My Heart Like A Kick Drum
Three.
Rian seems to think that nothing’s wrong, as evidence in the texts he sends Zack the next day. He gets four over the course of his modern European history course, two when he visits his favorite diner for his usual meal – tuna on a lightly toasted bun, sans fries but with two pickles – and another two during work.
He responds to each and every one of them. But it still makes him feel nervous and nauseous every time he flips open his phone to see another text from Rian. Because Zack kind of thinks Rian likes him, and that freaks him out. Zack’s never had a girlfriend before. Or a boyfriend. And he’s only ever kissed two people: the first one was Karen Matthews, a drunk girl he met at the first (and last) high school party he ever went to; the second was Rian.
It’s just that… no one was ever interested in Zack like that before, and therefore, he was never interested in anyone, either. He never had a huge interest in sex or relationships, meaning he didn’t go out looking for someone to be in his life. Really, it rarely ever crossed his mind.
Zack’s curled up in his apartment later that night, trying to focus on his studying but finding it incredibly difficult. His stomach is in knots, and when the doorbell rings, Zack feels even sicker. But he stands up anyways and opens the door, revealing a grinning Rian. Molly is by his side, fidgeting and looking full of energy. Zack lets them into his apartment, and he sees Rian is carrying a plastic bag. “I brought some ice cream,” he explains, letting go of Molly’s hand to place the carton on the counter. “I didn’t know what flavor you liked, so I bought Neapolitan.”
“Neapolitan?” Zack asks quietly. He doesn’t eat a lot of ice cream. Or desserts, for that matter.
Rian cocks an eyebrow. “Yeah, like the kind with vanilla, chocolate and strawberry? Haven’t you ever had Neapolitan ice cream before?” Zack shakes his head.
“Kitty!” They suddenly hear Molly exclaim, as she gets her first sight of Zack’s cat. She’s not accustomed to much company besides Zack, so when Molly begins to chase the cat around the living room, she scurries into Zack’s bedroom for safety. Molly follows her eagerly.
Zack feels a hand on his hip suddenly, and before he can register what’s going on, Rian’s kissing him. It’s just as sweet as last night, but with a little more force behind it. “I was waiting all day to do that,” Rian whispers.
“Y – you were?” Stutters Zack, taking a small step back from Rian. He doesn’t seem to notice.
“Well, yeah,” he replies with a chuckle. “And I would have done it the second you opened the door, but I don’t know… I guess I’m not ready for Molly to ask those kinds of questions just yet…”
“Oh,” responds Zack softly. He tries to understand where Rian is coming from, but he can’t. In all honesty, Zack can barely hear his own thoughts.
“You understand, right?” Questions Rian. “I mean, I would have taken you on a real date, but I haven’t been able to find a babysitter for Molly yet, and Jack and Alex were both busy doing who-knows-what that night,” he chuckles softly, staring down at his hands. Zack looks at Rian’s hands, too, but he’s not sure what’s so interesting about them. “Besides,” he adds suddenly, head snapping up to make eye contact with Zack. “She really likes you, Zack, I swear. I know, she’s a bit shy, but she asks about you all the time. And I got the impression you liked her, too. Or, at least, that’s what I thought…”
But Zack doesn’t hear anything after “I would have taken you on a real date.” Because to Zack, that was as real of a date as he could have ever imagined. “I liked that night…” Mumbles Zack, twiddling his thumbs together. Rian scoffed.
“I promise, I treat guys I like better than that.”
Zack just shrugged in response. “You treated me better in that one night than any guy has in my entire life.”
Rian opens his mouth to respond, but he’s immediately cut off. “Daddy!” Yells Molly, who runs out of Zack’s bedroom. “Daddy, the kitty doesn’t like me,” she says, holding up her arms so Rian can pick her up. He rests his daughter on his hip, where she’s at eye level with Zack.
“Yeah,” mutters Zack. “She doesn’t like a lot of people.” There’s an awkward moment, but Zack is determined to not allow the night to end on that note. “Um, if you and Molly wanted to stay a bit longer, maybe we can watch a movie?” Rian smiles.
“Mermaid?” Whispers Molly against Rian’s neck.
“Molly’s going through a bit of a The Little Mermaid phase…” Rian explains.
Zack nods. “Yeah, uh, I bet I can find it online somewhere if we want to watch it on my computer.”
Rian grins again, a sight that Zack feels he can get used to. “We’d love that.”
He responds to each and every one of them. But it still makes him feel nervous and nauseous every time he flips open his phone to see another text from Rian. Because Zack kind of thinks Rian likes him, and that freaks him out. Zack’s never had a girlfriend before. Or a boyfriend. And he’s only ever kissed two people: the first one was Karen Matthews, a drunk girl he met at the first (and last) high school party he ever went to; the second was Rian.
It’s just that… no one was ever interested in Zack like that before, and therefore, he was never interested in anyone, either. He never had a huge interest in sex or relationships, meaning he didn’t go out looking for someone to be in his life. Really, it rarely ever crossed his mind.
Zack’s curled up in his apartment later that night, trying to focus on his studying but finding it incredibly difficult. His stomach is in knots, and when the doorbell rings, Zack feels even sicker. But he stands up anyways and opens the door, revealing a grinning Rian. Molly is by his side, fidgeting and looking full of energy. Zack lets them into his apartment, and he sees Rian is carrying a plastic bag. “I brought some ice cream,” he explains, letting go of Molly’s hand to place the carton on the counter. “I didn’t know what flavor you liked, so I bought Neapolitan.”
“Neapolitan?” Zack asks quietly. He doesn’t eat a lot of ice cream. Or desserts, for that matter.
Rian cocks an eyebrow. “Yeah, like the kind with vanilla, chocolate and strawberry? Haven’t you ever had Neapolitan ice cream before?” Zack shakes his head.
“Kitty!” They suddenly hear Molly exclaim, as she gets her first sight of Zack’s cat. She’s not accustomed to much company besides Zack, so when Molly begins to chase the cat around the living room, she scurries into Zack’s bedroom for safety. Molly follows her eagerly.
Zack feels a hand on his hip suddenly, and before he can register what’s going on, Rian’s kissing him. It’s just as sweet as last night, but with a little more force behind it. “I was waiting all day to do that,” Rian whispers.
“Y – you were?” Stutters Zack, taking a small step back from Rian. He doesn’t seem to notice.
“Well, yeah,” he replies with a chuckle. “And I would have done it the second you opened the door, but I don’t know… I guess I’m not ready for Molly to ask those kinds of questions just yet…”
“Oh,” responds Zack softly. He tries to understand where Rian is coming from, but he can’t. In all honesty, Zack can barely hear his own thoughts.
“You understand, right?” Questions Rian. “I mean, I would have taken you on a real date, but I haven’t been able to find a babysitter for Molly yet, and Jack and Alex were both busy doing who-knows-what that night,” he chuckles softly, staring down at his hands. Zack looks at Rian’s hands, too, but he’s not sure what’s so interesting about them. “Besides,” he adds suddenly, head snapping up to make eye contact with Zack. “She really likes you, Zack, I swear. I know, she’s a bit shy, but she asks about you all the time. And I got the impression you liked her, too. Or, at least, that’s what I thought…”
But Zack doesn’t hear anything after “I would have taken you on a real date.” Because to Zack, that was as real of a date as he could have ever imagined. “I liked that night…” Mumbles Zack, twiddling his thumbs together. Rian scoffed.
“I promise, I treat guys I like better than that.”
Zack just shrugged in response. “You treated me better in that one night than any guy has in my entire life.”
Rian opens his mouth to respond, but he’s immediately cut off. “Daddy!” Yells Molly, who runs out of Zack’s bedroom. “Daddy, the kitty doesn’t like me,” she says, holding up her arms so Rian can pick her up. He rests his daughter on his hip, where she’s at eye level with Zack.
“Yeah,” mutters Zack. “She doesn’t like a lot of people.” There’s an awkward moment, but Zack is determined to not allow the night to end on that note. “Um, if you and Molly wanted to stay a bit longer, maybe we can watch a movie?” Rian smiles.
“Mermaid?” Whispers Molly against Rian’s neck.
“Molly’s going through a bit of a The Little Mermaid phase…” Rian explains.
Zack nods. “Yeah, uh, I bet I can find it online somewhere if we want to watch it on my computer.”
Rian grins again, a sight that Zack feels he can get used to. “We’d love that.”