Yeah, I do.
NickKnackPaddyWhack
Okay. So do I.
I stare at those four words and feel like my entire world just shifted on its axis.
My bodyguard clears his throat. “Car’s ready whenever you are, Mr. Devine.”
But I can’t move yet. I’m sitting in this sterile private lounge, surrounded by the trappings of a life that’s supposed to be everything anyone could want, and all I can think about is that in seven days, I’m going to meet Nick. The guy who makes me want to write songs about hope instead of heartbreak.
I really hope I don’t fuck this up.
CHAPTER EIGHT
NICK
I’m supposed to be studying for my Consumer Psychology exam, but instead I’m deep in a ShareYourGlow rabbit hole, specifically the QueerWaystoFallinLove lightbeam. It’s research for understanding the human connection, I tell myself. Definitely not procrastination.
The Bobst Library is packed with students actually being productive, their faces illuminated by laptop screens full of legitimate academic content. Meanwhile, I’m reading about how some couple met because their cat kept stealing the neighbor’s underwear from the laundry line.
I scroll past stories about wrong number texts that led to marriage, people who met in hospital waiting rooms, and someone who apparently fell in love with their Uber driver during a traffic jam. Then one post catches my eye:
QueerWaystoFallinLove
Posted by u/joaquindav99 • 2 hours ago
How did you meet your partner? [Email mix-up edition]
We worked at the same large company and had nearly identical email addresses. I kept getting emails meant for him, mostly work stuff, but also emails from his mother, who couldn’t come to grips with the idea of not sending personal stuff to his work email. He got emails meant for me, including from my dickhead boss who couldn’t be bothered to get my email address correct.
Initially, we just forwarded the misdirected emails, then we started adding little comments. The comments got longer and more personal.
Everyone at work thought he was this grumpy genius, but for months, I learned who this guy really was through the emails sent to him and the comments he made when he forwarded stuff to me. And he did the same with me.
We never spoke in person. Just these email exchanges where we knew each other’s secrets but pretended we didn’t when we passed in the hallway.
Then I realized I was falling in love with someone I’d never actually had an in-person conversation with. And then something happened to change everything, and we did meet in person…
We’ve been married two years now. His mom still sends everything to my work email instead of his, but it doesn’t really matter anymore.
I read it twice. My stomach flips.
I was falling in love with someone I’d never actually had an in-person conversation with.
Cool. Great. Love that for this random stranger and his email husband. Totally not projecting my own situation onto their story at all. Not even slightly.
“You look like you’re contemplating the meaning of existence or trying to understand NFTs.”
I jump, nearly knocking my coffee over. Teddie slides onto the seat next to me, their messenger bag jangling.
“Just reading,” I say, minimizing the web page before they can see exactly what I’m reading.
“Sure. That’s why you closed that down so fast.” They pull out their laptop, then look over at me in anticipation.
“So, ready for the concert tonight? Do you want to go to Haven afterward?”
My heart rate spikes at the thought of after the concert. “I can’t go out after the concert, sorry. I’m meeting up with the guy I’ve been messaging.”
