Chapter 3 - The Shadow
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"Pause," Tito Jon was saying, his brow strained in concentration; "you...knew Aaron Rodriguez?"
"Is that his name? I guess I did." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why...do you?"
"He's--uh...used to be coworkers with your Tita Rachael," he stammered. "Saw him a few times at the house." The thought of that horny old man Aaron around at Tito Jon's old place unseated me somewhat. Seemed it did for him as well.
He composed himself once more. "Next subject," he said, folding his hands like a prayer book. "You were using the building you were cleaning to hook up in?" He leaned in as he said it, like he was afraid to let the secret spill out into the mundane bubble of this crappy, retro-style diner.
I frowned at him, pointing my fork in his direction. "Man! I'm not even anywhere near the important part, and this is the thing you get caught at?"
He likewise pointed his butter knife at me, laden with cut-up burger guts. "Uh, yeah, because it now makes perfect sense why you got fired, Nathan!" I winced, but all I could offer him was a shrug.
"Kinda correct. I mean, I got fired because I got caught by the wrong security guard." Tito Jon rolled his eyes so hard I thought I could hear them.
"That's messed up, kid," he mumbled around his straw. "No wonder you asked for a job from me. I oughta not hire you as a precaution. You'll turn my restaurant into a...a hive of scum and villainy!"
"I won't, I promise!" I pleaded, my hands up in a show of fake submission. "As for the firing, let me get to that part, please. We're still like, months out. Tonnes of shit happened before that." Tito Jon nodded his assent, waved his knife at me, and sat back in rapt attention.
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"Josh. Are you sure you even like women?"
"Huh?"
He was sitting opposite me on the parking lot bench, and I leaned against my car in the work building's parking lot. I think Josh must've been on his break or something, because he had emerged from the building with two sodas. He had put one right in the palm of my hand with a wide smile.
In Ottawa, the seasons tended to stick around longer than their final deadline; summer and winter especially were guests that tended to overstay their welcome. And so the summer that was disguising itself as fall beat down on us from above, even in September.
Josh had taken off his dark dress shirt, and gave me a full view of his long, broad body, whether he'd intended to or not. I didn't want to stare. I really didn't. Scout's honour. I myself hadn't zipped up my jumpsuit yet, and so I just let sweat roll off me, drying in the heat. Out of uniform or any office of being anyone but ourselves, we soaked up the sun-blasted air. I felt luxuriously at ease.
"You heard me, man," I murmured around my bottle of Sprite. "Are you sure-sure you're into women?"
"Positive, dude," he replied, staring down into his bottle of Dr. Pepper. "I've always been."
"And yet you always choke. I dunno man. The evidence is there." He gave me some serious stank eye and I couldn't help but laugh. "Alright man, I'm just fucking with you. You know that."
He scratched his jaw, pondering the statement like it was a test question. Sweat beaded attractively on his forehead as he mulled it over. "Well...I dunno. Men...can be attractive too. I've never really thought about it too hard. I just thought...." Josh took another swig. "You think I should try dating men?"
Something in me jumped. I hoped it wasn't my libido. "Hey, all I'm saying is, maybe you haven't explored all your options. You should just...do what you think is right."
Josh frowned. "Man, I've been doing what I think is right, and it's gotten me nowhere, bro," he conceded. "This is why I'm asking you what you think is right. Cause you fuck weekly!" I tipped my bottle to him, and he did the same. "Seriously, bro! You're like...you must be some kinda stud!"
"It must be so," I said through a laugh and a sagely nod. Our laughs melted into the air until there was nothing left of them underneath the stare of the late-summer sun. They dissolved into a complacent quiet, punctuated by the sounds of distant traffic.
"You..." I continued, training my eyes into his; "don't wanna be like me, Josh." The phrase drifted out of me like it was being dragged, kicking and screaming. A curious look got into his warm, sleepy brown eyes. "You keep being you. Because you...is good."
"You are good."
"Aw, thanks, Josh."
"Oh, shut the hell up, Nate." I cackled. And Josh gave me a smile; quiet, and gap-toothed, and just fucking adorable. And I tucked it away like I was putting it into a drawer for myself later. God, Josh--you are so dumb. I couldn't be like this. "No, but," he was saying next; "I want to experience shit. And you do that all the time. So...I'm taking hints from you."