Free The Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know (Russel Middlebrook: The Futon Years Book 1) by Brent Hartinger Page A

said, acting surprised, like I hadn't just been watching him for three minutes straight.
    "How are you?"
    He really was happy to see me. His face was blossoming like a flower.
    "I'm good," I said.
    He stepped toward me, and I stepped toward him. We hugged, loosely, a little awkwardly. He had absolutely filled out, and it was definitely in a good way. I think he was wearing cologne, but I didn't get a good sense of it, or of his own scent, over all the crazy smells of the store.
    He pulled back from the hug first, then I pulled back.
    "It's funny," I said. "I saw you a couple of weeks ago. Out at U Village. But I lost you in the crowd."
    "You did? Huh, I don't remember—oh, yeah, I met some friends for dinner."
    I nodded. "So you're living in Seattle now?"
    "I am. I moved back just a couple of months ago. I work for Amazon."
    "Oh, God, don't tell me you're a 'brogrammer'!" There were two kinds of guys who worked in tech in Seattle: geeks and "brogrammers"—basically, jocky frat-type guys who've realized that tech is where the big bucks are. And it went without saying that Kevin was no geek.
    Kevin laughed. "No, not tech. I actually work for IMDB—they're owned by Amazon. Editing."
    "Kevin Land is an editor, huh? Who knew?"
    "Turns out there's hope for us dumb jocks after all. What about you? What do you do?"
    I told him about my two jobs. When it came to winning him back, I wasn't sure which was the better strategy: puffing up the jobs to make them sound more impressive than they were, or making them sound really pathetic and I was a complete lost wet puppy in need of rescuing. I couldn't decide, so I just told him the truth (which, unfortunately, was closer to "lost wet puppy in need of rescuing").
    Kevin listened and smiled. He'd whitened his teeth at some point in the last three years—probably professionally, in a dentist's office, not with those stupid Crest Strips that I'd used (that had barely made any difference I could see).
    When I told him about how I'd rescued Vernie, he said, "You actually saved someone's life? I'm impressed. Can't say I've ever done anything like that."
    You saved my life , I wanted to say. Back in high school. Before I met you, I was this scared, lonely little boy. But in the end, you made me feel like a man. You made me feel loved and sexy and important for the first—and only—time in my life. And maybe, if things go according to plan, you can do all that for me all over again.              
    "Meh," I said. "It wasn't any big deal."
    "It is!" he said. "It really is."
    And I was so pleased that Kevin was impressed that I smiled. (But then I remembered how yellow my teeth were compared to Kevin's, so I closed my mouth again.)
    "It's pretty great, isn't it?" Kevin said.
    "What?" I said.
    "I don't know. Seattle in the summer. Being out of college. Life. Everyone says the future is shit, but it doesn't feel that way. Does it?"
    "No, it doesn't," I said, and I was mostly telling the truth again, even if the only reason the future felt bright to me right then was because I was starting to think there was a real chance that Kevin and I would get back together again.
    "I feel bad," I said.
    "For what?"
    "The way we broke up."
    Kevin looked confused.
    "Remember? I was mad because you didn't come home for vacation? So I refused to talk to you?"
    He smiled—more of those white teeth. "That's not the way I remember it."
    "It isn't?" I smiled too—yellow teeth be damned.
    He shook his head.
    "Well, I'm sorry anyway."
    "Russel, you don't have anything to apologize for. That was a long time ago. It's all good. I think of you all the time, and I only ever think good thoughts. In fact, I've been meaning to contact you."
    "Really?" Needless to say, my heart was singing. And a chorus of angels too, all perfectly in tune.
    He nodded—forcefully. "Yeah."
    "Because I was just wondering..."
    "Yeah?" he said.
    "Well, we both live in Seattle now. I was wondering if maybe you wanna go out with me