Page 89 of Advanced Chemistry

“He cooks us breakfast. He grills us dinner. Anton, we need to reciprocate,” Sebastian said.

“That’s not necessary. There is no barter system with relationships where each partner must deliver an equal amount of culinary skill,” I said.

“We gotta make this up to him,” Anton said, ignoring my point. “Chasey, we’re cooking you a nice dinner this Friday.”

“Really nice.” Sebastian raised his eyebrows.

“Cloth napkin nice,” added Anton.

Sebastian turned to him. “Do we have cloth napkins?”

“Shit. We don’t. But we’ll get those fancy paper napkins.” Anton pecked me on the lips. “A fancy paper napkin dinner. With caviar.”

“I don’t like caviar. I tried it at a faculty event once, and found it tasted like stale dirt.”

“Caviar looks gross, man,” Sebastian said. He slapped Anton’s shoulder. “Steak dinner!”

“Steak fucking dinner with fancy fucking paper napkins.” Anton ground his fist into his hand, the scenarios swirling in his eyes. “Get ready. You’re going to think you died and went to Michelin heaven.”

“I’m happy to help. This is a relationship of equals. I prefer to pull my weight,” I said.

“Nope. You can’t help. We want to do this for you. And if we have to tie you to the chair, then so be it.” A Cheshire cat smile slinked onto Anton’s lips.

While I had never met every person on the planet, I had to believe I was one of the luckiest people on earth. Or at least in the top 0.01%.

Later that night, after delicious burgers and corn on the cob, we all returned to the pool to watch the South Rock High fireworks celebration that would be lighting up the sky. The high school hosted the fireworks celebration with people gathering on blankets on the football field. That was what my friends and I had done in years past. Here we were, all with our own relationships, happier. It was a true marker of time.

For the fireworks extravaganza, Anton, Sebastian, and I squeezed onto a raft. The extra weight sunk the raft into the water, but we made it work. I was sandwiched between them, feeling secure and protected and loved.

“You ready, Chasey?” Anton asked. In seconds, his beautiful face was lit in silhouette from the wild colors of the fireworks. Flickers and flashes took over the clear night sky. I glanced at Anton, then Sebastian, their features aglow against the patriotic backdrop.

Who knew mess could bring such order to my life? It was chaos theory come to life, but it was easier to call it love.

I took his hand and Sebastian’s hand and squeezed them tight as fireworks tore through the sky. There was no other place I’d rather be.

28

SEBASTIAN

Ilooked at Anton. He looked at me.

“You ready to do this?”

“Hell yeah,” he said.

The elevator doors dinged open. We strolled down the hall of Hollis Management, armed with confidence and decked out in our nicest suits. We took a breath when we reached the corner office at the end.

Anton gingerly knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Hollis called from the other side.

My friend—my boyfriend—gave me a tight nod. This was it. Go time. No looking back. Despite his boatloads of confidence, he could still be nervous when nobody was looking.

“Hollis, good morning. How are you?” Anton flashed him his million-dollar grin.

Hollis wore a blue polo and plaid shorts, which meant he likely was leaving early to hit the golf course. Even the top dog could enjoy his summer Friday.

We shook hands. Hollis had a firm grip, which I reciprocated. My muscles weren’t just for show.

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