Somehow, the week crawled by, yet was over in an instant, and the morning before Thanksgiving, Amari woke to a notification. He grabbed his phone, taking it beneath the covers.
'Sorry, I fell asleep.'
'He let out a huff and smiled.'
'You say that every morning.'
'Yeah, I know.'
'You should just go to bed. Stop waiting for me.'
'Nope. I like falling asleep to your voice.'
'He cringed and felt his heart skip a beat at the same time.'
'Jesus. How can you say those cheesy things so easily?'
'I can say worse.'
'Please don't.'
'You didn't forget our deal?'
'Of course not.'
'Good. Then I'll see you this evening.'
'Yeah. I've gotta go help with meal prep. I'm leaving.'
'Oh come on. Say it.'
'I miss you. I'll see you tonight.'
Crawling out of bed, he searched around for a pair of pants. Nicky's stay of a few days was going on two weeks, so he no longer walked around the apartment in his underwear. Ziggy had apologized multiple times, but that didn't change the situation, and he wished the man would just stop.
He wandered out into the kitchen, nodding to the two men at the table, and poured himself a cup of coffee, not budging from the counter.
"Not going to join us this morning?" asked Nicky, his voice as bright and cheerful as always.
"I'm gonna take a quick shower and see if Cate needs help with anything."
What he really wanted to say was, "How long're you gonna mooch off of and sleep with my friend, when you s'posedly have a wife somewhere waiting for you to come home," but he couldn't bring himself to do that. Instead, he didn't say anything more and chugged his coffee down.
"I'll join you soon to start cooking." Ziggy sounded tired, and he wondered what time the man had finally gone to sleep.
"Are you planning to help us out too?" He didn't expect Nicky to participate in meal prep. So far, their long-term guest had followed Ziggy around, enjoying free drinks at the bar and free meals at the apartment, and not lifting a finger to do much else. The sex must be mind-blowing, because he couldn't think of any other reason his friend would let the man stay.
"I'm not much of a cook, so I would just be in the way," Nicky said happily.
::No fucking shit. Wouldn't want you to strain yourself.::
"I'm actually going home to grab a few things today, so I will see you at dinner."
Amari waited for a reaction from Ziggy, but his friend just agreed sweetly and took the man's breakfast plate, bringing it to the sink. "Do you want any breakfast, mon chéri?"
I'll eat at Cate's." He moved Ziggy away so he could rinse the dishes for him. "I'm getting in the shower. If you need me to carry anything down, put it out, and I'll grab it before I leave."
He felt a pat on the shoulder and nodded, then headed to the bathroom. Though his stomach protested, he spent most mornings skipping breakfast just to avoid small talk with Nicky.
Other than being a lazy, greedy, freeloader, he couldn't really find anything wrong with the man. He was perfectly nice, nicer than many of Ziggy's other so-called friends, and he was less creepy than most. His conversations were boring, without substance, but Amari felt that way about most people. Still, there was something about his constant cheerfulness that made him uneasy, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
As he washed, he decided to talk to Cate about the situation, since she seemed to know of Nicky. Depending on what she said, he would take this opportunity to talk to Ziggy as well. In the past couple of weeks, the man hadn't left his friend's side, so it was difficult to bring up the subject. Today, thankfully, they would finally be together and Nicky-free.
Grabbing his keys and throwing on his coat, Amari gave a quick wave and left the apartment. After a soft knock on the second floor door, he waited only a few seconds before it swung open and small, warm arms engulfed him, squeezing him tightly.
"C'est mon chou, là!" Cate gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever, tsé?"
"Yeah." The woman finally released him and he stepped into the apartment. Taking his coat, she directed him to the kitchen table. "Sorry. I've been working a lot lately."
"Oui, I heard." Cate followed and poured him a cup of coffee. "I heard you haven't seen Yangyang either. Such a shame. But you'll see him tonight, hein?"
There was an excitement in her tone, as if she was going to see her own lover after being apart. With a frown, he sipped at the hot liquid. "Ziggy's really got a big mouth."
Without asking, a plate was placed in front of him. Sausage, biscuit, and eggs wafted into his nose and he felt his stomach growl at the smell.
"Well, I'm happy for you. I think it's going to be a good day, hein?"
Amari let out a little smile as he ate, thinking she was right. When he finished, he helped her with the dishes and the two walked together to the coffeehouse. As she swayed around, checking her ingredients and prepping the kitchen, he wondered how to approach the issue of their guest.
"Uh, Cate? While Ziggy isn't here, I wanted to ask you about Nicky."
"Hein? "She didn't stop her work. "What about him?"
He scratched at his tilted head. "No matter how I look at it, this relationship doesn't feel right. He was only s'posed to stay a few days because he fought with his wife. But today he's gonna 'get some things,' like he's moving in."
"Vraiment?" Cate was surprised and pulled a stool up next to him. "That is concerning."
They sat in quiet as the woman pondered the situation, then she sighed. "Nicky was the only serious relationship my brother every had, tsé? He really loved that man. After a couple of years, Nicky told him it was time to stop fooling around and start acting like adults. C'était la fin. Over. He left and married a wealthy woman, found a job at a fancy theatre, and moved into a brownstone on the Upper West Side. As far as I know, they barely spoke, even when he came to help at the club."
"And he just shows up at the apartment, at one in the morning, and Ziggy takes him in?" Amari felt more angry than confused now. "What the fuck's that about?"
She sighed again, but didn't seem upset like him. "Mon chou, I have never interfered in my brother's life. I don't know what is going on, but it is best left between them, hein? Nicky married that woman for money, not love. I don't know what he's thinking now."
"Isn't that worse?" he growled, fist clenched on the counter. "Doesn't it seem like he's just leading Ziggy along for a good time because he isn't happy at home?"
Cate gently put her hand on his now sore knuckles. "If you can see it, don't you think Ziggy would have also figured that out?" She pat his hand until it uncurled. "Let's just watch for now, hein?"
Amari grumbled under his breath but still nodded obediently.
"C'est bon," said the woman, rising out of her chair and clapping her hands together. "How about we start making some food?"
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Amari didn't mention Nicky after that, even though he had the urge to pry every time Ziggy was near. Instead, he focused on helping with the meal, and in no time, the day was over.
It took more trips than he could count to carry all of the pans and platters down to The Basement. They had emptied the floor area and set up a long table in the middle of the now open space, then covered it end to end with food. The smell was heavenly, and when the final plate was down, Ziggy let out a long breath and leaned his lanky frame against Amari's back, letting his arms hang limp over his shoulders.
"Why do I feel like I made way more food this year, hein?" His face nuzzled against the boy's neck and he sighed. "Ah, c'est merveilleux. I can see why Yangyang likes this so much."
Amari rolled his eyes, arms folded across his chest. "You always go overboard." Shaking his shoulder, he tried to gently move Ziggy off. "You probably shouldn't let Yang ge catch you doing this."
"Too late."