“It’s an educated guess,” Aiden pointed out. “Go on, then. What was mine?”
“Beauty and the Beast,” Cade said with a throwaway gesture.
“Right,” Aiden replied with a goofy grin. “But only because there’s no Little Red Riding Hood film.”
Everyone around the table booed lightheartedly as they leaned together for a kiss, obviously smitten with each other. It was their wedding, so if they were ever going to get away with that kind of public display, it was now. It made my feet itch. I looked away.
I tried to tell myself I was disgusted. That we were too young to be getting tied down. Definitely too young for two of the couples in our group to be married already.
But in the back of my mind, a tiny traitor voice whispered that the real reason I couldn’t watch was because I wanted it so badly for myself.
That was stupid talk. I was never going to get it. Who would want to be with Xavi Mendez that way? No one was ever going to look at me with those eyes. So, who gave a shit? I’d be fine fucking and sucking my way through life. I’d seen older men that hung out in gay bars. They still got plenty. I would be fine.
If I even lasted that long, anyway.
“Alright, what’s Aiden’s favorite color?”
“Too easy,” Cade said, rolling his eyes, as half the people around the table said it at the same time as him: “Red!”
“I’ve got one,” Olly said, and all eyes turned to him. “What would Aiden save first from a house fire?”
Cade looked at Aiden for a moment, appraising. “Me,” he said softly, and Aiden broke into an even wider grin and nodded.
“And you’d go grab your shelf of first edition books and see how many you could manage to carry,” Aiden replied, making Cade hang his head, cover his eyes – but also nod his head, laughing.
“Okay, this is boring,” Caleb declared. “They know all of the answers.”
“Why don’t you play, then?” the man I gathered had to be their father challenged him.
Caleb was immediately flustered, not looking at Aubrey and gesturing back at his old man. “Why don’tyou?”
There was general laughter all around, and Aiden spoke up into it. “Or why not the last married couple? Keaton, Harvey, has the shine worn off yet?”
“Never,” Olly said solemnly, and Keaton chuckled.
“Go on, ask us,” he said cheerfully. “I bet we get them all right.”
“How much do you bet?” I asked, leaning forward suddenly with interest.
“No gambling at the table, please,” an older woman – maybe Aiden’s mom – said, and I pouted, leaning back in my chair.
“What’s Keaton’s ideal date?” Brody piped up, probably trying to clear the atmosphere. I scowled at him. I didn’t need his help.
“Indie film,” Olly said, matter-of-factly.
“And Olly’s?”
“Big game on the TV and as many snacks as can possibly fit on the coffee table,” Keaton chuckled. Neither of them corrected the other, so it seemed they were right.
“What about Keaton’s least favorite thing about you?” someone said – one of the football players who had come with us on the cabin trip where Aiden and Cade had gotten together, under the avalanche; I hadn’t cared enough to learn their names at the time and I didn’t care now. David or Davey or something?
Olly blushed slightly, an unusual look on his face. “Forgetting to clean up,” he confessed.
Keaton rolled his eyes in agreement. There was a general chorus for him to answer the same, and he turned to look at Olly with a thoughtful expression. “Um,” he said. “I don’t know. My need to look after everyone?”
“No,” Olly intoned. There was a beat. Solemnly, he nodded just once, holding Keaton’s eyes. “Nothing.”
Cue sounds of disgust. This time, I joined in. That was way too much. Everyone had something shitty about themselves – something that other people hated. It was impossible to like every single little thing about someone. Especially when you lived with them and saw them every day. There was nowhere to hide.
