chapter 9

So after that Wes didn't talk to me really. He'd get all red-faced and a disappointed look would cover his face. Dante was just as silent.

After a whole month of bullshit I went to sit with Dante again. He looked at me and angrily took a bite of a pretty big sandwich.

"Did I do something?" I asked. I knew I had done something; I just wanted to talk about it.

"You lied to me," he said. "And the worst part is...you even went to see the same movie we were going to go see." He saw me. I had thought I gotten away with it, but I hadn't. He saw me and I was a liar.

"Dante," I started. He bit off another bite of the sandwich, which was diminishing quickly. "I was going to..."

"Nope, I don't want to hear it Harvey." He chugged his soda before standing up. "If you and blond boy want to hook up it's none of my business. I just wish I knew you didn't actually like me and I was just some joke."

He stormed off, dumping his trash and making his way over to the cafeteria line. He was getting more food?

He was wearing that pair of jeans that I thought was loose fit. They didn't fit the same. His butt seemed bigger and there seemed to be less fabric around his thighs. His belly poked out, drawing attention because of his liking for smaller t-shirts. He was getting larger and it turned me on. But I liked Wes...I thought I did...or did I like Dante?

I did like Dante. I had liked him, what was different? Wes was tossed into the equation, that's what. "Mom, I'm home," I called. She was baking, which she seemed to do more often.

"Harvey, great. You're home," she said. I looked at the large pink box on the table. I opened it. There must've been at least twenty cupcakes in it. "I need you to take that over to Paul's. It's Dante's birthday and I wanted to make sure it was a happy one." I sighed. It was his birthday today and we got into a fight? Well...an even bigger fight.

"Yeah, sure," I said, picking up the box.

"Oh, and guess what?" she asked, and I already knew she was going to tell me. She held out her hand, a rock the size of Texas on her ring finger. I almost dropped the box of cupcakes.

"Holy shit," I said. She laughed. "Wh...when did this happen?" I asked.

"It happened today at lunch. Paul is so sweet and he...knows how to treat a lady." She sighed happily. "We're having a little party Saturday. It'll be us and the Kinkles. I invited some of the ladies from work, the Lennox's." Wes's family? Would he be coming as well? I hoped he would, but hoped he wouldn't. "Take the cupcakes! We'll take later."

I left out and took the cupcakes to Dante's house. He answered the door and looked at me scornfully. "What's up brother?" I said nervously. We would be brothers soon. "Happy birthday!"

"Don't call me brother, it sounds racially insensitive coming from you." I handed him the box of cupcakes. He opened it and took one out. He bit into it, some icing resting on his nose. "Thanks for the cupcakes though." He closed the door.

"Our parents are getting married!" I shouted. I stood there for a moment. I had the feeling things weren't going to work out between Dante and me. I decided to go and see Wes. I wasn't going to just let both of them ignore me.