Page 76 of This I Promise You
“It was good.”
“Jacob? Jacob!” Tyler yells, waving at someone in the distance that I can’t quite make out. “Skylar! What the hell are you two doing here?” He runs off.
“Jacob and Sky arehere?” Aidan gets back up to chase after Tyler.
“What? Noway!” Easton’s up in a flash.
Everyone jogs away and I’m so confused. We’re three hours from Charlotte, how can all three of them know these people? I put my sunglasses on and make my way to Easton’s side. There’s a taller guy in a hoodie and shorts with hair somehow more pale than Tyler’s skin and a much, much shorter guy wearing a beach dress similar to the one Huxley has on.
The one in the dress is signing something and the tall one is translating it.
“He said, ‘I can’t believe we ran into y’all all the way out here.’ Oh, who’s this?”
“Oh my God, sorry! This is my boyfriend, Paul.” Easton motions to me.
“Hey, y’all. Nice to meet you,” I offer.
“Yeah, nice to meet you, too. I’m Jacob. This is my boyfriend, Skylar.”
Skylar, the one in the dress, signs something to me. I don’t know what he said, but I can only assume it was “nice to meet you too” by the way his mouth moved with his hand motions.
“He said, ‘Nice to meet you too.’”
“Pleasure. So…how do y’all know each other?” I ask anyone willing to answer.
“Well, Tyler and Jacob met through some video game,” Easton explains, “and then Aidan and Skylar met because they’re dating them, and then I met them all when I started on the Harrison campaign last year. She was running against Jacob’s dad.”
“Your dad, huh?”
“It’s a long story.” Jacob shrugs it off.
“Yeah,” Easton continues, “and I met Skylar through Jacob while we worked on the campaign. We’d hang out every so often at Editions—you know, the place we went to Trivia Night. That’s where they live. Not the shop, but Kannapolis.”
Skylar starts signing something again, making Jacob laugh. “He said, ‘Us gays have to stick together.’”
We all join in a chorus of laughter.
“So, what are you two doing here, anyway?” Aidan asks.
Jacob shrugs. “Spring break. Florida's too far, so the Big Brown Wet Thing had to do.”
“Big Brown Wet Thing?” Easton squints.
“It’s an inside joke.” Jacob laughs. “Oh! Imani’s here too, but she stayed at the Airbnb to Facetime Seth. He couldn’t get the time off work to come too.”
Skylar’s signing again.
“‘What brings you all here?’” Jacob translates.
It’s weird because I’ve noticed Skylar signing, but no one is signing back. “How come—” I start.
Easton laces his fingers into mine and smiles. “He doesn’t have a voice, babe. But his ears work just fine.”
Skylar laughs.
“Oh shit. I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to assume anything.”
Skylar signs while Jacob translates. “‘It’s okay, you didn’t know. Don’t worry about it.’ I’m his voice and he’s the brains and beauty.” Skylar hits Jacob, mouthing “shut up” playfully.
