Page 82 of Advanced Chemistry

“How’s the business going?” Mom asked.

“We’re on the verge of landing our biggest client yet,” I said, choosing to be optimistic about Hollis, even though we were pretty much dead in the water. He hadn’t canceled the placeholder meeting we put on his calendar yet, which was a tiny sign of life.

“Congratulations!” Dad raised his burger flipper in the air, reminding me of Chase and his pancake spatula. It was for the best that we leave things behind now, before anyone got seriously hurt (Me. All me.)

The doorbell rang, which saved me from further questions about business. I dropped my corn and raced to the front door.

My guys.

Any feelings I’d tried to push down about Chase and Sebastian came hurtling to the front of my mind. My heart did an Olympic-style flip.

“Is it okay that we stopped by? I know you guys have your family dinner,” Sebastian said.

“Sebastian!” Dad made a touchdown shape with his arms.

“Good to see you.” Sebastian was a class act who shook Dad’s hand and kissed Mom on the cheek. He could talk with Dad about numbers, and engage with Mom about a book he’d just read. Sometimes, I wondered if my parents loved him more than me. I wouldn’t blame them. Seb’s the best.

“Mom, Dad. This is our friend Chase.” Something got caught in my throat. Maybe it was calling him my friend. Chase winced slightly at the label.

“Come join us! We’ve got plenty of food,” Mom said.

Sebastian and Chase’s eyes darted to me, a weight between us.

“Stay for dinner,” I said.

We all sat down at our outdoor patio table. What should’ve been an awkward meal turned into something nice, where the conversation was flowing. Like everything else with Chase and Seb, it was magic. Did this count as my boyfriends meeting the parents? Although, they weren’t technically my boyfriends, were they? We left things in a weird, gray area. A gray area filled with hot sex, but a gray area nonetheless.

My phone buzzed with a text in the middle of Chase regaling my parents about an article he’d read about nuclear power.

Sebastian: Can we talk somewhere private?

I glanced across the table at Seb, the crinkle of his forehead underlining his ask. He and Chase hadn’t come here for grub. I became paralyzed, afraid to leave the table, grateful for the first time ever that Mom and Dad told long, involved stories.

“It’s a nice night out. You should take a dip in the pool,” Mom said to us after we cleared our plates and hit that post-meal lull.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t bring our bathing suits,” Chase said.

“You can borrow Anton’s,” she said.

All eyes went on me. I cleared my throat. “Yeah. I’ve got plenty. I’ll, uh, take you back to my room.”

Usually, I would be excited to bring two boys back to my room. This time, nerves bounced around like my stomach was a blow-up house.

I clicked the bedroom door shut behind us. My parents kept my room intact and neater than I ever did. I pulled open the bottom drawer of my dresser and tossed each of them a swimsuit.

Sebastian and I had borrowed each other’s clothes for years. My bathing suit was a little baggy on Chase, which was its own kind of adorable. I turned away from them to change.

“Anton?” Sebastian cocked his head at me.

I busied myself with tying my bathing suit. My jaw tensed.

“Why so serious?” I turned around and whipped on my sunglasses as if I was about to say a snarky catchphrase in a summer blockbuster.

“Because I’m in love with you,” Chase said. “We both are.”

And there it was. The L word. The big, fat, serious, L word. The word that changed everything. But hearing it also made my heart beat with fresh verve.

How could a word bring both fear and exhilaration?

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