Smile for Me (His Almost Boyfriend on Radish Fiction)

1 | Jay Somewhat Gay

Since birth, Jay Stacks was a curious person. Curiosity hadn't killed the cat yet, so he had little to no reservations on trying new things. He'd tried sports, academic clubs, church, and dating. Those things he'd never tried again. He'd also tried cigarettes, various types of girls, various kinds of sex with said girls, various types of alcohol, and various clubs. Those things he still tried at least once a week.

It was currently the weekend, so Jay was up to his usual business. There she is. Jay spotted his club friend Lexi near the dancefloor where she stepped out of the frigid winter air and into the heat of the club. Dance music blasted as he navigated around sweaty bodies.

He'd texted she was. With a beer in one hand, she was backing away from the floor, her blue-tipped ponytail bouncing as she shook her head. Jay recognized that stance; she was rejecting someone. Jay hadn't experienced that response much himself, but he'd seen it enough to know. At the same time he sped up his pace to save her, she spotted him.

"Hey! So glad you're here!" Looking happy to see him, she gave him a one-armed hug. By his ear, she speedily explained, "This fucking pervert keeps trying to cozy up to me. Pretend to be my boyfriend." Lexi Choi was a student at one of the universities Jay planned on trying for. She was also lesbian, therefore not a potential hookup. But she was pretty cool and would have totally been a hookup if she liked men.

"Shouldn't you just tell him you're lesbian? Grab some girl to kiss to prove it," Jay suggested as she pulled away.

"And become his kink?" Lexi made a face that matched her next words, "I don't think so," then took a sip of her drink. "Why don't Riley and Tony come anymore?" she shouted over the music.

"Riley..." Jay wondered if it was okay to tell her about his best friend getting a boyfriend. He didn't think the two were very open about their relationship—but that likely had more to do with the fact that Riley was still in high school while his boyfriend, Eran, was a doctoral student. Since Lexi was a mutual clubbing friend and lesbian, she should be open-minded, Jay figured. "Riley got a boyfriend, and he doesn't like Riley doing this kind of stuff." Jay didn't have to mention the age gap.

"Boyfriend?" Lexi's eyebrows pinched in confusion. "Wasn't he as girl-crazy as you?"

Jay remembered back to a month or so ago when Riley had told Jay he'd fallen in love with a guy. Jay had been more surprised than he'd let show. On the outside, he was a bit shocked and fully supportive. On the inside, he was screaming "What the hell?" because Riley was like Lexi said—really fond of girls, same as Jay. Okay, maybe not as bad as me. No one was as girl-crazy as Jay. He chuckled and shrugged in response to Lexi's question. "Surprised me too."

"What about Tony?"

Jay wrinkled his nose. "He has a stick of homophobia up his ass." Even though I'm not even the one dating a guy, he treats me differently just for being okay with Riley.

Lexi pursed her lips in distaste. "You know, I kind of had a feeling he was one of those types. He used to give me these weird looks."

"Yeah, well..." Jay glanced at the bar. "I'm gonna grab a drink. I'll be back."

Jay asked the bartender for a black Russian then leaned on the bar, looking out at the crowd. The club was a mess of people, most clustered into groups. It was the truth that clubbing wasn't like what it used to be with Tony and Riley. Every Friday or Saturday, they'd leave their houses with the excuse of hanging out and sneak into clubs to drink, kiss, and laugh the night away. Jay had no one to go clubbing with now, but he was not the type of person to be deterred by just that. It was actually easier to hook up when he wasn't distracted with his best friends. He now just met up there with his secondary friends. You know, the type you only ever meet in one setting and at the most text them "Happy New Year" when not "I'm going to X club." Lexi fell into that category.