world had hobbies. They had things they liked or things they were passionate about. Some people liked to sit at home and watch documentaries, some liked to stay up all night playing multiplayer games online with their friends, and some liked to relieve the good old days of their childhood by watching Disney movies and cartoons. I didn’t know Archer well enough to know what his passions were, but I hoped that was something that would come with time.
I hoped that about all of my guys, really. Anytime we hung out, it was like the hungry beasts inside were let loose; we never simply hung out to relax with each other. We didn’t have time. We were always running about, trying to get to the truth of the matter. If things ever calmed down, I sincerely hoped my relationships with them would only grow.
“I am not nearly as cool as you think I am,” Archer declared, settling into the pillows behind us. He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me against his chest, simply holding me there and leaning his face against the top of my head. “I’ll watch static with you, Jaz.”
Well, if that wasn’t a declaration from the heart, I didn’t know what was. Static was just annoying, loud and incessant.
We weren’t too far into the first episode when I realized Archer was the kind of person who, if he didn’t know what he was watching, asked a thousand and one questions about it. As if, for some reason, the show itself wouldn’t answer his questions eventually. And it would, you just had to have a bit of patience.
Apparently he had none. Go figure.
All I could say was, you can not get a feel for Avatar: The Last Airbender from the first episode. It was a masterpiece, and there were some episodes that made you sit there and think: this is a kid’s show, and it just went there? Damn.
A soft knock bounced on the door, and before Archer could say anything, Bernie’s voice spoke, “It’s just me, honey. I brought you and Jaz some fresh cookies.”
Archer got up, going to let his mom in, even though the door wasn’t locked. I felt myself growing hot, thinking of the time when