Echo (7 page)

Jeremy snorted. "
Of course. I do whatever you tell me to do. I've also gotten you autographs from practically the entire cast
."

Cole couldn't help laughing. "
I've also gotten you autographs from practically the entire cast
. That's so cool! When we go to Comic Con we're going to be the coolest nerds in the place."

"
I don't know where you get off calling me a nerd. I'm Jeremy Heath, dammit. I just got word that I got voted #25 for Sexiest Man of the Year. My life can now begin
."

"
My life can now begin
," Cole echoed. "Are you going to make yourself a badge or something for your Tumblr page?"

"
Oh shut up
," Jeremy laughed.

Even though they were half a world away, Cole felt as though Jeremy was practically in the room with him. And hearing about all the set gossip and the little anecdotes Jeremy had saved up about the rest of the cast made him feel as though he knew all the people involved.

It was pretty cool being related to a movie star.

After hanging up a bit reluctantly, Cole wandered into the kitchen to poke around in his refrigerator, hoping that some food would magically appear. But there wasn't anything he was really in the mood to eat and he was feeling too lazy to take one of his mom's emergency meals out of the freezer and heat it up.

He finally scavenged up a few slices of Pepper-Jack
cheese and a slightly bruised red apple. It was pretty pathetic but he really wasn't in the mood to try cooking.

He was nibbling on the apple and flipping through TV channels when his doorbell rang.

He frowned and got up to answer the door. "Yes?" he said, opening it without looking.

Anderson smiled at him, his hair tousled charmingly. He was wearing jeans and a tee shirt, looking like any random guy on the street. "Hey," he said, "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go eat with me?"

"
I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go eat with me?
Well, this is a bit last minute, don't you think?" Cole asked. "Why didn't you call or text me?"

Anderson shrugged. "I tried, but it went right to voice mail and you didn't respond to any of my texts. So I decided to take my life in my hands and come by in person." He looked a bit uncomfortable. "Do you want to go get something to eat?"

Cole glanced down at his half-eaten apple. He'd been kind of biting around the bruised parts and there wasn't a whole lot that was appealing to it. "
Do you want to go get something to eat?
You know what," he said, "I think I do. Let me throw this away and grab my keys and we can go."

Anderson's grin was sudden and bright. "Okay."

Once he'd washed his hands and grabbed his keys, they were off.

It was only a little awkward at first, but he could feel himself relaxing as they walked down the street toward the Vietnamese pho place. He could hear his stomach gurgling delightedly at the thought of rice noodles, rich broth, and thin slices of beef. He also couldn't help hoping they were going to serve him some of those little custard filled pastry things they sometimes gave away for free.

Anderson sounded amused, "You look really happy."

"
You look really happy
," Cole echoed. "I am really happy. I love pho. I just don't like going out to eat by myself."

"Well, I'd be happy to go with you whenever you wanted," Anderson offered gallantly. He was trying to be funny, but there was something in the tone of his voice that sounded serious.

Glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, Cole couldn't help the way his lips curved. "
Well, I'd be happy to go with you whenever you wanted
. I think I'd like that."

Anderson grinned and bumped their shoulders together.

His hands were in his jeans pockets and Cole couldn't help the way he kept looking at him. He really was very handsome and Cole couldn't help wondering what the guy saw in him. But there was no way he was going to turn down an opportunity like this.

"Oh, here it is, right here." Cole pointed at the pho place. It didn't look like much on the outside, and even the inside left a lot to be desired. But the food there was absolutely delicious.

When he jogged a little bit ahead and opened the door, Cole couldn't help laughing at the way Anderson melodramatically drew in a deep breath, his nostrils flexing. Their shoulders brushed when he went by and Cole couldn't help thinking that it had been on purpose. It made him blush lightly.

"It smells great," Anderson said in a low-voice when Cole came in and stepped up beside him.

Cole nodded since the waitress was coming. He could feel his desperate fear of strangers rising up to choke his throat.

Anderson laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's all right," he said. His eyes shone with concern, but also a kind of quiet strength.

Cole jerked a nod. "
It's all right
." Sometimes someone else's words were the perfect thing to say.

He walked a step behind Anderson when the waitress showed them to their table and sat down across from him. He felt shy and couldn't help the way his shoulders hunched a little self-consciously.

"God, you're cute." Anderson shook his head. He was spinning his fork around on the table with one finger, but his eyes were locked on Cole's face. A faint smile curled his lips.

Cole lifted an eyebrow questioningly.

"I'm just saying, you're really cute." Anderson barely glanced down at his single-sheet menu before setting it at the edge of the table. He propped his chin on his hand. "I'm glad I met you."

"
I'm glad I met you
," Cole echoed. He was a little afraid that his face was bright red and could only pretend everything was normal. "They have some good food here. If you want to come with me again, I really wouldn't mind it. I could eat pho every single day."

"I think I've had pho like once," Anderson said, then had to laugh at Cole's pop-eyed look. "Hey, so I'm some small town kind of guy. I guess you're going to have to expand my world."

"I guess you're going to have to expand my world
," Cole said wryly. "Yeah right. You've probably been all over the world and done all kinds of amazing things. I moved fifteen minutes away from my mom's house and she still creeps over to do my laundry for me.
I'm
a small town boy. You're the worldly one."

"You make me feel like a small town boy," Anderson said. He bit his lip a second, then reached out to brush his fingertips against the back of Cole's hand on the table. "Do you want to watch a movie with me after this?"

Cole glanced at his watch. It was 5:30. "
Do you want to watch a movie with me after this?
Well, as long as it's not too late." He grinned. "My boss is a real slave driver and I wouldn't want to get fired because I woke up late after watching a movie with you."

Anderson laughed. "If that were to happen, I'm pretty sure your boss would be very awesome and nepotatic." He furrowed his brow. "I don't think 'nepotatic' is even a word, but you get what I mean, don't you?"

Cole was just opening his mouth to respond when the waitress came to stand next to the table. She was a pretty Vietnamese girl with her hair pulled back in what should have been a severe bun, but was actually nice for her facial shape. "Are you ready to order?" she asked in perfect, but accented English.

"Oh, sure," Anderson blinked. He looked at Cole, "I'm getting the pho with eye-round steak. Do you know what you want?"

Blushing lightly, Cole said, "
Do you know what you want?
Uh, yeah, I'll have the same. Two pho with eye-round," he said to the waitress, "and I'll have an ice tea with lemon."

"Oh, and I'll have a green tea," Anderson said.

"Okay, two pho with eye-round, an ice tea with lemon, and a hot green tea. That'll just be a couple of minutes," she said, picking up their menus.

Cole watched her walk away, his eyes tracing down the seam of her skirt. There was a tear in her pantyhose and he wanted to tell her that the outfit was kind of unflattering to her figure. She was such a pretty girl; she should dress better.

"Should I be jealous that you're checking out her ass?" Anderson asked suddenly. He was looking right at Cole, a quizzical expression on his face.

Cole jumped and blushed, then frowned when he realized what Anderson had just said. "
Should I be jealous that you're checking out her ass
? I
wasn't
checking out her ass!" he said. "I just couldn't help seeing how her clothes fit, that's all. I've got no interest in her. I'm gay."

Anderson laughed. "Look at you getting all defensive. That's so funny."

"
That's so funny
." Cole gave him a flat-eyed look. "Does your form of off-beat charm work on anyone else? Is that why you're trying it out on me?"

"Yep," Anderson said. "It works ninety-nine point nine percent of the time. So you're just going to have to make out with me while we're watching that movie. What do you say to that?"

A large part of Cole was telling him that he shouldn't fall for Anderson's charms, but he couldn't help himself. "
What do you say to that?
I say we should go see that movie together."

He liked the way Anderson's grin was focused directly at
him
. He wasn't some fill-in for someone else. To Anderson, he was just himself. And that was kind of nice.

The waitress came with their food on a tray. Large white bowls with curls of steam, a white ceramic mug with green-tinged water, and a glass of iced tea with ice and a lemon wedge. "Here you go," she said, carefully arranging the bowls in front of them. She had blue orchids painted on her fingernails.

Cole leaned over his bowl and breathed in. He couldn't help his delighted smile, and didn't hesitate a moment to grab the rectangular plate of bean sprouts and jalapenos and scrape his half into his bowl. He poked at everything with his chopsticks, liking the way the jalapenos tried to bob to the surface. Then he grabbed the Sriracha and added a couple of squirts with some hoisin sauce.