Page 460 of Seasons of Love
“I don’t, not really. We had a…well, never mind. We met at the beach a few days ago, and he invited me. My mission is to find Jake’s friend and keep him busy, but I haven’t seen him anywhere. Hell, I don’t even know what he looks like. How about you? What are you doing out here on your own?”
I shrugged. “I’m not great with big crowds. I was hoping to find Jake to give him his present while Mal is with Frank.”
He leaned over to look through the doorway.
“He’s definitely not in the kitchen. How about we go out there together? We might actually find our men in the same place.”
He froze and then looked at me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that Jake is your…or his friend is my…anything…it was just…oh fuck, I hope I didn’t offend you.”
I laughed. “You didn’t offend me at all. By the way, how's baby Griffin and his sleep-deprived parents?”
“You’re right. Very sleep-deprived, but Griffin is the cutest baby ever. I’m actually sad. I have a job on the mainland and will be away for a few months. He’s growing so fast, and I don’t want to miss out on anything.”
“That’s why God invented video calls,” I said. “Congrats on the job. Anything exciting?”
Sam walked into the kitchen, and I followed him.
“Some. I’m photographing rich people’s houses for a magazine, but since I’ll be in San Francisco, a friend hooked me up to photograph his friends in drag. He’s doing a super-cool project on toxic masculinity, stereotypes, and gay culture.”
“Wow, that sounds really interesting. I hope we’ll get to see those photos somewhere,” I said.
“Let’s see if I do a good enough job first. Oh, I see Jake’s friend over there.”
I looked at the spot Sam pointed out and saw Gabe with a guy. They were sitting on a round couch that had a fire pit in the middle. That must be Zak.
Jake had said they’d been best friends and fuck buddies throughout college, but looking at Zak now, I couldn’t help feeling a little insecure. He was all sharp jaw, smooth skin, wide-set eyes, and perfect teeth.
He wasn’t just beautiful. They had a shared history, a long-term relationship, and that meant more than something fleeting.
What we had wasn’t fleeting, was it?
I tried to shake the thoughts off. Jake had told me he loved me, Mal had as well, and he’d been clear from the start that there was nothing between him and his friend.
“He’s stunning, right?” Sam said. “I don’t know how Jake expects me to grab his attention when he’s clearly interested in the equally gorgeous guy next to him.”
“Who? Gabe?”
We walked past a station with drinks, so I grabbed a glass of chilled white wine.
“You know who he is? I was hoping to see Jake first. I’ve seen the blond guy with Jake before at a bar.”
“That’s his cousin, Gabe. He’s a sweetheart,” I said. “That means the other guy must be Jake’s friend, Zak.”
“Ahh, that’s his name. Very sexy.”
I laughed.
“What?” Sam asked.
“Look at us like two teenagers trying to figure out the hot kids. Come on, let’s go say hi.”
The sun was getting lower in the sky, and with the lights turning on, the backyard looked cozy and a lot more like what I’d expected from this party.
I was glad that more people seemed to gather inside than outside. I’d heard someone mention a game on TV when we passed through the kitchen, so that could be the reason.
Gabe and Zak seemed lost in their conversation, but when we approached, they moved away from each other.
“Hi, Griff, how are you?” Gabe asked, standing up to give me a hug.
