“Right!Dr. Appa!” I grab three cookies to go.
The warm night air encases me like a pair of silky bike shorts, but all over my body. Like if I pulled a second pair over my head and stuck my arms through. I laugh,loud, feeling free and light and covered in silky bike shorts. Marco brings me over to a beer pong table, where the other two Ohs, Aldo and Ellio, are setting up to battle against mean, little Eve Ionides and Graham Keegan, who was positively merciless in Quiz Bowl but otherwise a nice guy. I step behind Marco for safety.
“Anyone seen Dr. Appa?” Marco asks on my behalf.
“Yeah, maybe ten minutes ago?” Graham says. “He’s inside.”
“He isn’t, though!” I run my palms down my face. “He’s too short. Soelusive.”
“Lemme take care of it.” Marco gestures for my phone, quickly rattles off a text, then smiles to himself as a fast reply comes in. “Dr. Appa’s meeting us here.”
“Thank you.” My eyes feel strangely wet. I had no clue Marco was this—this—
Nice.
“Don’t mention it, buddy.” He claps me on the shoulder. “We’re gonna have a good time.”
Marco joins his brothers on the opposite end of the table as Eve finishes filling the last red cup of the beer pyramid. Beeramid.
I snort, and Eve looks up at me like I’m deranged. “What’s wrong with him?” she asks Marco.
“Beeramid!” I proffer, gesturing at the red cups.
Her eyes dart from me to Marco. “My question stands.”
“He ate two of your protein bars.” Marco grins.
“Youmade the protein bars?” My eyes widen. I take one of Eve’s small, lesbian hands in both of my own and briefly consider proposing.There’d be no sex, sure, but I would keep her rich in oats. “I had no idea you could make protein. You’resotalented.”
“Two?!” Eve exclaims up at me, just like Marco did.
“What? I paid for them.” I swallow, insecurity rising within me viciously. “I hadn’t eaten anything all day.”
Eve blinks at me, then slowly retracts her genius baking fingers from my adoring grip. “This should be interesting.”
“Eh, he’ll be fine.” Marco air-practices the arc of his shot. “We’ll order some pizza if it gets too much.”
Pizza…
Suddenly I’ve never wanted anything more.
“What is this?” Graham asks as Marco takes his place in the front of the Ohs’ line-up. “We were two-on-two!”
Marco gestures. “Julie’s standing right there, man.”
I glance at Eve, who’s eyeing me warily. “Should I play—”
What is this game called again? My brain feels like it’s made of trampoline; everything I ask it to recall bounces right off. I squeeze my eyes shut.
“—with your… cups?”
“Ew, God, don’t say it like that!” Eve recoils but moves out of the way to give me first turn. “Just get the ball intotheircups.Their cups, Julian.”
I grasp the ball between my fingers and swallow as I step up to the table. Eve and Graham have never liked me, and I’m certain that if I fuck this up, they never will. The one time I tried to play this in college, I didn’t get a single ball in. I got so angry at the stiff-arm jokes and losing that I stormed off and refused to play ever again. But now, the mechanics of my body glide in an easy harmony as my shoulder externally rotates, the muscles adducting to accelerate the throw enough to propel it across the table. I’m as surprised as everyone else when the ball lands with a frothy, littleplinkinto the Ohs’ front cup.
“Okay, Julian!” Eve claps like a tiny, maniacal coach. “Do that again!”
I can’t believe it, but the second throw lands, and the third one, too. Eve and Graham become increasingly belligerent with each sunken ball, jumping up and down behind me, whooping like hype guys in a parking lot fight. The Ohs, who I’ve spent my adult life desperately avoiding, are evenmoresupportive, pumping their fists and chantingJulie, Julie, Juliewith each of my wins before groaning good-naturedly and emptying another of their dwindling cups. Other voices join in the cheering, our table the center of a small, enthusiastic crowd. Graham retrieves the slick ball and hands it to me. My cousins haven’t even had a turn yet. One cup remains.
