Like You’ve Nothing Left to Prove (Breakaway #2)

by E.L. Massey

“Good afternoon. How can I help you?” Eli looks back and forth between them, baffled. Apparently, they’ve both lost their minds. “Afternoon, sir,” Alex says, extending one hand. “I’m Alex; I’m here to pick up Eli for our date?” “Oh my god,” Eli says as they shake somberly. “You guys. Stop it.”

“You deserve good things. To be treated like—like you’re the best thing. Because you are. And I know I’m going to fuck things up. I’ve never been in a relationship before, and I’m, you know, human. But this is something I can do right. Do better.”

Kuzy folds himself down, very carefully, to envelop Eli and…yeah. Alex kind of gets why the internet thinks they’re so cute together. Not cuter than Alex and Eli. Definitely not. Just. They are kind of cute.

Alex points to him with his stick, and Eli stands, a little slow, a little shaky. Alex doesn’t understand what he’s doing at first until Eli has turned to show his back to the camera. He’s wearing Alex’s jersey. Price 23.

“Uh. That’s not—I mean, yeah, I talked to Alex about—but I was thinking we could do more of, like, a…prince arm thing?” “A prince arm thing,” Eli repeats. “What the hell is a prince arm thing?”

But “love” seems really fucking trite for all the whatever that he feels. Or maybe other people shouldn’t be allowed to use the word “love” because they can’t possibly mean it the way he does.

“Alex is being homophobic,” Eli mutters. “Oh?” Jeff says. “I won’t kiss him until he’s done with this paper,” Alex explains.