thing,” Theo said. “I’m sorry I said something dumb. I feel like I keep stepping on your toes, and I don’t mean to do that. You did a great job taking care of Orlando when he needed it, and you knew how to get him to open up and keep talking. Besides, you’re a good friend.”
The effect was instantaneous: Auggie’s shoulders dropped back, his chest came up, and he glowed. And his mouth. The smile was there, threatening to break out against his best efforts, lighting him up from the inside.
“I, um. I’m sorry I said you were thirty.”
“I’m almost thirty, so you’re not that far off.”
“And sorry I called you Dad.”
Theo laughed. “Honestly, that was pretty amazing.”
“You’re a good friend too, Theo.”
“Not really,” Theo said with a smile. “You’d better text Dylan. Have a good night. And I’m going to say this while I’m walking out the door so you can’t throw anything at me, but be safe, don’t do drugs, let a friend know where you are, don’t let him pressure you into exploring your body, and if for some reason you do, use protection—”
Groaning, Auggie threw his weight into the door, forcing it shut.
Theo’s smile dropped away as he headed for the stairs.
19
Auggie woke to his phone buzzing and a raging hangover. The night before, he’d made the mistake of accepting Dylan’s invitation to a party. He’d driven the Civic over to Dylan’s apartment, where forty people were crammed into the two-bedroom unit. He’d stuck to beer, and although a couple of guys had cornered Auggie, and one boy had tried to give him a hand job on the fire escape, Auggie had spent most of his time circling Dylan, checking out his bedroom—incense, a macrame mandala, dirty clothes everywhere—and watching the upperclassman, seeing if Dylan would make the first move to take their relationship from friends to something else. Dylan had hardly looked at Auggie, though, and Auggie had felt frustrated but also surprisingly intrigued by Dylan’s indifference. Now, he was paying for the beer and the late night. He pulled the pillow over his face while consciousness reassembled, and then he lifted it long enough to peek at the message.
Theo: Are you awake?
Auggie let the pillow fall. He was halfway back to a doze when the phone buzzed again.
Theo: I want to talk to Wayne today.
After a moment, Auggie managed to unlock the screen and tap out a reply. Can’t.
And then, because it was Theo, everything got out of sync.
Theo: Don’t tell Orlando.
And then, almost immediately, another text: Why?
Ok, Auggie sent back.
What’s ok?
Auggie was still trying to type a reply when another message came through: Why can’t you come? Why did you say ok to that?
It was too early for this. Auggie abandoned his phone and burrowed under the pillow again. The phone buzzed a few more times, but Auggie ignored it, drifting deeper into sleep. When he woke again, he felt better. Not great. But better. And he figured it was time to keep developing the new Auggie. He set up his lights, got back under the covers, and sent a snap of himself in bed, crazy bedhead, the words just kill me at the bottom. A little bit of nipple showing. Then, almost immediately, another snap with the pillow over his head and the words this is ur fault dylan_j199.
He got a snap back almost immediately. Dylan had copied his pose, the pillow over his face, although Dylan had massive biceps and the pose showed them off to good advantage. come over and ill make it better.
Auggie grinned and headed into the bathroom. He snapped his way through a post-hangover routine, and judging by the snaps back, it was good material. He was thinking maybe this could be a thing, his morning routine snapped out. The same, but different. That’s what people wanted—he’d figured that out pretty early.
He was in his room, trying to pick out which tank to wear over to Dylan’s—he wasn’t going to pass up the invitation—when a knock came at his door.
“Come in,” Auggie called.
Theo opened the door and then pulled it almost shut again. “Put on a shirt.”
“Grow up, Theo.”
“And pants. Put on pants.”
“You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”
“If you put on clothes, I’ll give you breakfast from Big Biscuit.”
Auggie could smell it now: bacon and egg and cheese, and definitely some delicious form of carbs. He pulled on his I Do It Online for Money tank, which featured a television tuned to a rainbow channel,