“I’ve never seen it before,” I admitted, handing it back.

“Oh, I know. Which is exactly why I’m going to show you the way, my young Padawan. Sit back, relax, and allow Jack Black and Kyle Gass to take you on the greatest adventure you’ll ever go on.”

He popped in the movie, and the main menu appeared on the giant screen.

Caleb always knew everything cool first. Especially when it came to movies, songs, and artists. He was like a walking, talking IMDB. It was pretty cool. He was pretty cool.

Grabbing a muffin, he flopped onto the back couch, stretching his leg across most of the seat.

My mouth went dry as I stared at the three empty couches. Should I sit with him or…?

“What are you doing? Come sit down and stop being weird,” he said, stomping his foot on the leather seat next to him. He peeled the muffin wrapper so he could take a bigger bite.

I scratched the back of my neck, watching how carefree he was. Why did I feel so awkward around him while he remained totally unfazed?

“Shouldn’t we, uh, do something? I mean, it’s your birthday. Feels like we should do something.” I shifted my glasses up the bridge of my nose.

His eyebrow arched. “What do you want to do? Sing me happy birthday or something?” He leaned his back into the couch arm, his hand behind his head. “Go on, now I need to hear it.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re insufferable, you know that?”

He wasn’t.

“You think it’s hilarious,” he laughed.

I did.

“All I want is to sit here and watch one of my favorite movies with my best friend. That’s it.” He shrugged.

A rush of warmth filled my chest. His best friend. I don’t think I’d ever been anyone’s best friend before. It’s nice hearing it out loud. Especially coming from him.

“Now come here. ‘Kickapoo’ is my favorite, and you’re going to miss it if you keep yapping,” he said, scooting over.

I didn’t miss how his legs stayed spread, even as he insisted I sit beside him.

Caleb did whatever he wanted, without worrying about consequences or what it might mean.

He acted first, thought later. It was frustrating, especially when I did nothing but overthink.

I sat near his feet, trying to focus on the movie while leaning subtly away from him. Being around Caleb was like being around a Vortex. He was all consuming and I wasn’t sure what it meant but it was hard to focus on anything else when I was around him.

Especially when he insisted on being close and constantly initiating physical touch.

Keeping my mind on anything else was nearly impossible. He tapped his foot to the music, nodding along with the beat.

“Can you believe this shit? It’s hilarious how good it is, eh?” he laughed, sitting up. He grabbed my arm, pushing and pulling me until a laugh escaped my lips.