Page 38 of Theoretically Straight

you know, so we can talk about the video and stuff…

I smile at his double message. My cheeks are on fire.

Caleb

yeah! can’t wait!

Wren starts the video again, but the music slips into the background as I stare down the text, letting the words burn into my brain.

Can’t wait to see you tomorrow!

* * *

Saturday, September 16

“Caleb, you’re about to vibrate into a parallel universe over there. Can you at least chill long enough for us to get inside?”

The inside of Wren’s car feels like a sauna, and no matter how many times I wipe my palms across my jeans, they remain moist. Theo’s house is bigger than I imagined. It looms over us as we sit in the driveway, warm light spilling from the windows into the dusky evening air. We’re technically still early, and I don’t want to appear too eager. What if that freaks him out? But I also don’t want to be late and make him think I don’t care, so how long do I think it’ll take to get from here to the front door–

“Caleb, you’re starting to freak me out, bro.”

I exhale, looking over to Wren. “Sorry. I’m so nervous and have no idea why.”

Wren raises an eyebrow at me. “You sure about that?”

“Okay, let me rephrase. I know why I’m nervous, but I don’t know how to make it stop. I know that Theo isn’t into guys, and I don’t exactly have the best reputation for figuring out if someone is or is not flirting with me–hence the whole Logan fiasco–but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something going on between Theo and me.”

“Well, maybe it’s a good thing I’m here tonight,” Wren says, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Consider me your flirt-detector. If that boy so much as winks in your direction, I’ll know it. You can look forward to my full report at the end of the night.”

I nod. That actually does make me feel better. If only a little.

“I wish Freddy didn’t flake on us,” Wren adds. “I’ll admit, he’s the best when it comes to spotting longing glances. How else does he get laid so often?”

“I think you’re confusing longing with desperation.”

Wren smacks my shoulder, but they’re smiling.

“Ow! It was just a joke!”

“Alright mister, you’ve made us a minute late. Now grab your gummy worms, and let's go see if this boy has a thing for you!”

I grab my bag of candy from the floorboard and bravely charge into the warm evening air. But as soon as I’m out of the car, my false bravado fails, and Wren moves ahead of me up the brick stairs to ring the doorbell.

“I got it!” a voice yells from inside.

Theo opens the door not ten seconds later, his chest heaving like he ran the fifty-meter dash just to get here.

“Hey! Uh, welcome! Come in.” He shuffles to the side as Wren and I step into the foyer. “Glad y’all could make it.”

“Thanks for having us,” I say, eying the impressive chandelier hanging above our heads. Cue the intrusive thoughts about it falling and crushing me. Depending on how tonight goes, that may be the best-case scenario. “Um, Freddy already had plans, so it’ll just be us coming.”

“But we’re way more fun than he is,” Wren adds. “So it’s not that great a loss.”

Theo doesn’t seem fazed. “No worries. We’ll be downstairs in the theater room. The stairs are just through here. I’ve got popcorn and drinks already down there. So, we can just head down–”

“Well, hello there!”

A dark-haired woman appears at the end of the hall, all smiles as she makes her way into the foyer to join us. She looks a lot like Theo, with the same sharp features and strong nose. “I don’t think I’ve met you two before. I’m Kora, Theo’s mom. It’s nice to see some new faces around here.” She gravitates toward Theo, nudging him with her shoulder. “Theo, when you said you were having a movie night, I figured it would be the three musketeers coming.”

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