“I love you too. I think I loved you from the beginning. When I found out you were reading Flowers for Algernon. That was like bam! Cupid fucking shot me. And you know, at first, I thought coming to terms with being asexual would turn my world upside down. But I was wrong. It kind of set it the right way up.”

His eyes were a little glassy, but his smile was brilliant. “I love you too.” He cupped my face and he drew me in for a kiss. “And you knew who Daniel Keyes was. And bam! Cupid shot me too.”

“He’s such a motherfucker.”

Hennessy laughed and pulled me to the couch, where we fell into a heap of legs and arms and cuddles and kisses and two episodes of Deep Space Nine, until I fell asleep in his arms.

The Next Weekend

Hennessy

“Do I look okay?” Jordan asked. He was breathing hard, a little pale, and this was his fourth outfit change.

“You look fine.”

He grimaced and made a weird strangled sound, then disappeared back into his room. We were heading into Michael and Vee’s place for dinner. Angus was already there, having left a few hours ago.

When I’d gone into work on Monday, I’d held my phone out to Michael, showing him a selfie we’d taken the day before. “Me, that’s Jordan, and this guy…”

Michael sighed, turned, and shut my door, then sat on my desk. He took my phone and stared at the photo on the screen, a smile pulling at his lips. “We used to play around with a third person when we were in college,” he said absently, still staring at Angus. “It was a lot of fun, and the sex was always amazing, but it was only ever me and Vee. We were rock solid. We still are. Then we got engaged and we stopped inviting people in, if you know what I mean. We just didn’t think it was something married couples did, you know? It was weird. And we didn’t for a long time. Years. But then on New Year’s, we were out at a bar downtown and Vee went off to dance, and she met this guy. She said he had a smile that could light up the room and his laugh…” Michael grinned as he spoke, still holding my phone, his eyes trained on Angus. “God, his laugh. And you know, she wasn’t wrong. She never is.”

“And one thing led to another,” I prompted.

“And it led to another, and another.” He let out a long sigh and slid my phone back across the table. “It was never supposed to be permanent. But he was so much fun, and he’s great in bed, like wow, and he’s… he’s… addictive. But he’s also genuine, and he’s kind, and he’s considerate—”

“And he’s Jordan’s best friend.”