The sun was just peeking over the horizon when I finally woke up. The rays started to penetrate the tent and poked up at my eyes. As soon as I was somewhat conscious, the air was engulfed in a loud snoring. I groaned at the noise and regretfully opened my eyes to the sun demon piercing my corneas. 

Not only that but I awoke to a hand in my face. Dylan had sprawled out his limbs in his sleep and hit my face. His foot was also kicking my leg. 

This grown man still sleeps like he was 18. I found myself chuckling softly while sleepily observing Dylan. I sat up and yawned. The blonde didn’t even budge when I gently swatted his hand away from my face. His snoring subsided to a softer grumble. 

Once I was more awake, which took me a few minutes, I found myself peering over at Dylan. He took his glasses off before drifting off so you could see his face in its entirety. His mouth was slightly agape as he snored quietly. His curly hair was messy and fell into the delicate frames of his face. The blond looked so peaceful and unbothered by the world. The way the sun beamed on his flawless face made him look like something of an angel. 

Wow am I a creep now that watches people sleep? I felt my cheeks redden at my realization. Maybe I am still sleepy. I slowly looked over my phone and tapped it to see the time.

I sighed before taking the initiative to shake him awake. His face winced in annoyance at his hindrance for more rest. He’s still grumpy as ever in the mornings. 

His brows knitted together. “5 more minutes.” He groggily slurred. 

I rolled my eyes and cleared my throat. “It’s 9am already. Get up lazy ass.” I flicked his forehead with my fingers. 

His eyes reluctantly fluttered open, still holding that furrow. “Ugh I hate mornings.” He clicked his tongue while slowly sitting up. 

Dylan looked like a grumpy cat and it made me laugh. He was too tired to hear my giggles but I soon tapped his shoulder to catch his attention. “You’re so grouchy.” 

He glared at me. “How are you so chipper in the morning?” 

“I get up at 6am usually for runs. I love waking up early.” I found myself laughing again at his distaste for me. 

“Gross.” He groaned once more. “I need coffee before starting the day.” 

I realized how pleasant it was to see him without his glasses on. I know as kids he didn’t have them but seeing him without them as an adult hit differently. From this perspective you could really see the different shades of green in his eyes. The way his blond lashes fanned his eyes made his eyes pop. 

“Earth to Noey! I need coffee or I’m gonna die.”  I watched as his eyes contorted into contempt. He was losing his patience.

Grinning widely at my nickname, I looked back over to grab my phone and freed myself from the sleeping bag. “And Stef calls me the cranky ass.” I smirked while climbing out of the tent. 

Distantly, I heard Dylan spit, “oh very clever.” 

When we were teenagers, if Dylan used the tone with me I’d expect a lot more resistance and spite, but now I couldn’t help but grin. He’s just irritable in the morning. 

When I could finally stand and stretch, I felt the knot in my neck and shoulder. I hissed, “man sleeping on the ground hurts like hell.” 

I felt a hand grip my shoulder. “Dude, same! My back is killing me.” I flicked my eyes over at him to see Dylan also stretching with the most painful expression.

A small smile tugged at my lips. “Don’t forget your glasses, Dyl.” 

“Oh shit yeah.” He crawled back in to retrieve them. 

In the meantime, I was making my way back to the house. I had to get the cappuccino machine up and running. It wasn’t long before Dyl caught up to me and grabbed my shoulder once more. “Couldn’t wait, eh?” He teased me.

Glancing over at him with a smirk I joked, “says the same guy who needs caffeine to function and practically ordering me to give him some.” 

He shrugged with a cheesy smile plastered on his face. “Some things never change.” 

He was right about that one. I snickered at that one because damn, he was still crotchety as ever in the morning as he was when we were teenagers. Still laughing to myself, we stepped inside my parent’s house and swiftly headed towards the kitchen. 

After a few minutes of silence, Dylan asked, “So where are your parents anyways?” He was sitting at the kitchen counter barstool. 

Without peeking back, I answered, “They’re in Cape Cod for the weekend. They still take their time down by the water every year.” I missed using the cappuccino machine--maybe I will take Stef’s offer to work at the cafe. 

The blond whistled in response. I could feel his eyes on me the entire time and I started to make myself feel self conscious. However, I just kept going, about to press the machine to make the coffee drink. 

“You know how to use one of those?” 

This time I pivoted around to meet his gaze. “Yeah!” I gleefully declared. “In college I worked at a cafe. I know how to use all the equipment.” While the drink was brewing, I took a seat next to Dylan. 

“Is that why Stef offered you that job?” Dylan curiously asked while watching the machine make his drink. 

I pondered the question for a second; I was trying to recall our conversation that day and I didn’t remember mentioning that. “Nah. Stef was just being nice I think.” Glancing over at the coffee maker, I continued, “are you and Stef close then? Seems like you guys chat a lot.” 

In high school, I was more of Stef’s friend than Dylan was. He was friends by association but nothing really beyond that. For example, if I wasn’t part of the plan to go to the movies, they wouldn’t get together by themselves. I had to be part of it. So for them to be close now would be surprising. 

He was fast to whip his head towards me, but I kept my eyes forward. “I guess we are, yeah. It just kind of happened with my alcoholism and rehab process.” He uttered.

The tone made me glance over at him. I found that his head was downcasted and he was fidgeting his fingers nervously. I wasn’t sure why he looked so guilty. 

“Well that’s great! I always liked Stef and he seems like the same goofy dude I knew.” I watched as he perked back up with a faint smile. 

“He’s still a total idiot if that’s what you mean.” He huffed out a laugh. 

The cappuccino was ready so I started to get up while still directing my voice at Dylan. “I don’t know, he seems to be scheming something.” I professed, knowing with full intent that this could go wrong. I took hold of the mug handle and gently slid it on the counter to him. In the time I was preparing his drink, I also made sure to brew a pot of black coffee for myself. I poured mine carefully and leaned on the counter facing a bewildered Dylan.

His face said a lot. He didn’t understand the meaning behind what I was inferring to. 

He blew on his drink and peered down at it. “Thanks for the coffee Noah.” He said flatly.

Was I wrong? Maybe he wasn’t cooking something up for us, but after Stace’s perfect theory, it was hard to push the possibility away from the corners of my brain. I mimicked Dyl by cooling down my coffee with my breath. 

“What has Stef told you exactly?” He deadlocked his eyes onto mine. His green eyes were piercing and extremely intimidating. 

I gulped the spit built up in my throat. This is the Dylan I remember well. I told myself I was going to be honest, and it’s not like he even told me much anyways. He didn’t tell me not to tell, so fuck it. Let’s go head first. 

I hummed while trying to find the correct words. “Well like everyone else, he asked if I had spoken to you when I first got here. The answer was clearly a no. The next time wasn’t until the morning at The Brew that he started speaking in this ‘all-knowing’ way that threw me off.” I paused to observe his reaction. 

He only sighed in response before saying, “Stef likes to act like everything is encrypted so he speaks in confusing codes. It’s fucking annoying.” He growled then took a sip of his coffee. An endearing grin surfaced when he took another drink.

The question I wanted to ask crept up my throat but I couldn’t pry my mouth open to ask it. It stayed there before the silence became so long that it grew uneasy. I didn’t even drink my beverage yet, I was that tongue tied. 

Dylan cleared his throat and decided to change the subject, “this coffee is great by the way!” He complimented me with his sweet eyes. I could tell he really did enjoy it.

Despite the kind words, I couldn’t shake my curiosity. Finally my sealed lips broke out into sound. “Stef implied some things that had me wondering about you.” My hand started to become clammy while I gripped the counter; I worried they would slip off. 

His candid eyes and smile vanished and was replaced with consternation. I watched as his hands tightened around the cup. He shakily said, “Stef says a lot of things but he’s usually just joking around. Humor me though, what did he say?” 

I tried my best to smile to put his restlessness at ease. “No need to be so anxious, Dyl!” I was attempting to ease my tense muscles to look less on edge. “You’re probably right anyways, he’s a jokester. Always has been.” 

It’s selfish to put someone on the spot like that. I won’t dive in anymore. I thought while biting my lip.

Dylan released his grip on his coffee and rubbed his tired eyes. “Stef knows some stuff about me that you don’t, so it’s probably related to that.” He removed his hands from his face and shot me a half smile. “Just ask whatever you’re thinking, Noey. We’re friends again and I don’t want to lie to you, but I might not feel comfortable going any further than with a yes or no.”

I nodded. I swallowed thickly before sighing heavily. “He may have implied that you’re not straight, does that hold any truth?” My brown eyes observed Dylan’s reaction. And oh boy, was it not what I was expecting. 

His eyes grew wide but he cracked a smile. “Oh wow, is that all? I was expecting something else.” He blew out a sigh of relief. 

Obviously, I’m confused. I furrowed my brows and gave Dyl a puzzled look. 

Still holding that grin he resumed, “I’m not. I don’t know what I am, but Stef is correct with what he was implying, whatever it may be.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry for not telling you that sooner, but it seemed like a cop out any other time. Like,” he paused, bobbing his head back and forth in reasoning, “I didn’t want to be like, ‘I’m not homophobic because I’ve discovered I’m not straight!’ or ‘sorry for being a dickwad about being gay cuz’ jokes on me I just hated myself!’ It just didn’t seem right to me and we’ve only hung out a few times and I didn’t want to bring it up.”  

My heart melted at that moment. I was proud of him. It’s not easy being your authentic self in a world that rejects anyone that strays away from normality. 

He took a drink of the cappuccino, “I didn’t even realize until I was completely sober for a while and sought out a therapist. I suppose I’ve always been this way but denied it for a long time. That’s why when you told me your reasoning for ghosting me I really felt betrayed by myself too. If the roles had been reversed and you were a homophobic piece of shit, there’s not a doubt in my mind that I wouldn’t have done the same thing.” 

I grinned down at my coffee. “I get that. Things are different now!” I cheered enthusiastically. I have been filled with optimism since yesterday. “I’m proud of you Dylan. You’re doing wonderful for yourself.” I watched as he choked on his coffee. 

His face flushed at my kindness. “Uh thanks Noah.” He wiped his mouth with his arm. 

“There’s your compliment for the day!” I picked up my mug and took a huge gulp of it. 

Dylan rolled his eyes sarcastically before also chugging down his coffee. “I will have to get going soon here, Noey. I have several errands to run on Sundays.” He was near finished with his beverage. 

I paused my drinking to address him once more. “That’s cool. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow morning at the cafe, yeah?” I already knew the answer. Dylan started his shift around 8am every weekday and I  made the assumption that his morning routine consisted of getting coffee at The Brew. 

He beamed at me with those glistening emeralds, “I’ll see you then.” He stood up from the stool. 

I walked him out to his car like any other kind gentleman would do! We said our goodbyes and I watched as he drove off. I made sure to pull my phone out to shoot him a text; I’d forgotten to tell him something. 

Contact: Dyl Pickle 🥒

Hey I just wanted to thank you for coming over. I had a great time and I hope we’ll be able to do something like that again! Drive safe and have a nice day~

Grinning ear to ear, I made my way back in to call Stacie about the news.