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Joe pulls at the uncomfortable christmas sweater that his mom has forced him to wear because apparently the clothes he brought weren't "Christmas-y enough." Hes dragged into yet another conversation with a group of his parents friends, who are of course going to tell him the same things that hes heard about a dozen times this evening "youve grown so much" "hows college been?" "Any girlfriend yet?"
He just smiles and nods through everything, he cant even get a proper answer in before they're asking another question or making another unsolicited comment.
"Joe!" He sighs but plasters a smile on his face as his aunt grabs his arm and starts practically dragging him along "have you met Ja'marr yet? His family moved in across the street after you went off to college, hes a really nice boy." He sighs, great, meeting more people that hes probably never gonna see again.
"Ja'marr!" He looks up and he nearly freezes, if his aunt hadnt been dragging him he was positive he would have. The guy in front of him says something that Joe cant hear, hes gorgeous, it takes Joe a minute to actually realise hes being spoken to.
"You alright?" Ja'marr asks, chuckling a little, Joe chuckles and nods "yeah, yeah im fine, sorry." He rubs the back of his neck and thank god his aunt decides to speak "Ja'marrs gonna be going to lsu next year, hes actually from Louisiana."
Joe gives the younger man a small smile before his aunt is called into the kitchen for something, his eyes follow her until shes out of sight and then they snap back to Ja'marr, whos smiling back at him "hows college so far?"
Joe shrugs "oh, yknow, the usual, busy with essays and Christmas exams" he gives Ja'marr the same answer he gives everyone, plain, simple, not too in depth about his life. "What's the football like there?" Ja'marr asks, making Joe perk up, no ones asked him about football yet "cause like I've seen some videos but I'm gonna be on the team next year and your mom told me you were the quarterback there."
Joes full on grinning now as he nods "yeah, the footballs great, I mean, I kinda have to say that about my own team" he chuckles a little and Ja'marr laughs and nods, a genuine one, not the fake ones that hes been hearing all evening "what position do you play?" Ja'marr grins and then the conversation just flows, they talk about football, college, the local area, hobbies, tv shows, literally whatever comes to mind.
Joe doesnt even notice the time ticking by until his mom comes over, its now fully dark outside and half of the guests have left. "I see you two are getting along" she's grinning like she planned it out herself "what did I tell you, Ja'marr, my boys a looker, isnt he?"
Joe feels his face get hot at his mom practically pushing him onto the younger man. Ja'marr chuckles and nods "yeah, he really is" his eyes quickly look Joe up and down and now his face is burning for an entirely different reason. "Why dont you two go out for a coffee or a drink?" His mom asks, a hand on each other their backs, nearly pushing them together.
Joes about to decline, he doesnt even know if Ja'marr likes guys like that, or Joe like that. But before he can, Ja'marrs speaking again "yeah, thatd be nice, actually" and then hes looking at Joe with those perfect eyes.
Joes nervous, no, he's terrified. He's sat in a coffee shop, waiting to meet Ja'marr again. It's barely 5 minutes after the time they agreed to meet, doubt starts to cloud his mind, what if Ja'marrs not coming? What if he only agreed because Joes mom was there? What if-
"Joe, hey!" His head snaps up to see Ja'marr stood in front of him, in a beige sweater and brown pants, he looks perfect. "You okay?" He only realises he didn't say anything when the younger man spoke again.
"Oh y-yeah, hey" he smiles up at him, my god how does he make Joe feel so nervous, not even the hottest guys back in lsu made Joe feel like this. Its quiet between them for a moment before Ja'marr chuckles a little "will i go get us coffee?"
Joe nods then shakes his head "no, I'll get it" he says quickly, standing up "my mom practically forced you to get coffee with me so..." he rubs the back of his neck, why is he so nervous?
Ja'marr just nods a little and lets Joe go first, following after him to the counter. Theres two people in the line ahead of them. Joes eyes scan over the menu board even though he knows what hes getting already.
"How long are you home for?" Ja'marrs voice makes him turn back and, my god hes standing so close to Joe. "Uh, two weeks" he answers, the younger man nods a little "are you uh, busy New Years, got any plans or anything?" Joe nods "yeah, a few friends from high school are gonna have a party."
Ja'marr nods again, a slight look of disappointment on his face. Joe glances away and then back to him "do you wanna come?" He asks then shrugs "could be fun." His heart feels like its hammering in his chest, did he just ask Ja'marr on a date? Would it even be a date? He probably wont even-
"Yeah, I'd love to" Ja'marr nods, giving Joe that smile that makes him turn into a puddle. They both just smile at each other "good, great, Ill uh, Ill pick you up at uh..." he pauses, maybe this is his chance "around 6? We could go for food before?"
Theres something in Ja'marrs eyes, the way he looks at him as he smiles and nods "yeah, that sounds really nice."
-fin.