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“It’s like, he picked the circus for our date last week,” Nini says incredulously. “Is that normal?”
“Neens?” Kourtney says seriously. “Absolutely nothing about Ricky is normal.”
“As a boy,” Seb puts in, “I can vouch for the fact that we are very stupid.” The girls laugh, and Seb grins. “Oh, I’m serious. When I first took Carlos home to meet my parents, he got flustered and referred to them as ‘Mr and Mrs Sebastian’.” Kourtney and Nini burst out laughing, and Nini shakes her head with a fond smile.
“I mean, I love him,” Nini says, “but God, he’s an idiot sometimes.” She’s curled up in her swinging chair in the corner of her bedroom, picking fluff off a pillow. Kourtney’s sprawled out on a beanbag chair a few feet away, and Seb’s on the bed, lying on his back with his head dangling off the side of the bed, looking at her upside-down. Their entire cache of candy has been eaten, and they’re on the crashing end of a sugar high.
“Like you didn’t know that when you started dating,” Kourtney remarks with a raised eyebrow, and Nini gives a quiet laugh.
“True.” A raucous cheer from downstairs shatters the peaceful atmosphere, and Nini starts with alarm.
“Jeez, what are they doing down there?”
“Believe it or not, they’re still going with the ping-pong tournament,” Seb says, rolling over onto his front and propping himself up on his elbows. “It must be getting pretty serious.” A knock on the door precedes Ashlyn bursting in.
“You asked me to come and get you when we got to the last two?” she says, blowing a strand of hair off her face.
“Who’s left?” Nini asks.
“Who do you think?” Ashlyn says drily before vanishing.
“Oh, good,” Nini says to no one in particular. “I was worried she was going to be cryptic.”
“Do we have to go back down?” Seb whines. “I just want to go to sleep,” he adds, faceplanting the duvet for dramatic effect.
“Soon, Sebby,” Kourtney says soothingly, tugging on his hand and earning an indignant, muffled squeak for her trouble. “Come on.” Seb groans, but gets up all the same.
An eerie near-silence has fallen by the time they descend the stairs. The only sound is the repeated tap-clonk of the ping-pong ball as it races back and forth between Ricky and EJ, each furiously watching his opponent, waiting for the other to slip up. Big Red’s marking a scoreboard, and it looks as though they’re on the final point.
Seb sidles up to Carlos, taking his hand and giving him a surreptitious kiss on the cheek. Carlos smiles and leans into him, but doesn’t take his eyes off the match. Kourtney and Nini slip into the mix, and Nini whispers something to Ashlyn, only to be firmly shushed by Gina, who’s also watching intently. The rally starts to pick up speed, and the group is practically holding their breath as they watch the ball fly from one side of the table to the other.
Eventually, though, Ricky hits it high; hoping for an easy point, EJ smashes it with full force – and howls with fury as it slams into the net. Ricky punches the air in triumph as the room erupts in cheers, and Nini takes this opportunity to run to him and hug him. He lifts her chin to kiss her, breaking away as EJ walks round the table to shake Ricky’s hand.
“Good game,” Ricky says magnanimously.
“Good game,” EJ echoes. “Although I’d say you got lucky with that last shot.”
“Maybe,” Ricky shrugs. “Or maybe I’m just better than you.”
EJ cracks a smile at that. “Yeah, maybe.” He lifts Ricky’s hand into the air. “The champion!” he announces, to general cheering.
“Hey,” Seb says, bumping Carlos with his hip.
“Hi,” he says. He has to lift his chin just a little as he kisses Seb’s forehead: he’s not that much taller, after all. He glances at the rest of the group, who are trooping into the kitchen for drinks and snacks. “I need some air,” he says innocently. “Care to join me?” he adds in a vaguely posh voice, holding out an arm. Seb chuckles, happy to play along.
“Why, certainly,” he says, in a reasonable imitation of Carlos’ pretend voice, slipping his arm into Carlos’. They walk to the back door and go out onto the decking, breathing in the cool spring air and revelling in the quiet contentment of solitude. “Sorry I didn’t stay to watch you play,” Seb says, suddenly feeling a little guilty. “It’s just a little depressing when you get knocked out in the first round.”
“Trust me, honey, you didn’t miss much,” Carlos says, lifting an eyebrow, and Seb smiles, relieved. “Did you have fun with your girls?”
“Yeah,” Seb admits happily. “It was nice.”
Carlos hums approvingly and pulls him closer. “I missed you, though.”
“It was, like, forty minutes,” Seb says with a laugh.
“Exactly,” Carlos murmurs, closing his eyes and leaning close. Suddenly, Carlos’ lips are against his own and he grips Carlos’ jacket, holding him firmly and pressing into the kiss. Seb feels Carlos’ lips open just a fraction, and he reciprocates, tasting salt and cheap soda as he slides the tip of his tongue between them. Carlos lets out a soft, barely perceptible sigh, and he feels Carlos’ hold on his waist tighten very slightly. They move into a rhythm, and when Carlos’ hand slips up his shirt, a shiver runs down Seb’s spine as his fingers make contact with his own skin.
Suddenly the screen door bursts open again, and Nini and Ricky practically tumble out, arms wrapped around each other, giggling between giddy kisses. Seb and Carlos hurriedly break apart, but both couples look slightly embarrassed as they see each other. Seb suspects that each of them is feeling a little bit ‘caught in the act’. Carlos gives a nervous cough; it might be dark, but the porch lamp is bright enough to see the deep shade of red that adorns both boys, and the fact that their hair and clothes are more than a little tousled.
“We’ll, uh,” Carlos says, clearing his throat again and slipping his hand into Seb’s. “We’ll see you inside.”
“Right,” Ricky says awkwardly. “See you.” Seb follows Carlos in and closes the door behind them, and bites back a smirk as he reaches up to smooth out Carlos’ hair. He’s distracted, though, as Carlos’ shoulders start to shake with poorly-repressed laughter; this sets him off, and they’re both giggling as they re-enter Nini’s kitchen.
“I don’t know why they were so embarrassed,” Carlos says quietly as they weave between the rest of the group, aiming for the drinks counter.
“Same reason we did, I guess,” Seb says with a chuckle as he pours orange juice into a tumbler.
“Although they weren’t as into it,” Carlos says, and Seb nearly splutters into his drink. Carlos grimaces. “Sorry, I’m still working on this whole ‘not saying awkward stuff’ thing.”
“It’s fine,” Seb laughs, squeezing his hand. “Don’t worry about it.”
“And where have you been?” Kourtney asks knowingly.
“The seventh circle of heaven,” Carlos says, only half-snide.
“You flatter me,” Seb teases once she’s moved on.
“I try,” he grins, glancing around before leaning in for one more kiss.