Oz had made his own way in the world, and he’d be damned if he was going to let his parents put their stamp on his life forever. He wasn’t inclined to change his name, but he also wasn’t inclined to go by the one he’d been given.
Seth probably wouldn’t have understood, so he didn’t try to explain.
“Okay,” Seth said. “Oz it is. I like that better, anyway.”
Oz looked up again, afraid that he’d soured the conversation, but Seth didn’t seem upset. He’d obviously just been curious, and it wasn’t like he could have known how important the name thing was to Oz.
“Cool. Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me for calling you by your name,” Seth said.
If he hadn’t understood before, it sounded like he did now. Seth wasn’t nearly as much of an asshole as he seemed to think he was.
“So, uh…” Oz hesitated. He knew what he wanted to ask, but he was also aware that it might seem too clingy, or too sudden, or like he wanted this to be more than it was meant to be.
Well. He did want it to be more than it was meant to be, but he didn’t want to freak Seth out over it. It seemed a shame to meet someone he could feel a spark with and then let them get away without any kind of fight.
“I’m listening,” Seth said, his eyes closed again.
“Uh, well, I was thinking. I have an invitation to a wedding in your neck of the woods next weekend, and…”
“And you want to pre-book a booty call?” Seth asked, opening one eye.
“No!” Oz objected, although if that was all that was on offer, he’d take it. “I was thinking you might wanna come with me. Going to weddings on your own is kinda boring.”
“I see what you get out of this, but I’m not sure where the value is for me.”
“You get dinner, an open bar, sex, and I’ll even throw in making you breakfast after.”
Seth hummed. “I could go for that. Deal.”
Oz breathed a sigh of relief. He’d intended to skip the wedding because of the distance, but if it gave him the chance to see Seth again, a few hours in a plane wouldn’t kill him.
“Thanks,” Oz said, already excited about the prospect of getting to hang out with Seth some more.
“So who’s wedding is this?”
Oz had been hoping Seth would ask that. “Old girlfriend,” he responded.
Seth raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said you were gay?”
“I am,” Oz said. “So is she. We had an arrangement where we went on a lot of double dates with my boyfriend and her girlfriend.”
Seth blinked at him for a moment, his mouth hanging open a little. “Clever. Also, super cute.”
Oz laughed. “I guess it was, right up until we got busted. We did think about getting married when we finished high school, but we figured it was always a matter of time until one of us pissed off the wrong partner. It’s better this way.”
“Being disowned is better?” Seth asked, raising an eyebrow.
Oz shrugged. “It sounds more dramatic than it actually is. Happened right before college, so I was leaving anyway. But yeah, it is. Living a lie for fifty or sixty years would have sucked.”
“I guess,” Seth said. “You should’ve told me it was a gay wedding. That sounds like way more fun.”
“Ashley is pretty fun. I think you’ll like her.” Oz smiled at the thought. He was glad he’d get to see an old friend, after all.
Seth took out his phone and handed it over. “Give me your number. Expect sexts.”
That wouldn’t have surprised Oz at all. Not that he was going to mind.
