The Double-Date
So, I was at the beach again.
This time, it was a bit later than usual. I couldn’t go just after I woke up, because my head was pounding like a volcano by then.
And I’ve never been a drinker myself, I was more of a cigarettes guy, so I hadn’t had a lot of hangovers.
Oh, but I knew for sure it was the worst hangover I’ve ever had.
When I stood up from my bed I literally fell on the floor. The light coming from the window was making my head hurt more than it was already. My tongue had a bitter taste.
Even so, there at the beach I was. My brother was ‘an expert in hangovers’ as he described himself and gave me some pills against it.
So I was feeling better now.
I was floating quietly on the water with my darkest sunglasses on, as I saw Thor and Jane from afar.
They were playing like little kids on the sand and it was honestly something so strange to look at. I hadn’t seen Thor this in love since… well, ever. I guess he only had really short and rather meaningless relationships until now.
Thor didn’t notice, but I saw them kissing the other day on Mobius’ party and I just couldn’t help but smile. Come on, they were made for each other!
I grinned at them, even if they couldn’t see me.
Suddenly, I felt a splash of water on my face and a loud sound of someone jumping in the water next to me.
I quickly looked at where it came from and- it took me a second to look away- it was Mobius, lifting to the surface while his blond hair was dripping the water all over his body.
His eyes were covered by his wet hair, but I could still see his wide smile directed at me.
“Surprise!” he said, a little out of breath, and I grinned entertained.
He looked like someone out of an American Teenage-Movie. It was honestly impressive- well, he was.
“You got me” I laughed.
When he removed the stuck hair out of his face- and I saw it clearly- he took a wide glance at my figure.
I was no athlete- so my muscles weren’t as defined as his. Mobius’ tan was obviously more impressive than mine, since he had been in the sunny weather for much longer.
His wide shoulders showed just how much sport he did.
My body was slim and slightly toned, but nothing worth looking at.
Still, it took him a second too to look away.
As his eyes encountered mine, me giving him a strange look, I saw his face get a little bit red.
Mobius showed me one of his classic smiles, but this time it looked a bit more shy. He looked away, biting his lip slightly.
“So, was the hangover too bad?”
“You have no idea!” I told him with my eyes wide open. “I thought I would die”
I heard his laughter and I watched him nodding his head intensely. His cheeks were still a little dark, but his face had the right tone again.
“Totally!” he agreed. “But I wasn’t expecting any less for my birthday” he said jokingly.
I looked and smiled at him. “Well, I had a lot of fun”
Mobius smiled in a mischievous way.
“Oh, I’m sure of that!”
I lifted one eyebrow, confused.
“Looks like Belly and you got along really well” he smirked in that same tone.
I looked away and clicked my tongue.
“She’s really sweet” I remarked, simply.
I still got that feeling in my stomach when I thought about the way we danced.
He grinned. “I’m glad you think so! She and Jenny wanted us to hang out with them tonight”. My eyes sightly opened in surprise. “I’d be like a double-date!”
I thought about it for a second. I had never been to a double-date before.
But if it was with Mobius, it would probably be fun.
“Sure. Why not?” I answered, finally.
“Great!” Mobius cheered, once again giving me one of his classic smiles.
I looked at him and thought about it shortly.
“I like it” I told him. He looked at me.
“What?” Mobius asked.
“Your smile”
He kept looking at me.
It was obvious. Who wouldn’t like a smile like that one? All charismatic and confident like an American actor.
Maybe it was the fact that we spoke very intimately yesterday night. I had the courage to give him a compliment. This time, I was not drunk.
I liked his smile. The way it was perfect in its imperfection. Crooked, but honest. And glowing white teeth. And the wrinkles around his eyes.
Of course, I didn’t say all that.
“I just like it” I laughed, shrugging.
He smiled, this time a little wider. And his face got a bit red again.
“Well, thank you” he laughed. A nervous little laughter, it seemed.
I smiled back, quietly.
We both looked to the horizon, where the sun met the ocean. It was going to get dark soon.
“I think it’s time to go, or we’re not gonna make it to the double-date” Mobius said and I agreed.
We went out of the water together and the moment we had to go separate ways, he places his hand on my arm to say goodbye.
“Later, Loki” he said and looked me in the eye.
That kind of sun that only shines like that in specific days and on specific times was covering his face with a layer of golden orange light. His blue eyes stood out with that lightning.
“Yeah, see you later” I replied, nodding my head.
He looked at me for one second longer, and then walked away.
The place on my arm where he put his hand stayed warm a little bit longer.
***
This time I put some gel in my hair, just for a little extra.
We all met at a theme park with glowy attractions of all types of colors.
Isabelle was wearing a short slim dress and held my arm while walking.
“So where do y’all wanna go first?” asked Mobius to the group with an exited smile.
“Oh, oh! Can we go to that one?” Jenny pointed at one with seats that went round to a big clown-head very fast.
“Looks scary! Will you hold my hand, English-Boy?” said Isabelle near my ear with that seductive tone of hers.
I felt Mobius staring at us, as I nervously laughed.
We went to buy 4 tickets and sat on the four-seat cabin, waiting for the attraction to start.
The machine started spinning around slowly as it went faster and faster- me sitting next to Isabelle and in front of Mobius.
Jenny was lifting her arms as the velocity increased and we all laughed and screamed at the same time.
“This is scarier that it looks!” Mobius yelled jokingly.
“That’s because you only know your way of the surf table” joked the blonde.
The cabins moved to every directions, making us jump and slide everywhere.
I heard a scream and then Isabelle fell into my lap, taking hold of my shoulders tightly.
“Way to go, Loki!” laughed Mobius and I looked at him with a wide smile and slightly red cheeks.
As the machine stopped spinning, we all got out and Isabelle was holding my arm even tighter now as we walked.
I looked at my left and I saw Jenny and Mobius very close to each other.
“Why didn’t you jump into my lap, huh?” he asked in a low tone and she laughed. They stopped walking and started making out in front of us.
Isa stopped as well and when I looked at her she was already staring at me with that seductive smile, coming closer to me.
“Um… I…I need to go to the bathroom… I’ll be right back” I said and quickly walked away, looking for one.
I found a small bathroom in a dark corner of the park, and looked at myself on its mirror.
What was about this place that made me feel so different? Everyone was nice and made me feel home, just like Thor said, but it was all so strange.
I opened the tap and quickly washed my face with cold water, as I was already feeling hot and sticky.
I opened the door of the bathroom and slowly walked back to the place where the group was, but then I saw Mobius in that same dark corner, smoking a cigarette.
“Mobius?” I said, surprised he was here and not with the girls.
“Buddy!” he called as he saw me. “I was just smoking a cigarette. You want one?” he offered.
“Yes, that’d be lovely” I answered, taking one and lighting it with Mobius’ lighter.
He laughed softly and shook his head.
“You, English. Always so unnecessarily polite”
I looked at him with wide eyes and pretended to be offended.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Do I not have enough slang for your American vocabulary?” I joked back, hearing him laugh.
We let our laughs fade for a moment.
“So, are you and Jenny…?”
“What?”
“You know, dating, or…?”
He looked away, taking a smoke and shrugging with his shoulders.
“You know how it is, Lokes” he answered, downplaying importance. “It’s summer. And there are too many ladies in California.”
I laughed, nodding with ny head. I should’ve known.
“What about you?” Mobius asked suddenly.
“What do you mean?” I asked back.
“Are you more of a settling down guy?”
I put my hand behind my neck and looked away.
“Well…”
He waited for a response and widened his eyes as he realized.
“You’ve never been with anyone?!” he asked, almost shocked.
My face got red and I looked back once again.
“I’m not really the kind of guy to go to parties and stuff. I told you that I’m homeschooled”
I said shyly.
“Of course” Mobius looked down and laughed, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just hard to believe, you know? Cause you’re like really attractive, man”
I furred my eyebrows and looked at him abruptly. “What?” I asked, my face even more red than before.
“Yeah, ‘course! Golden locks, really tall” he started to list. “Seductive English accent- you’re like a character from a show!”
My heart was beating really fast by the things he was saying. All this time I thought of him as typically handsome American guy, I never thought he found me attractive as well.
“I can see why Isabelle is so crazy about you” he said.
I blinked quietly. Of course, he was just trying to make me feel confident so I wouldn’t ruin this double-date. What else could it have been?
“Speaking of her, I think we should be heading back by now” I said, more serious than before.
“Yeah, of course” he agreed.
We dropped our cigarettes on the ground and extinguished the fire with our feet.
“Hang on” I said and Mobius stopped walking.
“You got something here, on your face…”
It was a stain of lipstick, probably Jennys.
“Let me wipe it off for you”
I ran my thumb over the corner of his lips, trying to get the stain off his face.
I felt Mobius’ intense gaze right on me, but I was concentrated on his lips. Full, shiny, red lips.
“Why isn’t it getting off…” I murmured.
Then, he laughed softly. “It’s okay” he said, but he didn’t go away.
I stopped looking at his lips and moved my eyes up to his.
They were strongly dilated, as it was very dark. I could hardy see the blue of his eyes.
The glowing lights of the machines reflected on his eyes, making it look like he had a thousand stars on them.
“Loki”
“Yeah?”
“I…” he started to say, but he was interrupted.
“There you are, guys!” said Jenny, appearing from a corner. “You have been gone a while”
We looked back abruptly and I immediately took off my hand of his face.
I saw Mobius’ expression change from calm to alarmed, as he had been caught doing something bad.
He shook his head and quickly got away from me, getting close to Jenny.
“Hey…” he said to her.
He glanced at her widely and passed his hand around her waist, pulling her closer to him.
“Did I tell you, you look hot as hell today?” he said into her ear, before kissing her neck.
She left out a giggle. He put a hand of her head and started making out with Jenny, passionately.
I just stood there, feeling something in my stomach that I had never felt before, while watching them.
Then, I felt a hand on my chest.
“You really just left me there, English-Boy” Isabelle said, getting really close to me, speaking with that seductive voice of hers. “That was not very polite”
I looked down and saw her big green eyes looking at me, expecting.
“I’m sorry, Isabelle” I apologized.
“How will you make it up to me?” she asked, biting her lip.
I said nothing for a moment, then looked back up.
Mobius was going lower and lower with his hands- they seemed to be having a really good time.
I looked down again, this time with my lips half-opened, and pressed my mouth against Isabelles and closed my eyes.
My hands went on her back, slowly to her waist- meanwhile hers were buried in my hair, making it messy.
My heart was going faster by the second and my head was burning. I wasn’t thinking straight. I felt this overwhelming heath, going from my chest up my face, but I didn’t separate myself from Isabelle.
When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see that Mobius was looking at me, while he was also making out with Jenny.
We held eye contact, as weird as it seems, and I noticed that his eyebrows were furred.
I looked away again, closing my eyes and continuing the kiss with Isabelle, now with an ever stranger feeling in my chest.