8 The New Neighbour

"And that was how we almost got caught fingering in the washroom of Bourbon Steak," I exclaimed, with Nathan listening attentively on a bean bag chair next to me.

It had been a week since it happened. Brad and I have then gone on dates continually, and I believed I was starting to actually fall for him. Sitting in Nathan's messy room, I was telling him about all that happened between me and Brad.

"Sex aside, he's such a sweet guy," I muttered. "Not only did he treat me to that fancy restaurant, he bought us tickets to the Central Ferris Wheel which expires next month I think."

"Ooh, that's romantic. They say the Central Ferris Wheel is the number one kissing spot in Ophrus," Nathan pointed. "He's a keeper."

"Knowing him, we'll probably do more than just kissing up there," I replied.

"Oh yeah, about that, I still can't believe you just let someone casually give you a blowjob in the cinema like it's nothing!" Nathan put both his hands behind his head. "And finger your professor in a public bathroom stall! That's wicked, man."

"I know, and it was so thrilling, you know," I waved my arms. "I've never done anything in public before."

"You know I haven't either. Lucky, you,"

I faced him again.

Although he used to live in Mexico, he was actually African American and had medium brown chocolate complexion. He also had a headful of short, scruffy black hair, and some hair growing out of his chin. A light stubble surrounded his tall, square face and looked as if it was developing into a chinstrap beard. Wearing no more than a tight tee and grey cotton shorts, you could see that he was also a fit and lean guy. He had the kind of laugh that was infectious, all with a great sense of humor too. I used to think he had the cutest smile, with the way his eyes squinted every time he laughed.

He was a messy person though; his room was always the most chaotic and I could see he hasn't changed at all. His clothes were piled on a single chair, a stack of fallen books on his desk collecting dust, and his blanket was scrunched up on the carpet. Typical of him, I thought to myself. He did really like music though, as evidenced by the presence of an electronic drum set and a boxful of vinyl in the corner of his room, one of which I actually gifted him for Christmas. It was SZA's debut album "Ctrl".

Though Nathan was one year younger than me, he went to school one year earlier, so we'd ended up in the same class during high school.

He didn't look gay superficially, but he'd make so many references to homosexuality that you would know he was. I could still remember the initial time walking into his room when he first moved, solely because of that Frank Ocean poster on his wall that actually later on made me interested in his music.

I must have blanked out for a short while there, as Nathan narrowed his eyes and asked, "What's up, why you looking at me like that?"

I blinked and shook my head.

"I just remembered how I told Brad you were my first,"

"What the hell? You did?"

"No, like I didn't mention your name at all. I just told him my first time with a guy was four years ago."

"Oh, that's a relief."

There was a brief moment of quietness.

We exchanged a series of glances.

"Remember when I moved in next to your parents' house?" Nathan grinned.

"You were the new neighbor," I reminisced.

"I thought you were so cute, so I tried to make a move on you."

"I remember,"

"And then that one night when we had that sleepover,"

"Let's not talk about that…"

"Why not, man? We've been avoiding this topic for ages now, haven't we?"

"I just don't feel comfortable talking about it, you know me."

"We are literally BFFs, Ped. Why can't we talk about this? There's nothing to be ashamed of. We were young and experimented with each other, that's all."

I became silent.

Turning my head to face Nathan, I blurted, "To me, that wasn't just experimenting. I had feelings for you back then, Nathan. Maybe I still do, I don't know. But let's just halt this conversation where it is, alright? I'm… confused."

Nathan had a low-spirited expression. He held both my shoulders, and leaned in for a quick peck on the lips.

"That's how I feel about you, Ped."

Without any exchange of words, he sat on my lap and we locked our lips together again, inciting a more passionate kiss with tongue.