With a shrug, Toni mumbled, “I ain’t ageist, and you know what, older ladies know what they’re doing. Ain’t that right, baby?”
Nan beamed at him. “Old engines are reliable, and they know exactly how to get you where you need to go.”
“Oh my God, Nan!” Bryce cried.
Gem squealed and clapped numerous hands. “Nan, will you be my grandma, because you’re amazing and way cooler than my actual grandma.”At everyone’s judgmental reactions, he doubled-down. “No, for real. She’s a bigoted bitch. When my sister Barie transitioned, she told my parents to put her in the asylum for mental illness. And my other grandmas are dead, so…”
“I can be your grandma,” Nan said, and Gem hugged her tightly.
“Yay, we get to share Nan!”
“Do you need a grandma, Toni?” Nan asked with an eyebrow waggle.
Plopping his head on the table, Bryce groaned. “Maybe this party was a bad idea.”
Zef snuck a hand under the table to give his wrist a squeeze, and he glanced up immediately, a crooked grin breaking over his face. He curled his fingers around Zef’s until they were palm-to-palm.
“Careful, Nan, you naughty girl,” Toni flashed his jagged teeth. “You know I’m a kept man. But”—he jabbed a thumb in Dex’s direction—“Dex is single.”
Dex, who had been trying to convince Cya to do a shot, spun around at the sound of his name. “What?”
“Nan wants to be your grandma,” Gem started.
“And get you where you need to go,” Toni finished.
One ear flopping over, Dex screwed up his face in confusion. “Huh? You mean, like, after the party’s over? That’s really nice of you, Nan, but I have a student tram pass, so it’s only, like, amyrelor two to get around.”
“Oh shit, I forgot how young he was,” Toni said with a wince. “We should definitely stop this joke.”
When the band finished their set, the stage opened for karaoke, and Gem grabbed Toni and hauled him out of his chair so they could sign up. Dex, Jude, Oliver, and Willow joined them. Even Nan ended up on stage,belting into the microphone with Gem as they sang about something called “apple-bottomed jeans.”
“You don’t wanna do karaoke? You have a great voice,” Bryce said, but Zef shook their head.
Since half their group was gone, Zef felt comfortable pulling out the gift-wrapped box they had brought. They set it on the table in front of Bryce, wings thrumming in anticipation. Pushing his beer to the side, he inspected the box, the crests of his cheeks flushed from the alcohol.
“You got Nan here for my birthday. You didn’t have to get me another gift.”
“It is small,” they said as they scooted to the edge of their seat, their knee brushing his leg.
As Bryce ripped the wrapping off, Zef ignored the curious glances from Rusty and Cya and Liel. Glyma was watching with a pleased smile on her face, and Zef severed eye contact with her quickly as their face warmed. They had told Willow and Glyma about Bryce’s admission earlier that week in hopes of receiving some womanly advice.
What they had received—admittedly along with some advice—was many womanly shrieks of excitement as they had surrounded Zef and interrogated them mercilessly for details. But their elation had been contagious, and Zef had shyly and haltingly told them about how warm and heavy his hand had felt cupping their cheek.
Opening the box, Bryce peered inside, brows furrowing. “Mugs. Cool.”
He pulled out the first one and read the words printed around its circumference. “What did the dog say when he sat on sandpaper?”
“Ruff,” Zef finished the joke. “It is an animal word pun. Perhaps a silly one.”
Bryce snorted a laugh. “No, I love it. It’s funny and clever, just like you.” He knocked their shoulders together before he pulled out the second mug. “Oh I love red. That’s my favorite color.”
“I know,” Zef said.
“Bryce’s mug,” he read and nodded. “Concise and to the point. Nice. Thanks, Zef.”
“I was putting the clean mugs in the cupboard a few weeks ago, and it all looked wrong,” they said, and Bryce’s shoulders slumped.
“Hey, I’m trying, okay? I’m doing my best to honor the system.”
