Page 35 of Marcus in Retrograde
Done. Gone. Pure whack-off fantasy for the next two months.
I wanted to weep into my hands. Because for all the interest in him I had shoved back down, he didn’t show even the slightest interest in me. That kinda sucked.
Somehow, I managed to keep my head about me, and steered my brain and dick away from the man back to the game.
As it turned out, the Mets beat the tar out of the Cubs. Didn’t surprise either of us, and while we were fans, it became clear we were casual fans. Didn’t mean the loss didn’t hurt. Every Cubs loss hurt, but I’d stopped being achingly disappointed.
The crowd was still booing us cheerfully on the way back to the train, and we didn’t care. We just kept handing out the middle fingers and heading for the station.
“Got any plans for dinner?” Chase asked.
“Not really,” I answered.
“How about we grab some Thai from Chez Trinh, and we can crash at my place for a few. Since I have a bigger couch and a television.”
“A television, how fancy,” I mocked.
“Well, it’s bigger than yours.”
I choked. “You really want to go there?”
He turned bright pink. “Jesus. No. Not even close.”
We laughed as another group of fans accosted us good-naturedly on the train.
“You like Thai?” I asked Chase.
“I like anything that you can’t find in Buttfuck Nowhere. Thai, Ethiopian, Indian, Afghani, Filipino, sushi, Korean. Whatever. Anything not Chinese and burgers. I like burgers, but not as a habit.”
“I’m going to wager that you’re from a small town and couldn’t wait to get out.”
“Half right,” Chase said, quietly. “I am from a small town, buttheycouldn’t wait to get me out.”
I felt a little crestfallen on that. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up anything bad.”
He waved me off. “Long time ago. I’m happy and well established here with a great group of friends.”
“Except Felix.”
Chuckling, he nodded. “Except Felix.”
The Thai place was between our subway stop and our apartment building. We probably ordered enough for an army between the two of us, but it wouldn’t go to waste.
Chase led us up to the door, and then pointed to mine. “Get the pooch. Bring him over and we’ll take him out for a walk later.”
“Good call,” I said. “There’s also a really good cupcake place on the other side of the square. We’ll get dessert.”
Pollux happily trotted over to the other door as soon as I opened mine and wandered right in. I stared at him and followed after locking mine.
“My dog is a traitor.”
Chase laughed from where he was in the kitchen. “Have a seat. I’m sure your dog is already on the couch.”
I turned around and found the dog in the living room, on the couch. “Pollux, you can be a real jerk sometimes,” I said, sitting down next to him.
“Turn on the TV. Put whatever you like on. I’ll be there in a second. Beer?”
“God, no…no more beer. Soda? Water? Anything like that is fine.” I grabbed the remote and clicked on the television.
