23.10 Dude Bro

A week had gone by, and Kaiden had still not spoken to Josh. He didn’t necessarily want to talk about the awkwardness, but staying away from him would give the wrong impression. Josh only wanted to make friends, and Kaiden needed more guys in his life. Maybe being surrounded by women was part of his problem.

He snorted at Josh’s decorations. The guy was just so weird. Kaiden seemed to be drawn to the weird ones.

As he stepped inside the house for the first time, he looked around and admired the layout. The house was small, but it was so perfect for one person. It had one bedroom, one bathroom, one couch, and one TV. The idea of living alone got more attractive the closer he got to making the final decision. If Josh could live on his own, Kaiden certainly could.

“Went all out for Love Day, huh?” Kaiden said. “Got a hot date later?”

“I don’t need love to celebrate love. I celebrate love to invite it into my life.”

Kaiden snorted. “I didn’t know you were a poet.”

“It’s not poetry, dude bro. It’s just basics for how to make the universe work in your favor!”

Looking at the pile of mail on the table, it seemed the universe wasn’t keen on doing him any favors. “The universe?”

“It’s all connected! Like, nature and stuff. We gotta show respect!”

He didn’t make any sense, but whatever he believed seemed to work for him. Kaiden didn’t have anything like that. Maybe that was another part of the equation.

“What are you getting into later?” Kaiden asked.

“I got nothing, bro. You?”

“I’m gonna hang out with Kelly … Not like that.”

Josh smiled. “You can’t hide from love, dude bro! You just need to let it overtake you and go with the flow.”

“Look, Josh, you and everyone else need to chill on that. Just because I’m hanging out with a girl on Love Day doesn’t mean it’s a thing!”

He snorted. “Pretty sure she’s not gonna see it that way.”

“You don’t know her! So, just stop, ok?”

How was everyone and their brother a relationship expert? And, why did they all insist on advising him? Everyone had opinions on how his life should go but never stopped to ask him what he wanted, and he was sick of it.

“My bad, man. You know your friends.”

They left the conversation there and watched whatever was on the television, but not for long. Kaiden felt Josh’s eyes on him, and it was really annoying.

“Dude, what’s up? You’re freaking me out.”

“Sorry. So, uh, the Pancakeses moved?”

“Yep,” Kaiden said with eyes still fixed on the TV.

“They didn’t say goodbye. That’s messed up.”

Kaiden shrugged. “Yeah, well … They do things like that.”

“Where did they go?”

“Brindleton Bay.”

“Big time! Guess Boss Lady P wanted nicer digs for her sweet new job.”

Kaiden chuckled. “I guess.”

“So, uhh, have you spoken to them?”

Kaiden looked askance. “Dude … Why don’t you just call her?”

Josh shifted in his seat. “Who–what–no! I wasn’t–“

“Come on, Josh. It’s just the two of us here. You acted pretty weird last week. Something’s up.”

Josh snorted. “What? I can’t be a concerned neighbor?”

Kaiden chuckled and went back to watching TV. “If that’s how you want it. “Again, he tried to pay attention to what happened on the screen, but Josh bored a hole in the side of his head. “Dude! Would you stop with the staring?”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened with you guys?”

“We just didn’t work!”

“Was it serious?”

“What? Maybe. I don’t know. This is a very confusing topic for me.”

“Sorry. I was just curious.”

Kaiden sighed. “Ok … I’m just going to ask … Do you like her?”

Josh’s jaw dropped and body froze like he had been caught stealing. “I, uhhh, I just find her to be interesting!”

Kaiden snorted. “She’s interesting all right,” he said under his breath.

“She’s so passionate about everything.”

Kaiden laughed. “You call that passion?”

Josh didn’t look amused one bit.

Kaiden cleared his throat. “Sorry. It’s none of my business. Look, Josh, it’s ok if you like her. Just leave me out of it. Call her. Date her. Marry her! I don’t care.”

He grinned. “You don’t?”

“Why would I? We’re done.”

“Sweet.”