Page 29 of Out for the Night

“I can’t believe I drank that whole thing.” But then panic shot into his eyes. “What if people start asking me about my drink mixes and what if they ask if they can pre-order my book?”

“Just direct all inquiries to your agent.” Coop clapped him on the shoulder, a welcometactilesensation. He peeked out in the crowd. “You want me to find that girl Margo for you?”

“No. I’m not into girls. I’m gay.”

Matty put on a calm face for the world but was melting down inside.Did I just come out?!The words slipped out with no hesitation after years of clinging to the roof of his mouth.

Coop gave him the best reaction of all. He nodded nonchalantly, as if Matty told him the weather. He toasted Matty’s empty cup. “Great minds think alike.”

“Yeah.” Matty pretended to drink from an empty cup.

Something about tonight felt different to Matty. He was in an abandoned store with a gay guy who he kinda liked at a party he was kinda enjoying. There was magic in the air, some extra chemical aside from oxygen and nitrogen, one he couldn’t decipher and probably was outside the realm of science. He breathed it in and tapped Coop on the shoulder.

“What’s up?” Coop asked.

“When I told you I was gay, that was the first time I ever told someone that.”

“Ever?”

Matty nodded. He wasn’t sure what would come next, but he didn’t expect laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

“You just…came out! That’s one of the biggest milestones of your life, and you were like totally chill.”

“I don’t really see the humor in this.” Matty feared there was another trick. His paranoia came at the worst times.

“I’m not laughing at you,” Coop said. “It’s this huge event, and you were so whatever about it. That’s great. You have balls, man.”

That was one compliment Matty had never received in his life.

“When did you come out?”

Coop took a swig of his drink. “Last fall, my first week here.”

“Wow! Right away. So nobody back home knew?”

“I came out to my parents right after I got accepted to Browerton last spring. My parents said they loved me and that they hoped this meant I’d be better about keeping my room clean now. We all had a good laugh.” Coop’s thin lips stretched into a floppy smile, like they were yawning. “How much time do I have left?”

Matty checked his watch. “Six minutes.”

“This party’s kinda lame,” Coop said.

“Well, where to next?”

Coop arched an eyebrow. Matty shrugged his shoulders, waiting for an answer. “I have an idea. I don’t know if you can handle it, though.”

Matty clapped a hand on his shoulder. “We have five-and-a-half minutes to find out.”

Chapter 11

Coop

Every store downtownwas closed for the night. Coop savored the quietness of their surroundings. He kept looking over at Matty, who was all smiley and giggly and staring around in wide-eyed wonder. Matty was living proof of the power of the placebo effect, and damn was he cute. It was another Matty layer that Coop got to experience.

Ten minutes later, Coop brought them to a cupcake store named Dollop, which was closed. Bright pink, purple, and yellow chairs were stacked atop equally bright tables.

“A late night snack?” Matty asked.