Eris has the audacity to laugh. Zis laugh gets on my nerves, too. It’s a high-pitched cackle, which is weird considering how deep and gravelly zis voice is.
“Come on, Blake, spill,” Adrienne teases, rubbing my shoulder. “If you don’t tell us here, I’m going to ask you before class, and you’ll have uptight law students eavesdropping on your drama, instead of tipsy, supportive queers.”
I groan. “My best friends are getting married. To each other.”
“We already knew that. You told us months ago,” says Kelsey. “One of them is your ex you were with for eight years. They got together suspiciously quick, didn’t even warn you that they were getting engaged before texting it to your group chat, and then they didn’t invite you.”
Kelsey creeps me out a little. I don’t know anything about her, not even her last name. I suppose that’s on me for not being the best listener in group conversations. It all blends together until someone speaks to me directly.
I sigh, knowing that between Dream and Kelsey, they’re going to get the explanation out of me anyway, so I’ll stick to the facts; they can jump to conclusions about any too-vulnerable feelings. “Turns out they meant to invite me, but the maid of honor ‘lost’ my invite, and they just found out, and they were really apologetic and hope I still come.”
“Why not go, then?” Dream asks, like the extrovert she is. “Like yeah, you’re the ex and shit, but like, you’re queer. We do exes differently.”
“They’re all straight, though,” Adrienne reminds her. “The bride and groom might be Blake’s friend, but for everyone else at the wedding, exes don’t get invites. They’ll be an outsider amongst the people who are basically their ex-future in-laws.”
“Gross,” Eris and I say together, scowling at each other.
“I didn’t want them to be my future in-laws,” I explain. “That’s part of the awkwardness with going. They wanted a daughter-in-law who was easy to push around.”
“Are you not easy to push around?” Eris asks skeptically. “You’re a doormat.”
“Thanks, Eris.” I shake my head, hating how Eris not only sees the parts of me I don’t want to acknowledge, but announces them for everyone to hear. “But I do have a spine, and that spine didn’t fit back in the closet once I came out. So no, I’m not as easy to push around as Matt’s parents wanted. Namely, I wouldn’t be adaughter-in-law, and I never let them forget that.”
Correcting the Jacobsons when they misgendered me was easier than my own parents. Probably because I want my parents to like me, and that was a lost cause with the Jacobsons. They don’t even like Matt, and he’s their son. But they like Allie, and that says a lot about Allie’s lack of spine. God, everyone is probably walking all over her. No wonder the invites were pink. Shehatespink.
“Again, so why not go?” Dream asks. “You don’t need to make nice with his parents. You have friends to hang out with.”
I don’t, but I don’t want to admit that. “Everyone I used to be friends with is married or engaged, and I’d be the only queer personandthe only single person.” I sigh, adding in a mutter, “And I kinda hinted I was seeing someone, and they want me to bring them as a plus-one.”
“What?” Kelsey asks. “You got quiet.”
“They lied about how single they are, and now everyone expects them to show up to the wedding with a hot piece of ass,” Eris supplies.
I glare at zim, but ze only smirks.
“Oh my god,” Kelsey squeals. “This is amazing! You should totally hire an actor off Craigslist to play your fake lover, and see how far you can take it before they figure out you’re not actually together.”
The table turns to look at her with shared incredulity.
“Are you trying to get them killed?” Adrienne asks. “Blake, do not do that.”
“Wasn’t gonna,” I deadpan. “Sounds expensive.”
Eris snorts.
“Why did you lie?” Dream asks.
I chug another mimosa, hoping the conversation will shift to literally anything or anyone else. But no, they’re all enraptured by my misfortune. Even Eris, who chugs zis own mimosa while meeting my glare this time. I muffle a belch before answering, “Because I wanted them to think I was happy.”
“Can you not be happyandsingle? You’re in law school!” Adrienne scoffs. “I do not envy anyone trying to date in grad school. Thank goodness I’m already married.” She and Dream exchange a flirty look.
“Yeah, of course.” I could be happy being single, in theory. But I refuse to admit that I’m not happy in front of the only friends I have. “But I had to be happy enough so Matt could allow himself to be happy too. And that meant acting like I’d moved on, so he could move on.”
“To Allie,” Kelsey says.
I nod. I knew it was coming. Hell, Iwantedit to happen. I just didn’t expect it to happen soquick. When I was still in the picture, Matt and Allie platonically loved each other somethingfierce, and the lines between friendship and love for Matt have always been thin. Allie trusted Matt to have her back, since she so rarely had her own. It was inevitable, and I wanted them to—
“I’ll do it,” comes that less-grating-than-it-should-be voice from across the table.
