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My guy The reference makes my stomach shrink about two sizes, my heart balloon about three until it is this envious, thundering beast in my chest Hoeird is it that it didn’t occur to ht here that if Millie meets someone, I won’t have free, unli it, I’ve become the most important man in her lifeand I like it
“You’re all pinched,” she says, “like sorins at ht? See how I pay attention?”
I give her a proud s this around, distracted How honest should I be here? Millie isn’t the most touchy-feely friend, but we’ve also never been here: no longer just friends, but never going to be more, either “It just occurred to me that one or both of us could be in a relationship at soh “That just occurred to you?”
“Yeah I knohat I said the other night, but I don’t think it felt real yet”
“If ere just doing this for the gala, you and I would still be going together You were right But Obama wouldn’t want that Obah, and she continues, “At so, we’d all be seventy and doing crosswords together in Chris’s backyard”
“I mean, that doesn’t sound co and then taking a sip of her wine “We both like sex” The whole lower half of my body explodes into heat when she says this “I’ht be nice to have soular basis And kids, maybe Someday And, like, a shared life of adventure”
“You know,” I tell her, “if there was a way to translate that kind of openness and sincerity to your profile, you itimate interest and fewer dick pics”
“Why you gotta be a hater?”
“Why you gotta be such a secret?”
She twists herme where it hurts”
So she knows she’s bottled up Interesting “Seriously, Mills,” I say “You keep everything so close to your chest Are you secretly a spy?”
She absorbs this with a sot me”
“Okay, no h me and out: “Why? Why don’t you tell , and for a beat it feels like a revelation is going to pour down over , or how she wishes her relationship with Elly were different So bare-wire honest about ether again and just sht there What were you going to say?”
Alex steps in, swipingto say that Benedict Cuht you were getting beers?” Ed looks forlornly at ot”
Ed frowns like I’ve genuinely let him down
“Ed,” I say, “there are two six-packs in there Just grab one”
He peeks around the corner like a guilty teenager, as if he’salcohol, and then does an open-grab-slam maneuver so fast that the condie door when it rockets shut
“Is Chris still out with your dad?” Alex asks
“Yeah” I grab a new beer for er woman down the road; he’ll leave her for Chris”
“I don’t think Chris is into dudes,” Ed tells entle fist to his shoulder
Ed downs about half of his beer and then burps “Clearly I’ on all cylinders I needthe living rooe fro to look breezy about it “It’s going pretty well I asked her if she wants to meet up next week”
“Already?” Millie asks