Page 59 of Bro Smooth
“Other kids ran in the hallways, but not our boys,” says Lukas’s mom. The way she looks at them all, clearly proud, it’s as if they’re all her sons. I get the feeling all of the parents kind of view the guys that way, and I wonder what it must be like to have not only your actual parents be so obviously proud of you, but to have bonus parents who feel the same.
The servers arrive with our meals, and the parents launch into stories about the boys quizzing each other on the history and rules of speedcubing, having mini competitions in the hallway with ridiculous rules like having to hop on one foot while solving, and—the most annoying thing, according to Andrea—correcting adults.
When we are all finished eating and the check has been paid, Elliot’s father leans back in his chair. “So when is your next event?” he asks, checking his watch.
Elliot looks down at his own wrist. “We have two hours.”
“That should be plenty of time to check out the museum down the street,” Summer says. “Who would like to join me?”
“We would,” Mary tells her excitedly. “When are we going to be in New York again and get a chance?”
“We’re in too,” says Jen. “It’ll be nice to get outside, get some fresh air, and have a little walk.”
“What about you boys? It’s the natural history museum, not an art museum.” Summer seems to think that would be a determining factor, but the guys all shake their heads.
Sebastian grimaces. “That would be cutting it kind of close.”
“Agreed,” says Lukas. “I’d rather be here just in case something happens.”
“Like in case the competition schedule gets ahead for some reason, which it has never done in the history of the sport,”Andrea clarifies, the same tone of amused resignation in her voice that was in Summer’s when she told Lukas not to beat a dead horse.
The guys all look to Sebastian, who nods. “There’s a first time for everything.”
“Well, that’s all right, you boys can stay here,” agrees Felix’s mom. “What about you, Rebecca? Would you like to come with us to the natural history museum?”
Under different circumstances, I would love to walk through the museum. Walking down to the café earlier with just Summer was fine, but being alone with all of them without having the guys as a protective barrier is a whole different story.
“If you would rather stay here and do homework, we understand,” Mary says gently. “Especially if you don’t want to do it during the competition, we’d understand if you wanted to take advantage of the downtime.”
I hadn’t even considered that I could use the time to get some work done. “That’s probably the best idea. I’m missing classes today, and I don’t want to fall even more behind.”
“No, you definitely don’t.” Andrea stands, gathering her purse, and the rest of us follow her lead. “In that case, we should get going if we want to be back in time to see Lukas’s event.”
We head back into the hall, where there’s yet another round of hugging. And every parent is hugging every kid, including me, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. I can’t even remember the last time either of my parents hugged me. This is probably more hugs in a morning than I’ve had in a lifetime.
Once they’re on their way to the museum, I turn to the guys.
“Where are you hanging out until the next event?” Now that my homework was mentioned, I feel guilty because I haven’t planned ahead for how I’m going to make up for being here all weekend. Normally I study on Friday nights and all day Saturday. The main reason I haven’t been interested in dating isthat I didn’t want it to get in the way of my studies, so I can’t let the fact that I’m fooling around with guys now affect my GPA. Graduation is still two years away, but one bad grade could take the rest of the semester to make up for, and I don’t want to have to work any harder than I already do just because I let myself get distracted.
“We normally spend the entire competition in the competitors’ waiting area,” says Lukas, tilting his head a little as he glances over at his friends, having one of their telepathic conversations.
“Okay. In that case, I’ll head up to the room and get some work done. I’ll set an alarm so I’m back for the next event.”
“Or you could bring it down here to work on,” suggests Felix.
A screaming toddler goes running by, followed by a slightly older kid, not screaming, and finally an adult yelling for both of the kids to stop. We all watch them disappear down the hall, and I look back at the guys.
“No, thanks. It’ll be quieter upstairs.” Plus, there’s no point in bringing my stuff down here if I’ll be sitting alone while they’re in the competitor area. I might as well take advantage of the quiet solitude of our empty room to really knock out a good chunk of work.
“Or … we could all go upstairs,” Elliot suggests, his mouth slowly forming the words as if he’s uncertain about them. “Our room isn’t that much farther from the competition platforms than the waiting area.”
“And they do have all of our numbers so they can text us if the schedule changes,” says Sebastian, equally slowly.
“We can always turn up the volume on our phones and set an alarm,” says Elliot.
“Then let’s wait up there so we can all be together,” agrees Lukas, already heading over to call the elevator.
Unfortunately, we’re not the only ones who have the idea of running up to their room after lunch. When we finally manage to find an elevator with space for us, we’re forced to stand much closer than we would have normally. I’m not going to complain though. I didn’t realize how much I would miss being able to touch them all day. Lukas must have the same thought, because he reaches out to grasp hold of my sweater and gently tug me closer to him. It’s only about half a step’s worth of distance, but it brings my side flush against his, and his solid warmth makes me feel calm for the first time all day.
