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“Brat.” But I couldn’t help smiling too. Why was I smiling?
I led him to the door and didn’t bother knocking because I knew they would all be standing there front and center. I was proven right when I saw the three of them lined up, eyes trained on us. “What the fuck. You guys look creepy.”
“We just…happened to be standing here?” Parker tried.
I rolled my eyes. “This is Corbin, Parker, and Marcus,” I pointed to each. “My ex-best friends.”
“And what was your name again?” Corbin asked as if he didn’t know.
“I’m sorry, I meant Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest,” I joked.
Sebastian laughed. “Hi. I’m Sebastian Cole. Nice to meet you all.” He shook their hands like my friends were functioning adults before handing the bottle of wine to Marcus. “This is for you. I don’t know if you guys drink it or not.”
“Thank you. You want a glass?” Marcus asked him.
“Oh no. Declan cut me off,” Bastian teased.
“What? You cut yourself off. I just agreed with you.”
“Can you blame me?”
“No, which is why I agreed with you,” I said playfully before realizing that my friends were staring at us. I clammed up real quick.
Corbin said, “Anyone tripping out over the fact that Sebastian Cole is in Marcus’s living room flirting with Declan? Because this is crazy as fuck.”
Everyone was silent for a few beats, and then four distinct laughs filled the space—mine not included. I crossed my arms, trying to act chill. “We weren’t flirting.”
But we were, and everyone knew it. Sebastian had literally broken me.
When they all settled down, Marcus said to Sebastian, “Make yourself at home,” before heading into the kitchen.
I loved this house. The downstairs was a large, airy, open-concept space with high ceilings. The back wall that faced the ocean was almost all glass, windows and doors leading out to his patio. There was a pool with a lot of seating, a full kitchen, and a firepit with stone seating around it. Farther out was a clear fence, and then the sand and the ocean as far as the eye could see. It always calmed me.
“Do you really not want any wine?” Marcus asked Sebastian. “I also have beer, water, or Coke.”
“I’ll take one glass,” Sebastian said, and Marcus opened the bottle, pouring some for Sebastian and Parker before grabbing a beer for him and me, then water for Corbin.
I went and helped him, carrying over Bastian’s and my drinks.
“You guys record here, right?” Sebastian asked as I handed him the glass, then gave me a quiet, “Thank you.”
“Yeah, do you listen?” Parker asked.
“I do. Declan mentioned it in passing about six months after you guys started, so I mostly checked it out because of that. I stuck around because it’s really great. There’s nothing like seeing queer content out there in the world like that. You guys are on air talking about everything from Grindr to poppers to the AIDS epidemic to homeless queer youth and dating. I would have loved to feel connected to something like that when I was younger. It’s so important. Plus, the arguing is always fun.”
It was always so interesting hearing people talk about The Vers that way. Most of the time, I felt like all we did was argue and tease each other on the show, but we often heard about how important our content was to so many people in the community. Though I knew Sebastian listened, I’d never heard him talk this way, and it filled my chest with warmth.
Corbin said, “It was mine and Parker’s idea. We had to drag these two on board.”
I sat beside Bastian. “But then Marcus went and learned everything about it because that’s what Marcus does, and even though he wanted nothing to do with it, we now record here and he does most of the editing and mastering for the show.”
“I like control. What can I say?” Marcus winked.
“Do you think you’ll ever make a queer film?” Parker asked. “I’d love an action-movie gay lead, kicking ass and taking names.”
“Park,” I said, shaking my head, not sure if Sebastian would want to talk about this.
“It’s fine.” He smiled at me, but I could see the appreciation in his gaze. “I’d love to do something like that. I’ve made inquiries a few times but got blocked at every turn. They don’t think it would have as wide an appeal. There are so many things I’d love to be able to do but haven’t yet.”
“Like what?” Corbin asked.
“Well, action, of course, but I’m into everything. My mom loves romances. When I was younger and closeted, I’d watch them with her, pretending it was because I was interested in film, which was true, but not the only reason. I liked to imagine them as queer. A gay Moonstruck or Dirty Dancing, a lesbian Pride and Prejudice, and God, Love and Basketball. I wanted that to be gay so bad.”
