“Good choice.”
“Is my makeup sweating off my face?” Fabian asked. “It’s probably a mess, right?”
Marcus shook his head. “You look flawless as always. Stop fishing.”
“You do look good,” Ryan confirmed. He was wearing that adorable shy smile that Fabian loved. Fabian was glad he was wearing makeup because he was sure he was blushing.
“You guys are so fucking cute,” Vanessa said. “Oh! Here’s the birthday boy!”
Tarek strolled over, and even from a distance Fabian could tell that he was quite tipsy. His tight T-shirt was bunched up under his ribs, exposing his stomach, his hair looked like it had been thoroughly disheveled by someone, and Fabian tried to remember if Tarek had been wearing his glasses earlier. He hoped not because they were gone now.
“Heyyyyy,” Tarek drawled when he reached them. He slumped over the back of Marcus’s chair, letting his arms fall around his shoulders. “Being thirty is awesome.”
“Hell yeah it is,” Vanessa said.
“Oh hey, it’s that guy,” Tarek said, nodding toward Ryan. “Are you guys together now?”
Fabian made a face that tried to silently sayShut the fuck up you sloppy idiot, but it didn’t seem to work because Tarek just kept talking.
“I’m so happy for you guys. Fabian is, like, obsessed with you. What’s your name again?”
“Uh, Ryan.”
“Ryan. Right. Good for you, man.”
Oh god. This was a disaster. Fabian leaned toward Ryan. “I’m so sorry about him.”
Ryan waved it away. “It’s fine. He’s drunk.” He covered his mouth with the back of his hand and yawned. “It must be late,” he said, blinking.
“Mm.”
“I could, um, walk you home. If you’re leaving soon?”
“Youcould,” Fabian agreed. “Or...”
Ryan leaned closer. “Or?”
“Icould walkyouhome. I believe your place is closer, isn’t it?” He kept his gaze locked with Ryan’s, making sure he understood him.
“Yeah,” Ryan said. “It is. Let’s go.”
They both stood, and Vanessa of course had something to say about it. “Are you leaving? Both of you? Together?”
Fabian narrowed his eyes at her. “Yes. Very good.”
Marcus joined in. “Wait. You’re both leaving at the same time? That’s weird.”
“I swear to fucking god, Marcus...”
Fabian expected a comment from Tarek, but he had wandered over to a shirtless man with a giant back tattoo. The man seemed to have his full attention.
Fabian hugged his terrible friends goodbye, then left the club as quickly as possible. After they had retrieved their jackets from the coat check, Ryan and Fabian stood together on the sidewalk. Fabian wasn’t sure about Ryan, but he was suddenly overwhelmed by what they seemingly had planned.
“Where was the party you were at?” he asked, wanting to relieve some of the tension.
“Kleinburg.”
“Shit. That’s far. And rich.”
