“My darling twin, by the way, is also neglecting to disclose that they run a nonprofit for LGBTQ youth, on top of the music stuff and the TV stardom,” Julie hopped in, pride evident in her voice.
“And whatmydarling twin means to say is that the nonprofit is barely surviving, and costing a ton of money, and I’ve learned I have no idea what the hell I’m doing,” London said before taking a long breath. “But sure, QueerOut is a thing. Hopefully. This will be our first summer of running a camp for queer and gender expansive youth in the woods of Tennessee, and I hope it’s not a complete disaster.”
“It won’t be,” Dahlia and Julie said together.
“I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you, London,” Khalil said. “I know your focus is on cooking skills, but how would you feel about maybe offering a session about hair cutting, orstyling tips in general? Reina was talking about how she’s going to help you out with some counseling and it made me want to help, too.”
“Yes, Khalil, oh my God, that would be amazing,” London said, eyes wide. “We still have programming gaps, like, a concerning amount really, and that’s perfect.” They dug their phone out of their pocket and started to type. “Can I have Sami reach out to you tomorrow?”
Sami was the new director of QueerOut whom London had recently hired, whom they’d snagged from her previous education nonprofit work in North Carolina. Julie said she was a real trip, and smart as hell.
“Yeah, sure,” Khalil said, sounding casual, but grinning wide.
“Khalil’s the best stylist in Nashville,” Ben told Alexei. Khalil didn’t protest. Instead, he ran his hands through Ben’s long locks, which now hung past his shoulders.
“Speaking of which,” Khalil said, “you know I love the long hair, but this situation is getting a little desperate, babe.”
“Which is why I was going to rope you into cutting it this week,” Ben answered. Because Khalil wasn’t wrong.
“I would actually love a trim, too,” Alexei said, leaning over the table toward Khalil, “if you might have another appointment open this week?”
“Aw, but I kind of like how shaggy it’s gotten.” Ben ran his hands through Alexei’s hair, just as Khalil had done to Ben. Alexei blushed again.
This whole scene felt a little unreal. Alexei, talking to Ben’s friends so naturally. So much farther out of his shell than he had been yesterday. Ben, getting to tease Alexei in front of the people he loved. Ben never wanted to leave this restaurant.
“Of course,” Khalil said. “Why don’t you both stop by the shop tomorrow after we close up, if you’re not busy. I’ll trim your shaggy-ass backcountry selves, and we can have some beers and catch up some more.”
“That’d be great.” Ben smiled. He had lived with Khalil for the messy first half of his twenties, until he’d moved in with Robbie. They were still close, but he missed it, that everyday kind of closeness they had as roommates. “We’ll be there.”
The conversation flowed as their food arrived and they all tucked in,as the dishes were cleared, water glasses refilled. Alexei even leaned lightly into Ben’s shoulder as they lingered around the table, his face rosy, Ben’s arm thrown once more over the back of his chair.
“Hey, Alexei.” London leaned their forearms on the table. “Is it true you play the piano?”
“I haven’t actually played in a while, but yeah. I accompanied my church choir for a long time.”
“I don’t know if you guys are busy with other plans after this, but Dahlia and I are just going back to our place. I have a piano there, if you’re interested in tagging along. My old roommate Eddy used to play it more than I ever did; I kind of miss hearing it. Maybe you can tell me if it needs to get tuned.”
Alexei looked at Ben.
“What do you think? Do we have to get back to your family?”
“Nah, we’re good. I’m game if you are.”
Alexei grinned. “Cool.”
Ben’s phone lit up on the table. When he saw the caller, his brows rose in surprise, his arm dropping from Alexei’s chair.
“Hey, is it okay if I take this?”
“Of course.” Alexei waved him away.
Be right back, Ben mouthed to the table as he stood, hitting the green button as he walked through the restaurant.
“Hey,” he said as he reached the sidewalk outside. “How’s it going, Ted?”
“Howdy there, Ben! Lordy, it’s good to hear ya. It’s going swell; how about yourself?”
“Good. Really good.” Ben glanced through the window of the restaurant, where he could see Alexei, still smiling, engaged in a conversation across the table with Dahlia.
