He debated adding something about Amy, but her engagement to Bas had never made the society pages - it had been too new at the time of the crash - and bringing her up now felt cowardly. An unspoken,See? Here is the evidence that I have never had untoward thoughts about my straight best friend.Instead, he added, “Bas isstraight.”
“Oh. My.God,” Vanya said again, and Drew remembered this had been her favorite expression back in high school too. One that had a hundred different connotations based on inflection. “But you were always together! Like, literally every time we hung out. I was so sure you guys were a thing! Wait until I tell Keisha and Jen. They willdie.”
The hairs at the back of Drew’s neck shifted uncomfortably. They would die when she told themwhat? That Sebastian was single? Suddenly, Drew was strangely eager to bind himself to Bas for the rest of the night. He absolutely hated…hated… watching Basflirt.
“Come on, Bas,” Drew said, clapping an arm on his shoulder. “I really need adrink.”
“Yeah, go!” Vanya waved them off with a smile, likely eager to go and tell everyone her new info. “Bar’s in the garage. Geller Conroy is mixing drinks tonight and he’ll hook you up! The punch tastes like cinnamon red-hots!” She paused for a second. “And I love the sexy lumberjack look, or whatever you two are goingfor!”
“Yes! Yes, that’s it. We’re a pair of sexy lumberjacks,” Drew agreed, trying to restrain his laughter. He couldn’t resist whispering in Sebastian’s ear, “Told you so,Dean.”
“Not another word, Sam,” he warned, steering Drew toward the bright lights of the garage bar, where he accepted a tall plastic cup of deep redliquid.
“Cinnamon red-hots? Your favorite candy in the form of an alcoholic beverage?” Bas said, nudging his shoulder. “Pretty sure this is fate telling you to drink up,counselor.”
Drew shook his head as the scent of his best friend’s cologne washed over him again, and lust, hot and proprietary,crashed through his bloodstream like atsunami.
Drew didn’t believe in fate. Not anymore. These days he placed his trust in his own self-control - self-control that hadn’t faltered around Bas since that fateful day at summer camp almost sixteen yearsago.
One drink, he told himself.You handled Bas and Amy getting engaged and managed to keep your mouth shut about your feelings. You can handle one littledrink.
“Sounds delicious,” he agreed. And he tipped his cup back, covering Bas’s scent with the pungent smell ofcinnamon.
“Cinnamon red-hotsare the devil’s tool,” Drew told Bas nearly four hours later, but somehow it came out garbled, like some component of his mouth was malfunctioning. He carefully ran his tongue over his teeth, and found to his horror that he couldn’t feeleither. “Are my teeth gone or is my tongue?” he demanded, opening his mouth wide for Bas’sinspection.
Sebastian, who was sitting next to him on the carpeted stairs that led to the second floor, obediently looked at Drew’s mouth. “All still there,” he promised, his smile wider than Drew remembered seeing it in a while. “I wouldn’t let you misplacethem.”
Drew nodded, slow and deep - the only kind of head movement he could manage currently. Ofcoursehis teeth and tongue weren’t missing. Ofcoursehis best friend in the entire universe, Sebastian Seaver, would never let anything happen to him. He went to lean his head on Bas’s shoulder, as a sign of his trust… and found that it was already layingthere.
Huh.
Bas smelled fuckingdelicious.
“Uh, thank you?” Bas snickered. “I think. Just don’t get any cannibalistic ideas, drunkboy.”
“Oh, fuck. I said it out loud when it was a secret!” Drew said in a horrifiedwhisper.
Bas laughed, loud and long. “You have totally repaid any debt you owed me. This is priceless.” He braced his hand in the middle of Drew’s back, and Drew forgot what he’d been worriedabout.
“It is the most fun I’ve ever had in a long, long while! Thanks toyou.” Drew beamed up at Sebastian, who was so handsome, Drew couldn’t remember why he wasn’t supposed to kiss him. “We can stay longer if youwant.”
“Long as you want,” Bas promised, wearing the smirky grin Drew had loved foryears.
Years.Friends. No kissingfriends.
Drewsighed.
“Aw. Everything okay?” Bas asked. His hand rubbed Drew’s back in a slow circle that made Drew’s arms and legs prickle with electricity that felt dangerous somehow. “They’re playing cards or something in the other room if youwant.”
“Yes,” Drew decided. “Cards.” He heaved himself to his feet, pleased to see that he wassteady.
“One more water before we go,” Bas reminded him, steering him toward the kitchenfirst.
“Water isnotdelicious.”
“So true, McMann. But itisgonna help the hangover you areone-hundred percentgonna have tomorrow.” Bas handed him a plastic cup and Drew sucked it down obediently before tossing the empty cup in the recyclebin.
“Why does there have to be a hangover? Why can’t good things just be good and we don’t have to…pay?”
