Max shrugs. “They’re not wrong.”
Wren and Oliver exchange glances, too, but eventually, Oliver’s eyes are back on me. “Okay, well, I’m cool here if you are.”
Max gives a little clap, then snickers. “I’m drunk. Are you guys drunk, too?”
Oliver and I nod, and Wren gives a thumbs up from where they’re seated cross-legged on the floor in front of us.
“Oliver, is this a safe space?” Max asks.
Oliver’s eyes widen, but he offers a crooked smile. “Yeah, dude. What’s up?”
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re hot. Do you know that? Has anyone told you that?”
That weird, annoyed feeling flares up again, and I have to resist glaring at Max.
Oliver, on the other hand, bursts into giggles. “Me? Seriously?”
“Dead serious, babe. You’re the total package. Beautiful inside and out. Living proof that not all cishet men are awful.”
I open my mouth to argue that Oliver isn’t the “het” part of “cishet”, but I catch myself before anything comes out.
“That means a lot, Max,” Oliver says, placing a hand over his chest. “Thank you.”
“Just being honest,” Max continues. “It genuinely blows my mind that you’re single. Eidola girls don’t know what they’re missing.”
Wren snorts, prompting Oliver to shoot them a pointed look.
I ball my fists in my lap, using every ounce of self-control to keep my mouth shut. I’m far too drunk to participate in this conversation.
“Okay, do they know something I don’t?” Max asks, crossing his legs and propping his head in his hands.
“Yes, but not for long,” Oliver replies, facing Max and mirroring his posture. “So, I recently figured out that I’m actually asexual.”
Max’s jaw drops dramatically. “Wait. For real?”
Oliver nods.
I can practically see the gears turning in Max’s head. “Oh.Ohh.Okay, yeah, I can see it. Oh my god, I can’t believe I didn’t clock it before! Of course you are! Slay!” He lunges forward and wraps Oliver in a hug. “I knew you were one of us!”
As Oliver reciprocates Max’s embrace, emotion swells in my chest, and I pile on to the hug. My eyes fall shut for the length of the hug, and when I reopen them, Wren and I lock eyes for a few seconds before Wren looks away.
“Whew,” Max says as he pulls away, wiping his face with his sleeve. “Damn, the gin’s got me all emotional.”
Oliver chuckles. “You’re a gin man, huh?”
“Guilty,” Max admits. His eyes land on me, and whatever my face is doing piques his interest. “Hey, bud, how’s it going over there?”
My cheeks hurt from smiling. “Liquor really hits different,” I declare.
“Yeah?”
I nod.
Oliver turns around to face me again… and something strange happens. An unknown switch deep within me is flipped—either on or off, I’ll never know—and I’m suddenly overwhelmed by my fondness for Oliver. His deep chocolate eyes, his golden hair, his sunshine smile—I adore it all. I couldsay anything, be anything, do anything, and I know I’d be safe as long as I’m with him. Because he’s Oliver. He’s my best friend and my favorite person in the whole world, and nothing will ever change that. It’s almost devastating to realize I’ve lived an entire nineteen years without him and didn’t realize I missed him, but I did. I missed him before I even met him.
“Jude?” Oliver asks, a concerned crease between his dark brows. “Are you still with us?”
“I think if I had met you in high school, I would have had the biggest crush on you.”
