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I look at him now, in his crisp shirt and pressed dress pants, and have a hard tias, let alone sweaty and working on construction sites I let er on his neck and enjoy the fantasy for a beat "That’s pretty intense"
He nods in agree So, the heat How huht It was hard, but it was the most fun I’d ever had I don’t know that I’ll ever know anyone in the way I know those three friends"
Fascinated, I break character for just a moment "You mean Oliver and Finn and Perry"
A shadow falls over his face and he nods slowly
Shit "I’ up his hand "No Those relationships are some of the best andcomplicated of my life Does that ht or ten hours a day I slept three people deep in a space no bigger than your average bathrooether, we comforted each other, we celebrated so in each other’s pockets at that age uess e in ways that aren’t hoe ih, it’s obviously so with He’s quiet for a lass I’ him like this, and it presses like a bruise in ry I was forto be sharing these pieces with the safety of a stranger "You don’t have to talk about it," I say quietly
"It’s just that there’s nothing I can really do to fix what Perry’s going through, andI don’t mean to sound self-important, but that’s not a situation I’m familiar with"
"Whatever he’s dealing with," I say, "you can be there, but it is his life You can’t make it perfect for hi his ain "NoIt’s just that"--he pauses and draws in a deep breath--"I know You’re right"
I want to tell him I understand, that I knohat it’s like to be so close to someone, to feel them drift away and be unable to pull them back, but I can’t The closest people in my life have always been Harlow and Lorelei They’re my constants, and have been since ere in elementary school By the time Luke and I broke up after the accident, I was ready to let hiht feel the occasional hollow spot from where he used to fit intoto be with hie the subject, I whisper, "Well, froht was a total idiot"
Understanding washes over his expression and he turns on his stool to face me completely, one elbow propped up on the bar
"I don’t know," he says finally, biting his bottoht have done fully between us, and we continue to sit there in silence, the pulsing bass ofall around us "Do you have a boyfriend?" he says suddenly
"Boyfriend?" I shake rin "No" It’s technically true "Girlfriend?" I ask in return
He shakes his head, eyes flickering to ain