Blake turned to Marin before glancing towards the driver’s seat.“Ready to go?”
Marin nodded, taking a moment to hug Noel and Celeste in turn.
“Bye,” he said, voice soft as he pressed Celeste close.
“I’m not saying goodbye,” Celeste sniffled, tone stubborn.“I’m not saying goodbye to you, Marin, because you’re right—Iamgoing to see you again tomorrow.You… drive safe, okay?”
“Okay,” Marin agreed with a mellow smile before pulling away.
“Drive safe,” Noel told them, raising a hand to wave goodbye as Blake climbed into the car.Marin rounded the cab to lower himself into the passenger seat.
Blake rolled down the window to say his final farewell, and to his surprise Celeste came around to the side of the car and reached in through the window, taking his hand in theirs.Tears streamed down their pink face in glossy lines.
“This whole thing,” they said.“The ‘being worthy of someone’s love’ thing?I think it’s bullshit.”
They were quiet for a moment.
“It’s stupid to think that you have to prove that you’re worth someone’s love.Just being loved by them should be enough—and I think—” They hiccuped, voice gentle.They reached across Blake’s lap for Marin’s hand as well, almost climbing into the cab in the process.“Anyone would be lucky to be loved by either of you.”
Blake stared at Celeste, taken aback by their uncharacteristically vulnerable words.“I… that’s really kind of you to say.”
“That really is.”Marin smiled.“Thank you, Celeste.”
“Thankyou.”They squeezed his fingers in their meager grip and for the first time Blake noticed how petite their hands were.“For being my friends.”
“Thank you for being our friend, Celeste,” Marin replied, his smile still soft and genuine.
“That isn’t going to change,” Blake reassured them.
Celeste scrunched their face up, looking unable to contain their emotions.
“Je vous aime tous les deux,” they said, squeezing Blake and Marin’s hands one more time before extracting themself from the car, returning to Noel’s side.Before Blake could ask what it meant, they were already talking again: “You better go!”they cried, folding their arms over their chest and stamping their foot.“Before I climb into that car with you!”
With one final wave, Blake heeded their advice, pulling out of the parking space and peeling out of the lot.As they headed towards the street proper, he couldn’t help but shoot a final glance at Celeste and Noel through the rearview mirror.They were hugging, Celeste hiding their face in Noel’s chest as he pet their hair, free of his typical awkwardness.
Before his eyes flicked back to the road, Blake caught Marin watching their friends as well, looking wistful—like he was looking at a memory rather than a mirror.
?
Celeste’s white Camry crawled down Highway 80 along the shore of the bay.The brassy waves undulated, windsurfers cutting along their surface.Beyond the water, partially enveloped by a diaphanous veil of cloud cover, was the distant silhouette of San Francisco.
As they inched towards the Bay Bridge, Marin rolled down the passenger window, reaching out to trail his fingers through the cool air, a blessed relief in comparison to the summer heat of Sacramento.A car driving alongside them had the same thought, windows rolled down and Tracy Chapman crackling through their old speakers.
Blake turned to glance at Marin’s profile, slim and beautiful, framed by the green window panels of the Emeryville Towers winking in the morning light.He’d been quiet during the drive over, but his silence wasn’t borne from anxiety, as Blake’s was.
Marin was more at peace than the night before.He was enjoying the scenery around him, watching the landmarks materialize and dissipate along the highway with a content expression on his face.Blake made a mental note to take the drive on his bike next time, so Marin could really soak in the—
Blake’s heart seized in his chest, tremulous with the recollection that there might notbea next time.His eyes fell to the clock in the middle of the dash: it was half past eleven.Only fourteen and a half hours left.
What was he supposed to do?To say?How could he evenbeginto fit a lifetime of experiences into a single day?
“Hey.”
Marin’s soft voice interrupted Blake’s private anxieties.He smiled at Blake, expression tender, and laid his hand palm-up on the center console.Blake collected it in his and produced a smile that he hoped wasn’t too anxious.Marin picked up his hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles.
“We have some time to kill before the gallery opens tonight,” he said.“What do you want to do first?”
Blake blinked, taken aback.“Me?It’s your day, Marin—we can do whatever you’d like.”
