Page 46 of The Build-a-Boyfriend Project

“What?” Peter asks, still caught in a haze.

“Pick the next date,” Eli says.

The confusion sets in immediately. “What?”

“Tell me something you want to do,” Eli says as the doors close and his voice becomes muffled. “You have to pick what we do next!” Eli yells through the door.

“But I—” is all Peter gets out before the bus lurches out and speeds along the route. Eli scans the Clipper card on his phone, picking a spot at the back of the bus for his ride home.

His phone dings a second later.

Peter: I’m supposed to pick the date?

Eli smiles at his screen.

Eli: we did something i wanted to do

Eli: now we do something you want to do

Peter: What should I pick?

Eli: whatever you want

Eli: it’s your date.

Eli: just make it interesting.

Peter doesn’t respond until Eli gets home, walking into a dark apartment. Light is coming out from the crack at the bottom of Patricia’s door, but he decides not to bother her. He can hear Rose snoring in her bed, so he can’t talk to her. Which leaves him all on his own, falling face-first onto his bed and listening to the frame of the bed creak with his weight. He pulls out his phone, scrolling back through the texts to Peter, all the selfies he’s sent, their first few awkward messages.

It’s nice to feel like they’ve already made progress. Tonight Peter really shined, opening up to Eli in a way that he didn’t really expect. Sure, the night began rocky and awkward, and it’s not as if Peter’s been magically fixed.

But progress has been made, and he’s already got a few ideas for what to put in both articles he’ll have to write. He thinks about Peter’s story, how scary it must’ve been for the boy you liked to be there one day and totally gone the next.

Then for him to return, just to be a different person. He knows his conscience won’t let him write about those exact circumstances, but he has to include them in some capacity; it’s too interesting not to.

He jots down a few notes for Michael’s article as well, how Peter is seeming to relax when he’s with Eli, how they spoke about his addiction to his work. It doesn’t feel like much, but like Eli’s mother tells him often: “Any progress is good progress.”

His phone vibrates while he brushes his teeth and washes his face, leaving Peter’s final message of the night unchecked for a good few minutes before Eli grabs his phone again, diving under his comforter.

He smiles when he reads it.

Peter: I have a few ideas.

Peter: Also, I made it home.

Eli types a quick reply.

Eli: glad you’re home safe.

Eli: and I can’t wait to hear what your ideas are.

Chapter Six

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, dir. by Beeban Kidron

“You know, my friend Amy, she has a son. And he’s cute!” Eli’s mother stands at the sink, rinsing lettuce in a strainer.

“Mom . . .” Eli throws his head back, nearly hitting it against the cabinets. “You don’t have to set me up with anyone.”