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“You know…” Joel said, grinning.
Jimmy sighed and braced himself for what would inevitably be some sort of teasing comment. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you go out on a date.”
Jimmy’s eyes widened in shock. “What?”
“I’ve known you for three years, Jim.”
Jimmy blinked a few times, trying to process his words. He could feel the disbelief well up inside him as he turned his gaze towards Joel, who was looking far more confused than smug, unlike a few moments before. Jimmy would've been happier to have wiped the expression from the other man’s face, if not for the reason it had fallen in the first place.
“What? I have a boyfriend…”
Joel scoffed. “Sure you do,” he said, his words laced with sarcasm.
Jimmy furrowed his brow, studying Joel's face for any signs that he was joking. He found none. He thought back to when he and Tango first started dating. He must have mentioned it to Joel at some point over the last eight months.
“What are you talking about, you know Tango,” he said, exasperation beginning to edge into his tone.
“Your friend from university? What does he have to do with anything?”
The silence was deafening, so palpable it could’ve been cut with a butter knife. Jimmy sighed internally. And his friends called him the unobservant one.
“I don't know what to tell you, we’ve been together for months.”
He had expected Joel's confusion to wash away, to be replaced with offence—maybe even hurt—that he hadn't been told sooner.
Instead, he burst out laughing. “You seriously expect me to believe that you're dating Tango of all people??”
“What…” Jimmy muttered.
The last of the evening's rays filtered through the gap between the curtains, soaking the room in a soft, golden glow. They shone across Joel's face, serving only to highlight his expression, which was full of disbelief.
He ignored it.
After a few seconds of silence, Joel began to speak again. “No offence, dude, but he's a little bit out of your league.”
That comment made Jimmy stop for a moment. Sure, Tango was attractive, like, extremely so, but was their relationship really so unbelievable? So much so that one of his best friends would laugh directly in his face at the mere suggestion?
He drummed his fingers against his leg, still deep in thought. Joel nudged him with his elbow to regain his attention.
“You know,” Joel said, tone becoming increasingly serious, “if you didn't want me to tease you about your frankly sorry excuse of a love life, you could have just said so.”
Jimmy stared at him, mouth agape. “You actually don't believe me, do you?”
“Have you told Tango that you're going around telling people about your supposed ‘relationship’? Because it's sorta creepy if not, mate,” Joel stated, raising an eyebrow in Jimmy's direction.
“I'm not—”
“You don't need to try to justify yourself, Jim. Just be aware that I know you're lying.”
Once Joel had made up his mind about something, it was almost impossible for Jimmy (or anyone else, for that matter) to change it. Thus, Jimmy did the only thing that was possible in such a situation. He let it go.
Temporarily.
He really hated his friends sometimes.