Can We Kiss Forever? (Wattys 2022)

POOPHEAD

The rest of the afternoon flew by. Max was surprised at how fast Julio was working on the accounts (even with a calculator), and how quiet he'd been.

"Jules, it's time to go home," Max said with a smile etched across his face. "I'm proud of you."

"Ayo, already?" Julio replied back as he looked over the top of his reading glasses. "Lemme finish the rest of this invoice, and I'll catch up."

"I'll wait."

"Why? You wanna go away usually—"

"—We're going out tonight."

"Why?"

"To celebrate," Max smirked.

"Celebrate what?"

"The fact that you managed to complete a day of work."

Julio glared back. "What's the actual reason, Muxi?"

"Well, Angel's Steakhouse opened up in the extension at Randy's. Mr. Angelou himself gave us a $500 voucher for fixing his car."

Julio perked up. "Ayo! So, we can go more than once?"

"Sure, if you don't blow it all on expensive wine."

"Like I would do that," Julio added with a smile. "I'm not even French."

"But you do like to spend my money when you can."

"Cause I'm broke and still on that study program that Miguel made me do three years ago. I'm glad this is the last year."

"Me too," Max said, "It means you won't be my responsibility anymore."

Julio finished counting the rest of the numbers and hit 'enter' on the program to save the last entry. "I'm not going anywhere, though. I'm your best bro, even better than Mac and Felipe."

"Not quite. Mama didn't adopt you, sorry." Max said with a smirk at the end as Julio pouted at him. "But you're still my 'brother' from the perspective that we're both so close."

"Ayo, still why you gotta do me like that?" Julio got up off the chair and put his glasses away. His stomach started rumbling and a gruff voice started calling his name in his mind. "I'll be right back, gonna make some room for dinner."

Max raised his eyebrow. "Too much information, but okay."

Julio made his way into the bathroom, and he sat on the toilet, letting out a grunt as the cold plastic shocked him. "Ayo, my butt's freezing!"

"I used to hate it when that happened," Ramon added with a smirk as he re-appeared. "Once I screamed so loud that Priscilla thought I'd been stabbed as I sat down on the toilet seat."

Julio raised his eyebrow. "That's actually weird."

"Says the guy who has pickled cat guts under his bed."

"Excuse me? Those were a gift from my fave High School Teacher, Mr. Ramos."

"Oh yeah, you and Alexis got him for a year, and he made your class dissect a frog—"

"—And you want me to bang your wife instead? Disgrace!" Julio exclaimed as he shook his head and then smirked back at Ramon who glared at him. "What? I'm not into MILFs..."

"Which is why this is fun for me." Ramon chuckled as he stared back at an annoyed Julio, watching as he flipped the bird. "Don't you want the twenty grand?"

"I guess. I could get a deposit and move then to a nicer place away from this dump I'm living in at the moment." Julio thought for a moment and scratched the end of his cleanly shaven chin. "Ayo, and then I can buy a car too, yeah?"

"Whatever you want."

"That sounds tempting."

"And I'll get offside as much as I can, yeah?"

"I like the sound of that—"

"—Stop talking to yourself and come on," Max said as he knocked on the door. "We have a reservation for seven."

"Ayo! You didn't me that!" Julio checked his watch. "I'm finishing up this dump."