In Mike We Trust by P. E. Ryan Page A

forward. He probably had no intention of coming over.
    Still, if Garth watched the movie now (which he very much wanted to do, having the house to himself),would that cancel out the chances that Adam might possibly, by some slim chance, accept the invitation if he did get up his nerve to call?
    Superstition is for crazy people , he thought.
    But he left the DVD unopened and stowed it behind his laundry basket, on top of the newspaper and books.
    Â 
    â€œSo what’s the word on your brother’s drama?” Garth asked.
    â€œUm, where were you yesterday?” Lisa replied.
    He’d called Ms. Kessler and left her a message, but he suddenly realized he’d forgotten to call Lisa. “Oh—sorry. Mike asked me to go shopping with him.”
    â€œHe couldn’t go by himself? Did he need you to hold his hand?”
    â€œDon’t be mean. We were just hanging out, that’s all. How was it at the shelter?”
    â€œGreat, if you weren’t the only person there cleaning out twelve cages, dealing with a neurotic Doberman and a pit bull with a bladder problem.”
    â€œWait, you were alone?”
    â€œHello? My partner—that would be you, the one who talked me into volunteering at the shelter in the first place?—bailed on me.”
    â€œI left a message with Ms. Kessler. I thought she’dget someone to replace me.”
    â€œDidn’t happen.”
    â€œI’m sorry,” he said again. “So—what’s the news on your brother?”
    â€œSame as before. He wants to have the baby; his girlfriend wants to have the baby; my parents prefer to have a cow. How was the shopping?”
    He could hear the irritation in her voice. While she could toss out insults right and left, she wasn’t one to overlook even the smallest of slights. “To be honest,” he said, “this really cool thing happened. Mike took me to that gay bookstore.”
    â€œThe store I told you about?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œThe store I offered to take you to, since you were too scared to go by yourself?”
    â€œI don’t think I ever said I was ‘too scared.’ Anyway, he took me and bought me all this cool stuff. And I met a friend of yours there.”
    â€œWho?”
    â€œAdam Walters.”
    â€œOh! Adam’s great. A total sweetheart. He’d never leave me alone with a dozen dirty dogs.”
    â€œI said I was sorry!”
    â€œI’m just giving you a hard time. Seriously, though, Adam’s cool. He has ‘honesty issues,’ but he’s a goodguy. And gorgeous.”
    â€œWhat are ‘honesty issues’?”
    â€œHe tried to date a guy last year who turned out to be a pathological liar. Now he says he doesn’t know if he can ever trust anyone again, romantically.”
    â€œWhat did the guy lie about?”
    Lisa laughed. “Being single, for one thing. Anyway, I could totally see you two as a couple.”
    â€œRight. He’s about a foot taller than me.”
    â€œWho cares? Tell me you don’t think he’s hot.”
    â€œHe is. But that’s not the point. I’m just saying, I met him at the store and we talked. He told me about how he wants to make movies.”
    â€œYeah, I call him Orson Smells.”
    â€œVery mature.”
    â€œHey, he calls me Diane Arbutt.”
    â€œ Any way, he gave me his phone number.”
    â€œSeriously? Are you going to call him?”
    â€œI don’t know. What would I say?”
    â€œHow about ‘Hi, uberhottie that I just met. Want to have lunch?’”
    â€œShut up.”
    â€œNot my specialty. I am happy for you. I just wish you had let me be the one who ushered you into gaydom, since I offered first.”
    â€œIt sort of happened on impulse.”
    â€œUh-huh. And how does this affect the pact you made with your mom?”
    â€œI don’t know. I didn’t tell her.”
    â€œBut Mike