I've Got It Bad (And You'll Never Know) (BXB)

xii.

It was unmistakable, even by the faint candlelight illuminating the table. Max blushed. Julian felt, he thought, every human emotion in an instant. Confusion, surprise, fear, attraction, and, annoyingly, a pulsating hope under it all. Max looked away. "We don't even have drinks yet, dude, don't worry about it. We'll, uh, we'll get to everything." He sounded somewhat... breathless? Nervous, certainly.

By divine providence, just at that moment, the waitress reappeared with a half bottle of champagne, pouring each boy a glass.

A brief conversation followed. Any snacks? A social plate? Oh, Julian, you gotta try the shrimp— that's kosher, right? Shrimp? Oh, fuck, sorry dude, nevermind— How about mushrooms? Can we get those? Wicked, man.

The waitress left again. Max adjusted the curl that had fallen on his face. Julian picked up the champagne glass, swirling it. "Are we celebratin' somethin'?"

Max gulped. "Yeah, I think so."

They stared at each other. Jules cleared his throat. "And we're toasting to...?"

"Oh! Uh... To my best friend. Who's also, like, the best dude I know, no holds barred."

Perhaps it was the lighting, the foreignness of the situation, Max's recent blush, or the way Max couldn't seem to keep his hands out of his hair this evening, but Julian felt incredibly touched by this statement. "Thanks, man. Fuck. I toast to my best friend, too. And his fat wallet."

They both grinned, clinking and downing the drinks. They met eyes immediately after, both alight. "Holy fuck that's good." Max exclaimed.

"Man, you know I hate drinkin' and all, but this shit is delicious."

"I've been drinkin' nasty ass jungle juice for so long. I forgot alcohol could taste... good."

"Shit, man, I don't think it's ever tasted this good."

Max evaluated, then nodded. "You're right. This shit is unparalleled."

Julian stifled a laugh. "Unparalleled? Are you a fuckin' English major now?"

"Simply embracing my roots." Max replied in a poncy voice, pretending to twist a mustache.

They both cackled, garnering a few looks from other patrons, but they didn't care. The air was returning to normal.

~~~

Half a bottle of champagne wasn't enough to get either boy effectively trashed, but by the time their "social plate" of seared mushrooms had been devoured and their Hong Kong beef brisket was en route, they both felt deliciously tipsy.

Jokes prove infinitely funnier when loud laughing is frowned upon. Jules had tears leaking from his eyes. "He— he fuckin'— called her—"

"What?!" Max gasped in reply, shaking from the effort of not exploding with laughter. "And he didn't—"

"No!" Jules quickly supplied. "He forgot to ask!"

They dissolved in silent giggles. Max choked out, "Lenny is a fuckin' imbecile, dude!"
"I know, man! Wicked stupid!"

They took deep breaths in unison, trying to calm down and blend with the formal air of the restaurant, but each flash of eye contact was like a new inside joke that came with uncrushable laughter. Ten minutes lapsed before they managed to calm down.

Julian was the one who brought them back to seriousness, his face dropping without warning. "What?" Max prodded.

"Why did you bring me here?" The buzz removed all filters. "You didn't talk to me all week. Now you want to spend a hundred bucks on my stupid ass. What's with that?"

"I needed time to think."

Julian's stomach dropped. "The fuck does that mean?"

"Hong Kong beef brisket!" The waitress said, suddenly cutting in, laying magnificent plates in front of each boy. "It's hot, so exercise caution. Enjoy!"

Julian's mouth watered from the smell. "Oh, shit."

"Oh, shit." Max repeated with matched intensity.

And both of them ripped in like the starving college students they were, all thoughts of etiquette thrown to the wind, feasting in silence for twenty minutes.

~~~

author's note: hey yall! i know i said this would be the last part, but i ended up writing way more than i thought i would and had to split it between two parts, oops! but i'm uploading it all at once, i made everybody wait long enough <3 thank you so much for enjoying this story and these characters that mean the world to me!!