Strings Attached

“Happy Halloween.”

“You too.” I finished putting my stuff in the bag. “Are you doing anything tonight?”

“A couple of friends invited me out to dinner. You?”

“Harrison and I are giving out candy. He went a little nuts buying it. I don’t see how that many kids can come by, but I’ve never turned down sweets, so I guess I’ll have to eat the leftovers.” I laughed, glanced at Cameron, and noticed he was smiling at me strangely. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s just…I haven’t even known you very long, but I can see a change in you, and in how you talk about him. In the beginning you rarely mentioned him, and now you’re casually talking about all the things you do together. You’re obviously happy and, well…my loss.” He winked. So Harrison had been right. Cameron had been interested in me.

“We’re not… We’re just friends.” Though that wasn’t always what it felt like. Still, I didn’t want Cameron to get the wrong idea. Sure, I talked about Harrison, but that was because we spent so much time together. We were still just friends—really good friends who liked getting off with each other. Harrison would tell me if he wanted more. That was just the kind of man he was.

“Great. Want to go on a date?” Cameron asked, and when I didn’t answer right away, he started laughing.

“Shut up.”

“Point proven,” he countered.

“We’re really not serious. It’s just having fun, but…I wouldn’t feel comfortable having fun with someone else.”

“That’s a relationship, Zander.”

“Not if you’re both on the same page about not wanting strings.”

He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb, smiling. “It’s none of my business either way, but I’ll admit I’ve enjoyed seeing you come into your own over the past few months.”

“Whatever you say.” I grinned so he knew I wasn’t annoyed. I was a little uncomfortable, though. “I should head out.”

He stuck his hand in my candy bowl and took a handful. “Have fun with your boyfriend!” he said as he left the room.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” I called back. It did feel good to be able to joke that way. I still worried about angry, judgmental parents but had yet to have any encounters. I was gay and there to teach their children language arts. That was it.

After school, I went back to the condo for clothes. If I went straight to Harrison’s, I would get there before he did from work. He’d offered to give me a key, but I’d turned him down. Regardless of how much time I spent there, it was his home, not mine. I would feel strange coming and going without him.

I changed clothes and went for a jog in the park. I missed running more often with Harrison. Work made going in the mornings too hard, and sometimes afterward I was too exhausted. We did try and go on the weekends, though, so that was nice.

I finished up, then packed a bag and headed to his place. I’d just pulled up when a text came through from him telling me things were a little behind and he’d be about half an hour late.

That’s fine. I’ll just sit in the car and get some work done.

This is why you should have a key.

Blah, blah, blah. I can’t hear you.

Such a brat. He added a winky-face emoji and then didn’t text again.

I was only in the car for about five minutes when another vehicle pulled up beside me. The second the man got out of the car, I recognized him from the photos in Harrison’s house. It was his friend Warren. He looked in the car, saw me, frowned. Oh God. Did he even know about me? Harrison had talked to me about Warren, but I had no idea if he’d told Warren about me.

I put the window down, figuring I shouldn’t look like an asshole. The likelihood of me disappearing was unlikely, so I didn’t have much choice.

“Harrison’s not home?” he asked.

“No. He’s running a few minutes late. Work stuff.” Work stuff? Way to sound twelve.

“You must be the man who’s kidnapped my best friend and whom Harrison likes to keep hidden away.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense that he kidnapped me, then? Or that I keep him—well, no. I don’t keep him, so the first thing I said.” Warren chuckled, and I figured I should get out of the car so he didn’t have to bend over and talk to me through the window. I did, and we met in front of the vehicle. “I’m Harrison’s friend Zander.”

“And I’m Harrison’s friend Warren. It’s nice to finally meet you.” He had a strange smile on his face, a cross between confused and…I didn’t know, welcoming? Like he really did want to meet me and he really had heard a lot about me.

“You too,” I replied.

“Shall we go inside?”