Page 37 of Make the Play
Averting his gaze, Jason watches the clock until he hears Theo clear his throat signaling it’s safe to look. When Jason turns around, it’s all he can do not to laugh at the dazed look on Alec’s face.
“Whipped,” Jason whistles.
“Fuck you,” Alec says with decidedly less bite than usual. He adjusts his sweats, turning away from them both. “I need a Coke. I’ll be right back.”
“Check the fridge,” Jason says, realizing he forgot to buy any Coke for Alec but not wanting to admit that.
“Obviously,” Alec retorts, nearly in the kitchen when he yells, “Just wait until you get a partner, I’m gonna give you so much shit.”
“I’m not dating,” Jason turns to yell, startled when he turns back around to find Theo staring at him. “What?”
“Emerson.”
“Yes.”
“When is he coming?” Theo asks.
“Uh, I told him six, and he’s usually on time. Unless the bus is late then?—”
“Why the fuck is the fridge full of Dr. Pepper?” Alec bellows from the kitchen. “Who drinks fucking Dr. Pepper?”
Before Jason gets a chance to answer, Alec reappears in the living room looking decidedly disgruntled. He’s holding a can of Dr. Pepper in one hand, but he hasn’t opened it, instead staring at it like it’s personally offended him.
“What the fuck, Jason?”
“It’s soda.”
“Soda is not Coke,” Alec retorts. “This is a flavor abomination. It tastes fruity. Who wants fruity soda?”
The question is clearly rhetorical, yet Jason finds himself answering anyway. “Emerson.”
“Emerson,” Alec repeats, sounding out each consonant in the name like he’s never heard it before. “Are you telling me the fridge is full of Dr. Pepper for your new friend? Oh my god, is this?—”
“Alexander,” Theo interrupts, curling his fingers around Alec’s hip.
“What?” Alec asks, tone softening exponentially as his attention immediately shifts from Jason to Theo.
“I’ll take you to Sonic to get a Coke.”
“At least someone cares about what I like.” Alec directs this at Jason, like having the wrong soda is a mortal offense.
Theo pulls Alec towards the front door, but his attention is on Jason. “We’ll be back in thirty minutes.”
“Why are we gonna be back in thirty—oh.” Alec grins. “Yeah, we’ll be back in thirty minutes.”
Not at all wanting to think about why it’s going to take them thirty minutes to get Alec his goddamn Coke but also grateful that Theo is giving Jason a reprieve from the twenty questions, he shuts the door behind them before turning his attention to his fur babies.
“You two need to behave better than Alec, or I’m putting all three of you in the other room when Emerson gets here.”
9EMERSON
Standingin front of Jason’s front door, hand curled into a fist and poised to knock, Emerson has a rush of doubt. What the hell is he doing? Emerson doesn’t go to people’s houses to hang out. Not with a handsome, popular football coach. Not with anyone. The last time he’d gone to someone’s house for pizza, he was fifteen, and that had ended with Emerson spending most of the time in the bathroom hiding.
The social unknowns for this kind of situation have always caused more stress than they’re worth, especially once Emerson realized people liked the masked version of him better. He is more than capable of getting along in social settings, of pretending he doesn’t have to overthink every part of a conversation or plan eye contact. He knows how to avoid infodumping at people, even though the urge sometimes claws at him. Being high-masking is exactly why it took him so long to get diagnosed in the first place.You’re lucky you have lower supportneeds,someone told him once, but all Emerson heard was,your autism doesn’t affect us, so we don’t see it.
Anxiety rises the longer Emerson stands at the front door hesitating to knock. He knows what to expect tonight in abject terms, but he would feel better knowing exactly what he’s walking into. That’s not possible since he’s never met Theo or Alec.
“You can do this,” Emerson mumbles, lifting his hand with every intention of knocking. Before he can, the door is yanked open to reveal Jason, his bulk blocking the inside of the house.
