A Way to Capture This

Alex was a sappy idiot, always had been, so their second date was romantic as hell and Alex felt all happy and fuzzy just thinking about it. Alex had cooked, ever the domestic, and filled nearly his whole table. He was dressed like he would for work, but when he opened his apartment door he instantly felt inadequate - Matt looked better than he ever would. They both smiled like lovesick fools, full of “Come in”s and “Thank you”s and “May I take your coat?”

They ate by a dimmed light, the lazy man’s substitute for candlelight, pasta with pesto because basil was an aphrodisiac and Alex knew that, but small talk and a meal didn’t last for very long. Second dates were really the worst, Alex decided, because you knew all the surface details of a person but couldn’t get into anything more detailed. So Alex had put Napoleon Dynamite in the dvd player and laid out a large blanket. He offered this as an option after dinner and Matt smiled, taking his hand even though it was only a few steps from the table to the couch.

Alex nuzzled into the corner of the sofa and hit play on the remote, and it didn’t take long before Matt was leaning up against him with his arms around Alex’s waist. Matt smelled like clothes fresh out of the dryer and sunshine, if that was a thing. He laughed when it was funny, which was often, and smiled near constantly. The movie ended around eleven with stretches and yawns, and they talked for a good hour after.

“Matt? It’s late, do you just want to stay here?” Alex asked, his arm still resting casually behind Matt and holding him close. He was sweating, because maybe it was too soon, or maybe Matt didn’t like him that much or maybe it was just weird. But then Matt sat up, and kissed him on the cheek.

“Thank you,” Matt pulled out his phone and Alex went to get blankets and pillows, and when he returned Matt was in the bathroom. It wouldn’t hurt to just glance at the still glowing phone display, which he had just left on the table for all prying eyes to see.

Alex laid the blankets down and read «won’t be home tonight», and someone called Evan was responding. »Staying at your boyfriend’s?« «yeah, alex is letting me sleep here»

Alex would’ve sworn his heart swelled with joy when he read that., and he started setting up blankets. Matt came back just as he was putting up the last pillow, and Matt crawled under the covers. Alex sat on the floor next to him quietly until he was settled, and they faced each other for a moment, smiling.

“Can you tell me one of the plays you’ve written?” Alex asked, feeling like a kid asking his grandma to tell him a story, please please please.

“Sure,” Matt said, and he began to tell Alex about a world he had written about where people had countdown clocks on their wrists, and and when the timer ran out, they had met their soulmate. Alex listened and his jaw dropped when Matt told him about Jack, and waiter, and his mess of a soulmate, Zack. He couldn’t imagine how amazing these words were on paper, because Matt’s story telling was better than anything he’d ever read. When it came to a close, they were both tired as hell.Before he left, he learned over Matt and whispered, “Goodnight,” and they kissed for the first time, innocent and pure and unplanned. Alex tripped twice on his way to his bedroom.

Alex went to bed smiling like a little kid, wrapped in blankets and practically radiating love. He decided that maybe being a sappy idiot wasn’t so bad after all.