Page 19 of First Kiss with a Mothman

Because Arie didn’t know that part of me. And now he does.

That dark corner of my heart tamps down any feelings I might be having for the new human on the block. I need to eliminate any possibility that I could be in a healthy relationship with Arie, the same way his bird eliminated one of my moths. I’m in no shape to be more than friends with anyone.

With that resolution, my chest feels lighter. Before I can get up, I look to my left at the bench that Arie was sitting at. There’s a folded paper underneath the seat on the floor. Was that always there?

Chapter

Six

ARIE

“One sarcopha-cappuccino.” The friendly barista guy gets closer and places the drink into my hand.

“Thank you so much.”

“You having it here?”

“I was hoping Tanner was around and on break.”

“He’s off right now. But why talk to him when you can chill with the titular mummy of Mummy Mocha himself?”

I snicker. Tanner told me about his boss, Seth, a fellow student. I get why everyone is friends with him; he’s so lively. His magnetic personality is attractive, too. “Why don’t I get your bird some sesame seeds and we can take a table, yeah?”

“I’d love that.” A minute later, I’m seated at a table here on the bottom floor of the library. Reginald hops off my shoulder and proceeds to peck at his snack.

“I must say, first a bat familiar, and now a seeing-eye bird?” The barista gets closer, and I snicker. “I thought the students were the only animals on campus.”

“We both appreciate the warm welcome.” I pet Reginald and sip my drink.

“How’s it taste?”

“Exquisite. I’m Arie, by the way.”

“Tanner told me about you.”

“And he told me about you, uh, Seth? The mummy?”

“The man, the myth, the legend.” We both share another laugh, and he continues, “How have classes been?”

“Good. This past week has been great, actually.”

“Any challenges? If anyone is giving you a hard time, I can shove a scarab up their ass.”

I cackle then wipe my face. “No, everyone’s been super friendly.” My thoughts dwell on my one semi-close friend. Tanner and Seth are cool, but no one’s intrigued me as much as the mothman I’ve been spending time with. We’re both gay, but I can’t tell if he’s interested in me or not. Doing laundry with him last week was really comforting. It was a domestic coziness I never got to explore. His voice sounds so deep and sexy…

Then my cousin came and popped that bubble. It was so obvious that Mort didn’t want to talk about his experience being on TV as a kid. I don’t care about that, but apparently he does. He hasn’t texted me all week, and he didn’t approach me during orchestra class. I get the sinking feeling that learning about his child star past might have made him not want to spend time with me anymore.

I hope he’s not done with me. Because something inexplicable draws me to Mort.

“And getting around campus hasn’t been too bad?” Seth asks.

After taking another sip, I shake my head. “No. I’ve memorized how to get from place to place.”

“Well, Mummy Mocha is the only important place you need to go. The bonfire was important, too. There’s also the Union…okay, on second thought, maybe there are a lot of important places around the university.” We both share another laugh.

“The most difficult part was doing my laundry for the first time. No Braille on the machines.”

“Sounds rough.”