Colton was a really nice guy.
He was a software engineer who worked in my office building. I ran into him in the elevator (or lift as everyone around here called it) several times before he finally talked to me. I could tell he wanted to make conversation just by the way he looked at me, but he was a quiet guy, and it took several accidental meetings on the elevator for him to work up the nerve.
He was nothing like Wes. Wes was intense and passionate where Colton was mild and quiet. They were both handsome guys, but their personalities were reflected in their appearance. Colton had light hair and eyes with a completely wholesome haircut and conservative wardrobe choices. He had worn khakis with a tucked-in button down shirt every time I saw him. Wes on the other hand, emanated adventure and maybe even danger. The more I got to know him, the more I realized how very sweet and considerate he was, but there was definitely an edge to his appearance—a carefree vibe that drew women to him like moths to a flame.
Colton wore his standard uniform on our date. I met him at a steak house that was walking distance from my flat. He didn't live so close, so he had driven his car. He had texted me to make sure I didn't want him to pick me up, but I told him I would just meet him there.
Dinner was tasty, and Colton was a real gentleman the entire time. We had pleasant enough conversation, but my thoughts kept returning to Wes. I thought about Elvis the bird and felt bad that Wes had a rough day in the wake of hearing the sad news about him.
Colton had no idea I had other things on my mind. My conversation with him was so surface level that it was easy for me to appear focused on it while daydreaming about other things. I thought about Wes keeping certain information from Shea, and had to hold in a smile when I realized I hadn't told Colton anything about my hobbies or my YouTube channel. We did talk about my work some, but that's just because he worked in my building and he already knew a little bit about my job.
I really did try to give him my full attention, but it was simply impossible for me to do so. I felt bad for not being totally into him, so I offered to pay for my own dinner. It was kind of a weird thing for me to do—especially since I had let him pay for dinner the first time we went out. I felt guilty for being preoccupied, though, so I offered. He refused. He smiled and told me it was his pleasure, which only added to my guilt.
He asked if he could take me for ice cream afterward, and because I felt like maybe I could make it up to him for being distracted, I agreed. I told myself I would offer to pay for our ice cream so that I wouldn't feel so bad about letting him buy my dinner.
He wouldn't let me do that either.
I ordered a scoop of mint chocolate chip in a cup, and Colton ordered a vanilla milkshake. We started to sit down in the ice cream store, but it was such a nice evening that we decided to walk around a little bit.
"This is my place," I said as we came to the corner near my building. There was a trash bin nearby, and I walked over to it to throw away my empty ice cream cup.
"No way," Colton said, glancing at the building I had gestured to. "I didn't know you lived so close to the office."
I nodded. "I walk to work most days."
"I could walk you up if you like," he said. "Now that we're here." He was basically inviting himself to my apartment, but in the sweetest most non-intrusive way possible.
I searched my mind for a way to refuse him without seeming totally rude. Granted, it was Sunday, and I could get by with saying I needed to turn in early for work the following day, but we had eaten an early dinner and it was still a bit premature for that. I was all about turning in early, but it was barely seven o'clock.
"Or we could keep walking if you like," he said when I didn't respond right away. "I wasn't trying to rush you back home or anything."
"Oh no, I'm fine being rushed. I mean, I, uh, it's Sunday and we both have work tomorrow. I just assumed I'd come home after we got ice cream. Sure, you can walk me up, if you don't mind." I added that last part out of sheer obligation. I felt bad for saying I assumed we'd be done after ice cream, so the bit about walking me up just came out before I could stop it. Colton smiled and held out a hand for me to lead the way. He must have finished his milkshake because he tossed his cup into the bin before we took off.
It crossed my mind that Wes could possibly still be in my apartment when we got there, but I figured it was unlikely since I had been gone for a couple of hours. I couldn't see him practicing for that long. Plus, he was the type to get restless, and I knew it wasn't like him to sit in my flat for two hours while I wasn't there.
Colton and I rode the lift up to my floor in relative silence. I didn't want it to be awkward, but I also didn't want him to feel like he could hang out all night or anything. I was trying to think of things I could say to tell him goodbye once we got to my door.
He was a true gentleman in every sense of the word. The elevator door opened, and he motioned for me to walk out ahead of him. I led the way down the hall to my door.
I had two locks—one in the doorknob and one in the deadbolt. Wes would have had no way to lock the deadbolt, so I went for the lock in the doorknob. I didn't feel the key catch like it normally does, but I didn't fully realize it was already unlocked until I opened the door and saw Wes sitting on my couch. He was sitting on the edge of the cushion with his hands clasped in front of him staring downward as if waiting for something.
He stood up as soon as I opened the door, and I regarded him with a deer in the headlights expression. It took him a second to realize that Colton was right behind me, and my heart dropped as I watched his subtle change in expression. His face was serious but hopeful when I first caught sight of him, but then it changed to something more guarded, disappointed when he noticed Colton.
"Heyyy," I said as we came into the room. I closed the door behind us, busying myself with taking off my shoes since I had no idea what else to do. Once I turned toward Wes again, I realized that he had already begun walking toward us. Colton just stood there, waiting for one of us to say something.
"Colton, this is my friend, Wes," I said with a nod in Wes's direction.
Colton stepped forward to shake Wes's hand as he approached. My heart pounded as I watched the exchange. Colton was a handsome guy. I had already come to that conclusion while we were eating dinner. I watched as Wes looked him over. I could see him evaluating Colton's appearance. He wore a cordial smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. It seemed like he might say something to Colton, but he changed his mind and looked at me.
"I didn't know you guys were planning on coming back here," he said.
"I didn't either," I said. "We went for a walk after we ate, and we ended up on my block. Colton offered to walk me up."
There was really no need for me to explain all that, but I couldn't help it. I was so shaken that I had to stop myself from rambling on about other details like what flavor of ice cream I had chosen.
"Are you flatmates?" Colton asked.
"We might as well be," Wes said. "I'm here all the time."
This statement caused a lot of things to happen. Colton shifted to look at me, appearing suddenly confused while I blushed, shook my head, and let out a nervous giggle.
"Wes comes to use my dartboard when he's not working or hanging out with his girlfriend."
I currently did not have a dartboard in my flat—the only one I owned was hanging in my office. It was simply the closest explanation I could think of without having to go into detail about throwing knives.
Colton glanced around as if looking for a dartboard. "Are you any good?" he asked with a smile.
This caused me to blush even further. My heart was hammering in my chest. This was what I got for lying. No good could come of it. Now Colton was going to ask for a game, and it would come out that I'm a terrible person—a liar.
"I'm pretty good," Wes said. "But that's not why I came over here. I came to talk to JoJo."
"Who's JoJo?" Colton asked, glancing around.
"Jolene," Wes said. "I came here to talk to Jolene. But I didn't know you'd be coming over. I don't want to interrupt."
Colton squinted at Wes and wagged his finger at him as if trying to figure something out. "Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked.
"I'm a musician," Wes said.
Colton smiled broadly and clapped his hands together. "That's it! You play with Firsthand. I saw you play at the Broad Castle Festival."
Wes nodded. He was doing his best to smile and remain cordial, but I knew him well enough to know something was bothering him. Colton wasn't pretending at all. He was flat-out impressed. "Oh, man, I loved that show."
"Thanks," Wes said. "We had fun playing there."
"I didn't realize you were American," Colton said. "Is that how you and Jolene know each other?"
Wes shook his head. "We met here. I came here to go to college."
"That's awesome," Colton said.
Wes offered him a little smile before he gestured at the door. "I'll get out of your way," he said. "I didn't mean to interrupt."
"No, really, you're not interrupting," Colton said. He was impressed by Wes's rock star status, and now he was completely at ease since I had clarified that Wes had a girlfriend. I thought I was really smart by saying that, but it had backfired because now Colton wanted to be best friends with him.
Everything had backfired—the girlfriend comment, the dartboard comment... I wished I had just kept my mouth shut. I wished I could get to the point where Colton was the one leaving and Wes was the one staying, but I had no idea how to make that happen. I could tell, just by everyone's body language, that the opposite was about to take place.
I had to do something brave—I had to say something before Wes walked out.
"Colton, if you don't mind, I'm gonna let you run so I can talk to Wes," I said. Before I could question whether or not it was a good idea to say let you run to someone who wanted to stay, I added, "He just found out that somebody close to him from the States passed away."
Colton's face morphed to one of regret and concern. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said to Wes.
"It's okay," Wes said. "He was old. We kinda knew it was coming. I just feel bad that I wasn't there."
"I'll get out of your way," Colton said, instantly reaching for the door.
"Thank you for dinner," I said with a little smile.
Colton took this as an invitation, and he reached out to give me a hug. I tried not to be awkward when I returned it, and he bent down to place a kiss on my cheek. He looked sharp and smelled like cologne, and I probably should've been happy to receive affection from him, but I couldn't concentrate on anything but Wes. He glanced away when Colton embraced me, but I knew he could see us out of his periphery.
Within a few seconds, Colton was gone. I made sure the door was closed and I heard his steps retreating down the hall before I turned to stare at Wes. I leaned against the door, letting my head fall back on it with a sigh. I had a loveseat positioned close to the door, and Wes had been leaning against the back of it casually.
"I'm sorry I interrupted your date," he said.
"You didn't," I said. "I mean, it's no big deal. We were done, really. He was just walking me up here."
I headed toward my kitchen, glancing over my shoulder to make sure he followed me. My plan was to make myself a glass of water. I wasn't thirsty. I was just jittery and wanted something to do with my hands.
"I didn't expect you to still be here," I said, taking a glass out of the cabinet. "Do you want some water?" I glanced at him, and he shook his head. He was wearing a serious expression. "You okay?" I asked.
"I don't know."
He came to stand next to me in the kitchen, leaning against the counter in much the same way he had been leaning against the back of my couch.
"What do you mean? Are you torn up about Elvis?"
"No," he said.
I turned and propped myself against the cabinet next to him. "What is it, then?" I asked, taking a sip of water even though I wasn't thirsty.
"I haven't been here the whole time," he said. "I just got back a few minutes ago. I locked up when I left, don't worry. I knew you kept an extra key in the drawer. I'm sorry if it's weird that I took it, but I knew you wanted me to lock the door."
"It's fine, but what's going on?"
"I had to go see her—talk to her in person," he said.
My head whipped around and I leveled him with a frustrated expression.
"I went to Shea's," he clarified as if I needed it.
I felt sick at the sound of her name. For three months now I had pretended that I was really supportive of their relationship, but this was crossing the line. Wes's jealous expressions had given me false hope, and now there I was, kicking a nice guy out of my apartment with lies about dartboards and dead family. I let out a sigh, feeling hurt and confused.