Kyle is introverted, nerdy, and fresh out of high school in 1988. JT is also a little nerdy, but he’s the opposite of Kyle in every way. They’ve been best friends for years and are still close as they begin adulthood.
JT has a girlfriend, of sorts, and even though he and Kyle have experimented a little, Kyle is sure JT sees it as nothing more than a friend thing. But it means a lot more to Kyle, who is deeply in the closet.
Kyle is sure he’s doomed to be in the friend zone forever and probably live a lonely existence. But could JT have feelings for him after all?
The arcade was hopping. It was Friday night, and the suburban strip mall location was packed with mostly teens, although not a few adults and kids also. Kyle and JT had joined Sam and Dane for a night of fun, each having a pocket full of quarters.
Each of them were dressed in holey jeans, tight rolled at the ankles, with Kyle and JT in red and light blue polo shirts, respectively. Sam and Dane both had on Slayer T-shirts; the other two had kidded them a bit for dressing the same. They were trying hard to be heavy metal, Kyle thought, but not doing a very good job of it. They just looked nerdy still. All four had flannel shirts tied around their waists. It was chilly outside, but quite warm in the press of bodies in the arcade.
They had been playing Double Dragon, Super Contra, Paperboy, some boxing game Kyle could not remember the name of ... a wide variety. They were all hopped up on caffeine, having consumed large sodas with free refills from the little pizza place next door. All in all, it had been a good night, even though Kyle was not big on crowds. He was big on video games, and, well, doing anything JT was doing. So it worked.
JT found him in the middle of the arcade, watching Dane and Sam play RoboCop. He put a hand affectionately on Kyle’s arm ... one of Kyle’s favorite things in the world, he had often thought.
“Hey, man, wanna go outside for a smoke?” JT asked.
“You smoke now?” Dane asked, glancing away from the game briefly.
“Ya, just every once in a while.”
Dane shrugged his shoulders, not seeming super surprised. He smoked himself, so it clearly seemed a likely thing to do.
Kyle gave JT a quizzical look, but allowed his best friend to lead him away.
“You smoke now?” Kyle repeated, as they walked out the front door of the arcade.
“Nah, you know me better than that,” JT smiled. “I just wanted to talk with you away from the others, and I knew you probably needed a break from all the people anyway.”
Kyle smiled back at him gratefully, although he wondered what JT wanted to talk about. They continued walking until they were further down the strip mall, in front of a barber shop that had been closed for hours and was dark. JT then leaned against the glass, looking at Kyle.
“So, I’ve been thinking ...” JT began, still with a smile on his face. His eyes seemed to be searching, though ... probing. “I’ve had a ton of fun recently, with ... well, you know,” he finished sheepishly, looking around to see if anyone was within earshot. None were. The strip was empty outside the arcade, with only a few people further out in the parking lot going to or from their cars.
“Me too,” Kyle admitted, while still wondering where this was going. There seemed to be a but coming.
