Is He Or Isn't He? (4 page)

Out of all the guys at Peppington Prep who could possibly be gay, why Felix?
Why?
Why couldn't it be someone he liked? And not like-
like—
as in wanting to make out with a guy you like because you think he's cute and you're attracted to him. But
like
as in “I like you as a person and want to be your friend.”

“He's probably here to get some news for his gossip column,” Paige said.

Felix penned Peppington Prep's school gossip column
In the Know
, writing all about the social lives of his classmates. Often there were also blind items in which secrets that were meant to be kept were exposed. That was the main reason why the column was a favorite with everyone at Peppington Prep and got Felix invited to all the best parties.

It also didn't hurt that Felix's father was head of programming at the Cooking Channel. He was responsible for bringing such hit shows as “Yummy for Your Tummy,” “Everything Chocolate” and “Hot Italian Mamas” to the air. His latest success was a TV show featuring celebrity chef Steve Coulter.
People
magazine had recently named Steve their Sexiest Man Alive.

“I know you and Felix don't get along,” Paige said, “but he's always been nice to me.”

“That's because he's waiting for the two of us to have a huge fight!” Anthony exclaimed. “When that happens he'll move in for the kill, hoping you'll spill all my secrets so he can print them!”

“You know, this is going to sound crazy, but I think Felix might like you.”

“What?!”

“Think about it. He's always worming his way into your life. Why else would he do that?”

“Because he likes making me miserable. It's what he lives for.”

Paige shrugged. “If you say so.”

“I say so. Me and Felix? A couple?” Anthony shuddered. “Brrr!”

Felix had caught sight of Anthony and waved to him. There was no mistaking the smug smile on his face. He knew he hadn't been invited to the party and he knew that Anthony knew he knew that.

“What are you going to do?” Paige asked, nervously biting her lower lip.

Well, he'd wanted a party with drama. And now he was going to get it.

Anthony turned back to Paige. “I'm going to go tell my uninvited guest that the party is over for him.”

“You can't throw him out!”

“Just watch me.”

Anthony left Paige's side and went across to the other side of the deck. There was no mistaking Felix. From his sun-
streaked blond hair to his rich dark tan and blue eyes, to his sky blue tie-dyed shorts and white tank top (all designer names, of course), he had the California beach boy look down pat. Anthony was pleased to note that, unlike some of the other hotties at the party, Felix didn't have the muscles to fill out his tank top. He was as skinny as a string bean.

“Felix! What are you doing here?” Anthony was smiling, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

“Tony!” Felix gushed. “Fab party! Love the eats.”

Anthony gritted his teeth. If there was one thing he absolutely hated, it was being called Tony. And Felix knew that.
No one
called him Tony. It was so Brooklyn-sounding—like John Travolta's character in
Saturday Night Fever
—and he was a Manhattan boy!

“I'm surprised to see you.”

“You are?” Felix plunged a toothpick into a chunk of cheese and popped it into his mouth. “I tagged along with Bianca and Rachel. We ran into each other at J. Crew and they mentioned coming over. My invitation probably got lost in the mail.”

“It didn't get lost,” Anthony said. “It was never…”

The rest of the words died in Anthony's throat. Felix was totally forgotten. Instead, Anthony's attention was completely focused across the terrace on one of the
cutest
, most
adorable
guys he had ever seen. He was wearing jeans and a loose baseball jersey with the number 10 on the front. It was probably some famous baseball player's number, but Anthony knew zip about sports. On his head was a baseball cap that was worn backwards. How had he missed noticing this guy all night?!

“It was never what?” Felix asked.

“Huh?” Anthony asked, feeling like he'd just woken up from a deep sleep. He tried to focus on Felix's face but he kept looking over his shoulder at Baseball Jersey Guy.

“My invitation?” Felix prodded.

All Anthony wanted to do at that moment was make a beeline across the terrace and find out the name of the new guy. But he couldn't do that until he got rid of Felix. Quickly. If Felix got a look at this cutie…well, Anthony suddenly had a vision of the Big Bad Wolf drooling over the Three Little Pigs!

“It didn't get lost,” Anthony said, wondering how he could steer Felix in the direction of the front door.

Felix speared another chunk of cheese. “It didn't? Then I guess I should leave. I wouldn't want to be accused of being a party-crasher.”

Anthony couldn't believe what he was hearing. Felix
never
gave in. He had to be up to something.

“Let me just find Max and we'll leave.”

“Max?”

“You haven't met Max? Oh, you have to! He's a great guy!” Felix scanned the deck of partygoers and then his blue eyes lit up. “There he is.”

Anthony followed Felix's pointed finger and his mouth almost dropped open. “
That's
Max?”

“
That's
Max,” Felix proudly stated. “Not bad to look at, is he?”

No!
Anthony wanted to wail.
No!!!
Max was the cutie across the terrace. Baseball Jersey Guy. His future boyfriend! Was Cupid laughing at him? Was this some sort of cosmic practical joke? There couldn't be any other explanation. The
one guy he was interested in had come to his party with Felix!

Felix waved to Max, who waved back and walked over in their direction.

There was something vaguely familiar about Max but Anthony couldn't put his finger on what it was. He felt like he'd already met him but that was impossible. There was no way he'd forget a cutie like this! Where had Felix met this guy? He wasn't a student at Peppington Prep. Could he be Felix's boyfriend? Anthony bit back a groan. Life couldn't be that unfair!

Felix noticed the puzzled expression on Anthony's face. “You feel like you've met him before, but you don't know where, right?”

“Right,” Anthony admitted.

“You haven't been reading your
Teen People
, have you, Tony? Max is the son of Steve Coulter. You know who Steve is, don't you? My father gave the greenlight to his TV show, ‘Delicious.'”

That's who it was! Max was a younger, less sculpted version of his muscular, macho father. Unlike other TV chefs, who advocated healthy cooking, Steve used only the most fattening ingredients in his dishes and owned a restaurant in Los Angeles. The catch-phrase on his show, which was now known from coast to coast, was: “It's supposed to taste
good
.” Female—and male—fans were known to throw their underwear at him (along with hotel room keys).

“Max's father is opening a new restaurant in New York,” Felix explained. “He's going to be here for at least a year, overseeing things, and he decided to bring his entire family.
He's also writing his first cookbook and wants to be close to his publisher. Max is living in my building and he'll be going to Peppington Prep. When I heard about your party from the twins, I didn't think you'd mind if I came along and brought a guest. You know, to help him fit in and feel welcome.”

So he
wasn't
Felix's boyfriend. If he was, he was sure Felix would have dropped that little tidbit. Over the last year, Anthony had run into Felix on more than one occasion outside of school and he was always with a hot-looking guy who he made a point of introducing to Anthony as his boyfriend. Anthony
always
felt like one of Cinderella's ugly stepsisters when that happened.

“Hey Felix!” Max said, joining his side and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “What's up?”

“We have to leave, Max.”

“Leave?” A puzzled look washed over Max's face. “But we just got here.”

Anthony was relieved to notice that up close, Max was just as adorable as he had been from far away. Phew! Some guys suffered from FAB syndrome. They were Far Away Beauties who looked good from a distance but when they got closer…yikes!

Like his father, Max had chocolate brown eyes and a chiseled cleft in his chin. He took off his baseball cap and ran a hand through his dark brown hair. Despite wearing a baseball cap, it was perfectly styled and fell neatly into place. His face was totally smooth and…was that cologne he was wearing? Anthony took a tiny step closer to Max and sniffed discreetly. Yes, it was! And expensive stuff, too!

“Are we leaving for another party?” Max asked.

Anthony couldn't believe what he was hearing. “Leave?! You can't leave!”

“But I didn't get an invitation to the party,” Felix pointed out.

Anthony's mind scrambled for an answer. “You weren't on the guest list because you're not a guest. You're one of my oldest friends. You didn't get an invitation in the mail because I was going to call and
personally
invite you.”

Felix looked at Anthony skeptically. “Oh, you were?”

“Of course! How could I have a party without you, Felix?”

“You have in the past.”

“Only because you're always off at some better party.”

“That's true,” Felix agreed. “The other parties are always better than yours.”

Anthony ignored the dig and kept smiling. No way was he going to lose it in front of Felix.

“It's because he doesn't like me,” Felix whispered into Max's ear. “Never has. Never will.”

Anthony laughed. “You're such a kidder, Felix.” Anthony turned to Max with a smile. “Felix and I have been friends since first grade. We're like brothers.”

Felix gave Anthony a smirk. “Don't you mean
sisters
?”

Anthony ignored the comment and held his hand out to Max. “Hi, I'm Anthony DeMarco. I live here.”

Max reached for Anthony's hand and gave him a huge smile that lit up his entire face. “Max Coulter. Nice to meet you.”

Anthony's heart began racing madly. He did
not
want to let go of Max's hand. At that moment Anthony felt like he was going to melt into a puddle. Was this what they called love at first sight?

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Where had
that
thought come from? He had just met Max and he didn't know a thing about him. Time to hit the brakes.

Anthony let go of Max's hand and smiled back at him. “I hope you're having a good time.”

“A blast.”

“I'll bet there are lots of people you still haven't met. I'd be happy to introduce you.”

Felix wrapped an arm around Max's waist and drew him closer. “That's nice of you, Tony, but I'm sure you're busy hosting. I'm taking care of Max tonight.”

There was no mistaking Felix's message.
Back off!
Max was
his
. Fine. This round went to Felix. But Max was a big boy, and eventually he was going to want to play with others.

“Hey, Felix!” A blond girl wearing a coconut shell bra and grass skirt ran over, grabbing Felix by the hand. Anthony didn't recognize her; she must have come with someone he invited. “You have to come with me. Sherry's confessing all about her summer vacation in Maui. There's at least three columns' worth of stuff. Come on!”

It was clear to Anthony that Felix was torn. He could see he wanted to leave for some juicy dirt. But at the same time, he didn't want to leave Anthony and Max alone. Jealousy, perhaps? Was Max gay and Felix was hoping to make him his latest boyfriend? Gay or straight. That was the question. Anthony's gaydar, which was usually quite reliable, wasn't working. With just a look, he could usually tell if a guy was gay or straight. If someone asked him to explain what gaydar was, he wouldn't know how. When you're gay, you just know when someone else is. You could recognize it by their style. Or flair.
Or a unique sense of individuality. It might be the fact that their hair is dyed or the clothes that they wear are over the top or it's the amount of jewelry they have on. Or it could be the way they walk and talk. Gaydar was an instinct that was inside you and allowed you to identify with others who were just like you.

But Anthony couldn't figure out if Max was gay or straight. Despite the casual outfit Max was wearing, it was in perfect condition. It wasn't grungy and wrinkly the way it would be if a straight guy was wearing it. And he was groomed to perfection.

But that didn't mean anything. Ever since the arrival of the metrosexual—straight guys who care about their appearance—Anthony had been having problems with his gaydar. On more than one occasion he'd pegged a guy as gay and been proven wrong when the guy's girlfriend came along. He knew there were some gay guys who couldn't dress to save their lives, but the ones with money usually could, and since Steve Coulter was Max's father, he probably had a wallet full of credit cards and a closet full of designer clothes.

And he did come to the party with Felix. And Felix had been awfully touchy-feely with Max. Maybe tonight was their first date. For a second, Anthony had a flashback to his first official date with Ian. He felt a huge wave of sadness approaching, but immediately blocked it off, looking over his shoulder for Paige.

Anthony saw Paige staring at him and Max from across the deck with wide, excited eyes. She pointed to Max, who had his back to her, and opened her mouth. It wasn't hard to figure out the word she was saying.

“Yum!”

“Felix? Are you coming?” Coconut Girl asked, tugging on his arm.