Now I'm sure that it's true
Koa's smile morphs into a frown, his boyish face openly confused. "I thought..." He pauses, not looking at Jude, throat bobbing as his mouth goes suddenly dry. "Can't you just stay here tonight?" With Soh hangs heavy and unsaid between them, a palpable strain on the tenuous almost-friendship they've somehow seemed to form. It's a crack that waits for inevitable fracture, the woman whose heart they both had vied for. Whose heart they both had won- but Jude's claim was greater, and Koa's pride too great to accept a role as second-player.
Especially when he doesn't know where the young man before him stands.
Dinner. Dinner is easier, food a language spoken by everyone, especially growing boys. "Oh, tons." His voice is bright, too bright, too easy, a gilded mask upon his face concealing disquiet thoughts. "What're you in the mood for? There's a great kebab place on the way to my house. Or a couple bars that do late night eats - fries, burgers. Basic, but great after a long day."
It's not exactly an invitation, but it's not not one, either. He knows he really shouldn't spend more time with Jude, that the webs they've woven are already tangled so deeply he can barely keep them straight, and yet... and yet the idea of letting the younger man out of his sight clenches against Koa's heart, scratches at the part of him that wants only to wrap the boy in his arms, to see if that mop of curly hair would feel as soft as it looks.
and I'm nothing like you
