Running Parallel

Part 1 - Luke

"Thanks," he'd told his brother, staring at the wall above his brother's head. Then he was gone, disappeared into his room.

Their mother had tried her best to get Connor to toss it, but it remained a permanent fixture around his neck. Until now.

"Yo, Luke, you're late, man," Caleb says, breaking us from this weird moment we seem to be in.

"Sorry," I tell him, as he leaves the kitchen and heads my way. "Got a little sidetracked. Liquor store was crazy busy."

"Whatever, at least you made it," he waves me off, taking the bags from me. "People should be arriving soon."

He leads the way into the kitchen, where we exit through the sliding patio doors onto their back deck. There's a table already set up with bowls of chips and solo cups stacked neatly in a row. As he hefts the bags onto the table, I set down the case of beer and glance back at the kitchen, but Connor is gone. Disappeared to his room?

"So, I invited, like, most of the people in my classes, okay?" Caleb explains, opening up a large cooler beneath the table. He breaks open the case of beer and begins tossing cans inside, shoving them down beneath the ice cubes. "Plus some of our buddies from high school, and— Hey, did you know Sarah is pregnant? Shit, Nico's pull-out game sucks, royally, man. Glad I don't gotta worry about bullshit like that. No way I'm getting anyone preggers, know what I mean?"

I arch my brows. "Sarah and Nico are having a kid?" They'd been dating for three years, but damn. I didn't think we were at that point in our lives yet. Are we at the stage where I'm supposed to congratulate them? Or is this still a oh shit, what are you gonna do?

"If only Nico had taken me up on my offer, he wouldn't be in this mess," Caleb hums, peeking inside one of the bags. He pulls out the bottle of cheap vodka and shoves it in the ice chest.

I scoff. "You mean, your oh-so-generous offer of fucking him?"

Caleb shoots me a grin. "Exactly. Two dicks can't get each other pregnant."

"Too bad he's straight," I remind him, before stealing a chip from the table. Hmm, barbeque.

He sighs dramatically. "What a waste."

I roll my eyes. "I bet his girlfriend disagrees."

With a laugh, Caleb stands, jeans pulling tight over his thighs, forearms flexing. I stare for a moment, transfixed, before I force my gaze away.

Clearing my throat, I ask just to change the subject, "So, is your brother sticking around for the party?"

"Connor?" He snorts. "Hell no. He'll probably hide in that dungeon of his playing minecraft or something. He hates noise and crowds."

Part of me feels guilty that we're bringing both right to his home, but I push that feeling away. It's not like we do this sort of thing all the time. Parties are like a right of passage for teenagers. If he doesn't like it, he can leave.

And go where? Does he even have friends?

Forcing those kinds of thoughts away, I focus on the task at hand.

Between Caleb and me, we manage to finish setting up the food and drinks before the first guests arrive. A couple of guys I don't recognise emerge from around the side of the house. When they fist bump Caleb like they've known each other for a while, I assume they're from his college. We share hellos and Caleb introduces us, before he's stolen away by the doorbell. A moment later, he reemerges from inside the house with a group of two girls and one guy. I recognise one of the girls from high school, but her name sits just out of reach. Something with an M?

As more and more people arrive, someone cranks the volume on the speakers up and soon the energy begins to shift. People drift into small groups clustered around the tables and mingling in the kitchen. The alcohol begins to flow, and I grab two solo cups and fill them with spiked fruit punch. I lean on the railing of the deck, scanning the crowd for a certain head of brown hair. I spot him over near the swing set, leaning against one of the beams to the A-frame and chatting with a couple girls.

I saunter up in time to catch the tail end of the conversation.

"—so hot," one of the girls says, twirling a lock of blonde hair around her finger as she stares across the yard. I follow her line of sight, at the guy the three of them are watching. He's tall and thin, a light grey button down tucked into a pair of brown pants, sleeves rolled up to show off toned forearms. The diamond studs in his ears stand out the most though, glinting in the dim light cast by the overhead fairylights that are strung across the back deck.

"What do we think, gay or straight?" the other girl, a brunette, asks, crossing her arms. It pushes her ample breasts higher.

"Oh, definitely gay," Caleb replies with a michevious grin. He winks at me. "What's your vote, Luke?"

I glance at the guy again, a sour feeling in my stomach. Knowing Caleb, he'll be all over the guy within no time. "Straight," I lie, just because I hope a little doubt will dampen Caleb's interest.

No dice. He scoffs. "Not a chance. My gaydars never wrong."

I hold out the second cup and take a sip from my own, pretending to consider. I shake my head, while he takes the offered drink. "It's wrong. Sorry man, you have no chance."

He studies the guy again, brows hanging low over his eyes in thought. A lock of rich brown hair falls across his forehead. He doesn't seem to notice.

"That ass . . . those pants . . . that shirt . . ." he mutters. His lips slowly spread into a grin. "I'm never wrong about this sort of thing. That guy is a hundred percent gay and I'll prove it."

"Caleb, wait—" I try to protest, heartrate kicking up into a galloping beat of hoofs.

But he's already downing his drink, throat moving with each swallow, and as much as I'm enjoying the view, his next act of thrusting the empty cup into my hands and striding across the yard ruins any good feelings I may have.

"Oh god, here he goes," the brunette mutters, like someone who's both exasperated and amused.

"Hey, at least we'll find out which way he swings," the blonde says with a shrug, watching like the rest of us as Caleb climbs the steps and crosses over to slide up next to the guy.

Caleb is beautiful to watch. He smiles, ever the extrovert, and at first it looks like Caleb may actually be wrong. The guy stares at him in surprise, a frown on his lips, but a moment later his lips twitch and he's smirking at Caleb in a way I don't like.

There's not enough alcohol in the world to fix this mess. But fuck if I won't give it a try.

Anything would feel better than this.