{Chapter Ten}
"Dude, I need your help," I inform Christian and he looks away from the fluffy Ozzy to look at me.
"With what?" He demands cautiously.
"With David, I want to make him a mix tape." Christian looks at me with a weird look before laughing. I tilt a brow at this. "What?"
"No one makes mix tapes anymore, Jason." My brows furrow at this in confusion.
"Why not?"
"Because they're outdated, and the internet was created so now we just send Spotify playlists."
"What's Spotify?" I ask in confusion. Christian appears to question whether or not I'm joking or being serious. When he seems to realize I'm serious he rolls his pale green eyes and proceeds to show and explain to me that Spotify is a music app, like YouTube, only specifically for music.
"Okay, so now I need to make him a playlist. Which I need your help with. What should I put in it?" I ask as I scan the artists. There's so many; the Beatles, Metallica, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Reliant K, and the list continues as I scroll down.
Christian sighs heavily and returns his attention to Ozzy since I now know how to navigate Spotify.
"What music does he like? Just add some artists you know he likes. Or add artists you think he'll like. Honestly you can't go wrong." He replies, sounding a bit exasperated. I nod at this and begin adding the songs and artists slowly, all the while hoping David will like it. "Hey man?"
I look away from my phone to Christian who is once again focusing his full attention on me, the little kitten seemingly forgotten. At the lack of attention Ozzy leaves Christian's lap and snuggles against my leg.
"What's up?" I prompt curiously as I softly pet Ozzy. He clears his throat and drops his eyes to his lap, but since the kitten has left he has nothing to distract himself with so instead he picks at his jeans.
"Why are you putting so much effort into this? You have put so much time into making this guy happy, a lot of thought too, but why? I know you. You don't settle down. You really don't believe in monogamy. So what's so special about him?" Taken aback, I just stare at him in surprise, speechless.
He continues to avoid my eyes but I can tell he knows I'm watching him from the tense set of his shoulders and his continued picking of a loose thread on his jeans.
"Are you jealous?" I demand curiously. I doubt he is, why would he be jealous? But why else would he seem so upset over this?
I put my phone down to focus solely on Christian who is still avoiding my probing eyes. The loose thread is long gone but he continues to just look at his jeans in intense concentration.
"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not jealous." Rather than reply I continue to watch him skeptically, because when we first met there was a short time that we tried dating.
It didn't work, and I know exactly why; Christian was just trying to find some normal guy to fall in love with. He was the one to cut it all off though, accusing me of not putting in enough effort and not wanting the relationship.
He's right of course, I never did want a relationship, I was hoping to get in bed with him and throw him out like everyone else. That's just how I work. I didn't need a relationship, never saw the point in them when I could have sex with anyone I wanted. I was never one to want that romantic connection. It's not like I repelled it, I just never found anyone who kept interest in me longer than a day or two.
David is different though, clearly because I would never put this much effort into someone I didn't see a future with, someone I can't get out of my mind. I know this can all work out if I try, and I want it to work out, I'm praying it will all work out because something about that man draws me in.
Sure, it was probably sex at first, I mean, David looks absolutely fuckable. I can easily picture him in bed. It has become something more now, though, now that I actually got to know him. And unlike Christian who just became my best friend after I got to know him, David is becoming something deeper. It's different with him than it was or is with Christian, I feel connected to David in a way I can't quite describe because I don't even understand it completely.
"You're right," I start. Christian finally looks at me and opens his mouth to say something but I continue, "I never put this much effort into just anyone. But Dave isn't just anyone, Christian, he's different. I feel something towards him than anyone else. It's more than just sex, it's deeper than that."
It's quiet for a while before Christian sighs and drops his eyes. At first I wonder if my admission upsets him, but I see a smile playing on his lips that tells me he's happy for me.
"Then you better not fuck it up." I open my mouth to object but he finally looks at me with a firm glare on his features. "I know you, Jason, so don't even try to bullshit me."
I roll my eyes and flip him off before I pick up my phone to continue making a playlist for David. While doing so I mutter under my breath, "I hate you."
Out of the corner of my eyes I see Christian smile as he gets on his own phone. "I love you too, bro."
From then on we're quiet as I make the playlist while I wait for five when I can leave to pick up David from work for our date. Christian just takes the time to play with my cat and I realize he's probably going to come over more often just to play with the fluffy kitten. He's going to use me just for my cat. I'm not sure how I should feel about that but I find it amusing.
"So where are you taking David?" Christian asks curiously while he showers Ozzy in kisses. The fluff ball doesn't look pleased to be slobbered on, but then again cats in general look like pretty pissed off creatures so for all I know he loves it.
"The movies, he's a pretty big movie nerd so I thought it would be fitting," I explain. Christian nods but doesn't reply in favor of pissing my cat off even more by play fighting him then kissing on him. There's something odd about watching a grown man, nearing six feet, play with a small animal no bigger than the man's hand. It's comical and oddly sweet at the same time, especially since Christian is an overly brooding person so seeing him let loose to play with a cat is pretty shocking.
I smile slightly at that and return my attention to my phone and compiling the playlist.
Already the playlist has close to three hundred songs in it from metal to instrumental music, and now that I realize this I wonder if it's too much. Maybe I should consolidate it into ten or fifteen songs, that's about how many there are on most CDs.
I put so much thought into this that I don't even realize it's ten past five until Christian pokes me. "Weren't you supposed to be picking David up by now?"
My eyes immediately move to the time on the upper right hand corner of my phone and my heart stops. "Shit."
I gather all my stuff in a rush, shoving my wallet and phone in my pocket, running a hand through my messy hair, then I look around in alarm.
"Where are my keys?" I ask Christian frantically as I look on the coffee table, the floor, the couch cushions, until Christian clears his throat.
"Jason, hand." I look at him in confusion until he points to my left hand and embarrassment washes over me when I see my keys in my hands.
"Shut up," I mutter before Christian can begin laughing. He nods, shaking with laughter as he gives me a thumbs up. "Make sure you put the alarm on when you leave. If you leave."
He nods. "Be safe, have fun, you have condoms handy, right?"
I roll my eyes, flipping him off as I leave. I can hear him laugh as I leave the house, turning on the alarm just in case. It's a pointless thing to do since Christian always manages to trip it and I end up getting a call from the security company but I might as well do it regardless. I get in my large vehicle and turn the heater on to warm up the cold interior.
Thankfully I don't live too far from the diner so the drive takes no more than ten minutes. I park in the only open space and immediately my eyes find David who nearly sprints to my car when he notices it. He slides on, shivering slightly and throwing his bag in the back.
"Everything okay?" I ask in amusement. I pull out and turn up the heat since David seems to be turning into an icicle.
"Yeah, it's just pretty busy and my manager was bound to ask me if I could stay a bit longer. The only way to avoid her is bolt, it's a good thing you got here on time or else I would probably have to work a few extra hours until it calmed down." He explains as he extends his fingers to the heater vent to warm them.
"Damn, well don't thank me, if it weren't for Christian I would have been late getting here. I was making something for you and kind of lost track of time," I reply with a small laugh. He looks away from the heater, a smile sliding onto his lips.
"Making something for me?" He echos curiously. I nod, a heat rising in my face from how genuinely excited he sounds.
"Yeah, I mean, it's not anything extravagant but I know you like music. So I made you a playlist, on this app called Spotify. I was going to make you a mix tape but Christian kindly informed me how archaic that is," I add with an eye roll. David chuckles softly next to me and I glance at him in confusion, the heat in my face getting worse as I wonder if this was a stupid idea.
"I think it's sweet either way, but it's good that you didn't make me a tape because my player doesn't work anymore." He explains in amusement. "So do you have a link to the playlist?"
"Oh, um, yes. I think. I don't know how to share it though," I reply. He nods and reaches to grab my phone from the center console, but he pauses as if he's waiting for me to object. When I don't he opens it, not needing a password because I don't lock my phone, and I assume he searches for the playlist.
"Got it, I just sent the link," he states but he continues to go through my phone, probably looking through the playlist. "These are some really good songs on here, a few I don't know though."
A sense of relief that he likes the playlist runs through me and I relax slightly while he continues to scan the list. The very long list. I remember in a bit of horror that I never did get to consolidate the list into just a few songs, so there's nearly five hundred songs in there.
"It's pretty long, I uh, sorry." I mumble. He laughs next to me and finally puts my phone back where it was.
"It's totally fine, I love it. Thank you," he replies with a genuine smile. I nod in relief and go into the driveway for the drive-in. I pay the bored teen sitting in the booth, mostly paying attention to his phone, and find a spot in the middle of the large lot.
David looks around in amusement while I roll down the window to grab the speaker stationed outside.
"Wow, I haven't been to a drive-in in years. I didn't even know we had one in town," he adds, his eyes taking in the large white screen in front of us. The place is nearly deserted, only a handful of other cars are parked in the lot, and most of them are in the front. Under the large screen is the long rectangular building where patrons can buy snacks and drinks.
"I hope it's okay, I'm just not fond of theaters, especially here. They're pretty loud and I find it hard to focus on the movies," I explain with a shrug. I unbuckle my seat belt and drum my fingers on the steering wheel in nervousness when I realize I don't have anything to keep busy with.
"I love it, really. It brings back a lot of memories," he replies. I look to him in worry, wondering if those memories are good or bad. He seems to notice my worry and smiles in reassurance. "Good memories."
"Good," I reply with a small smile. I pull my wallet out and hand David a few twenties. "Here, why don't you go get some popcorn and a drink or two? And anything else you want."
"I can pay for my own food, Jay," he replies. I shake my head and push the bills firmly into his palm.
"No, I invited you, it's my job to pay," I insist. The side of his lip seems to twitch, his eyes flashing with something I can't catch, but he nods.
"Fine, but the next date I'm paying for everything." He mutters and leaves the car to get the snacks.
I watch him walk until he's too far away for me to focus and then look to the screen while I remember the last time I had been to a drive in. It was years ago, I was only ten and my parents had the weekend off, so to make up for being gone so much they took me to a drive in. I fell asleep though, and when I woke up the next morning they were gone, working again and leaving me in the hands of my uncle.
I shake the memory away when David gets back in with a large bag of popcorn, a drink and some random candies.
"I wasn't sure what kind of drinks you liked so I just got a coke. Oh, and here's the change," he hands me the change and I drop the two quarters and a penny into the center console before I pocket the crumpled bills.
"Coke is great, though beer would be better," I muse. He opens his mouth to no doubt respond but the movie starts so he opts to stay quiet and instead open a bag of gummy worms.