Part Seventeen: Midnight Dates
I asked Mickey out on a date and he fucking said yes. I'm higher than a fucking kite and I haven't even smoked any of the pot yet. I just spent two hours picking out what I'm going to wear. Lip is sitting on the edge of his bunk bed smoking a cigarette and giving me thumbs up or thumbs down on outfit options.
"So you asked him on a date?"
"Mmhmm, and he said yes. Can you believe it?"
"No, I really fucking can't. But I have some pot for you. Just don't tell Kev."
"How about this one?" I hold up a plaid shirt. Lip gives me thumbs up.
"At least wear a condom. You don't know where he's been."
I could say the same thing about Karen.
"Hey," says Fiona coming into our room. "Got a hot date?"
"Yes," I say smiling. I am bursting to tell her, but I know I can't.
"Who is it?"
"I can't say. He's not out."
"It's awfully late to be going out."
"It's summer."
"I know, but I worry. I kind of like you," she says slapping me on the shoulder.
"I'll probably be out until two."
"1:30 and you have a deal."
Lip is rolling his eyes at the huge fucking smile plastered on my face. I can't help how I feel. I have no idea what time it is, and I don't want to keep Mickey waiting so I finally decide on the plaid. Fiona approves and gives me a semi-awkward sex talk that she used on Carl only changed it to be about gay sex. She seems just as uncomfortable as I am.
"Here," she says, handing me a condom.
"What do you think is going to happen on this date?" I ask her, even though I know exactly what's going to happen. She gives me a smack on the ass and makes me promise to "introduce" her to my new boyfriend when he finally does come out.
Mickey is sitting on top of one of the old cars under the L when I finally arrive. He's wearing a collared shirt, but it doesn't look like he was trying too hard, but he at least made an effort. He looks nice though. He has a six pack of beer sitting next to him. He cracked one open already. I snatch it and take a drink. He doesn't mind.
"Didn't think you'd show," Mickey says taking a joint and lighting it.
"I invited you; it would be pretty shitty of me not to come."
We sit in silence for a while and pass a joint back and forth. I can't stop myself looking at Mickey's "Fuck" hand. I inch my left hand toward his right slowly. My hand rests on top of his, I expect him to pull away. He doesn't. He doesn't look at me either. I flip his hand over and interlock our fingers. He looks at me, I smile at him. He doesn't take his hand out of mine.
We're holding hands. Okay, relax, Ian. It's just handholding.
"If you tell anyone about this I'll kill you," says Mickey after several minutes of silence, but he still doesn't release my hand.
"I won't." Yeah, right, I'm so telling Lip everything.
"Are we going to fuck?" Mickey asks.
"Where?"
Mickey looks around and smirks at me, "You know, we've never done it in a car."
I smile and we both climb in the backseat of the car we're sitting on. It takes less time to get Mickey out of his clothes than it did for me to hold his hand. I try to use the condom Fiona gave me but Mickey swats it away.
"They feel fucking weird," says Mickey.
We go at it harder than we have before, because we have all the time in the world and we're in an abandoned car. We can be as loud as want because the sound of the L going by above us drowns out any noises we make. I bite down on Mickey's shoulder when I release inside him.
"Sorry," I say.
"That's going to leave a mark isn't it?" Mickey asks.
"Probably," I say.
Mickey and I sit back on the car again in our same spots. I hold his hand again. He doesn't budge. I take the joint he's been smoking on with my free hand. I'm not letting go until we leave.
"Why did you toss out that dumb asshole's number?"
"I didn't need it."
"Why?"
Because I have a boyfriend, I want to say, but instead I go with, "Because he's not my type."
"You could have used him for a quick fuck."
"He'd probably be a lousy lay."
Mickey doesn't say anything for a while after that. He continues to hold my hand as we sit in silence side by side on the hood of the car. At quarter after one I let go of his hand.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Mickey asks.
"I promised Fiona I'd be home by 1:30."
Mickey jumps down from the car. He starts walking towards my house. I follow him. We walk the same pace even though my legs are longer than his. He doesn't slow down. He doesn't speak to me. We just walk.
"Kev grew some good pot," says Mickey when we stop walking outside my house. I face him. He isn't looking at me.
"Yeah, he did."
"See ya tomorrow," says Mickey.
He leaves. I linger on the porch and watch him walk away. He doesn't turn around, but somehow he knows I'm there because he gives me the finger.
Fiona and V are waiting up for me. V is probably waiting for Kev to close up and come home, but she is sitting on the sofa watching TV with Fiona. She turns off the TV when I come in.
"Holy shit, Ian," says Fiona.
"What?"
"You reek of pot."
"I know. Me and Mi—My date got high under the L," I say.
"Boy, you have stars in your eyes," says V with a smile.
I sit down between them and let a smile form on my face. V shoves me playfully. Fiona is tickling me for details.
"I'm so into him," I confess. I wish I could tell them everything.
"That's obvious," says V.
"Could you give us a hint at who he is?" Fiona asks.
"No. I promised him I wouldn't tell."
"Do we know him?" V asks.
"Yes."
"That really narrows it down," says V sarcastically.
"I'm going to bed," I tell them.
"Good night," says Fiona.
"Good night, handsome," says V. I give both of them kisses.
Lip is asleep when I get upstairs. I'll tell him about my night in the morning. Right now I just want to dream about going on more dates with Mickey.
A/N: Here is a secret. The reason these updates happen so fast is that I write them the night before and post them the next day, and I love you all and want you to have something to read.