“I’ll butter your bread, man,” Donnelly jokes.
I let out a laugh.
“Toast, Donnelly.” Oscar grins. “You can go butter Redford’s bread.”
I roll my eyes. “Keep me out of the 9 p.m. comedy routine. It’s not worth the dollar admission.”
They laugh.
Oscar squeezes my shoulder. “That’s right. Redford is taken.”
“For life.” Donnelly smirks, and their words crash into me with some kind of power. There won’t be a single year, a single month or day or minute where Maximoff and I aren’t together. I’ll have him as a partner for as long as we’re alive, and fuck, it overwhelms me.
I wipe my eye that wells up.
Oscar smiles at me, and I smile into a soft laugh. Yeah, to be honest, I didn’t know if I would find a love like this, but I wanted that pure, unshakable thing. And of course I want that someday for my friends.
Donnelly pops a buffet lid. “Bacon.” He shuts the lid with a clink and opens more. “Eggs benedict. Muffins. Oh shit, we’ve got some fancy pancakes.”
Oscar and I are grinning, and we head to the counters. A “fancy pancake” to Donnelly apparently includes fruit and crumbled nuts.
We grab plates and silverware, not waiting for other people to arrive since this is a casual, relaxed affair. Anyone can come and go as they please. Plus, we’re all used to eating when we can in case we’re pulled away.
Radios are still attached to our waistbands. Even my earpiece is still in my ear, the volume higher than usual.
We’re vigilant and attuned to the fact that the new company is understaffed. Being off-duty for my birthday means “green temps” are on our clients. Except I drew the lucky straw, and Banks Moretti is on Maximoff’s detail right now.
It was the best birthday present Akara could’ve given me.
I pile piping hot scrambled eggs, bacon, and oatmeal on my plate. Plus, mixed fruit and a banana.
We settle at a booth: Oscar and Donnelly on one side, and across from them, I stretch my legs out on the seat. Leaning against the window, blinds shut, and I shake a Vitamin-C powdered mix into a water bottle.
I was with Maximoff at the aquatic center earlier, but I had a med call. Strep outbreak at the Cobalt Estate. Audrey and Ben are now both on antibiotics. I’ve built up a rock-solid immune system from all my rounds at the hospital, but I still like taking some precautions.
“Best bacon.” Oscar crunches into a strip.
“Nah, the biscuits are better.” Donnelly licks jelly off his thumb.
I look between them and nerves clench my muscles. Shit, this is a weird feeling. I grind the back of my molars and shake my water bottle. I don’t get nervous that often.
See, I didn’t need to think long about who I want as my best man. Who’s going to stand beside me while I marry Maximoff. It’s a simple decision. Easy even.
The problem: asking Oscar and Donnelly to be my groomsmen and telling one of them that he’s above the other for this event.
In a way, it’s outwardly admitting how much they both mean to me. I’ve never made some big dramatic deal out of our friendship. And I’m not sure how much it’ll bruise one of them knowing they’re not my best man.
I don’t want to hurt either of them.
I open my mouth.
Bang!
I sit up off the window. It sounded like hands or knees just smacked into the glass.
Oscar and Donnelly eagle-eye the window too, and I pry down a blind with my fingertip. Peering out, teenagers pound their fists on the tinted glass. They can’t really see inside, even if we can see out.
“FARROW!” they wail. “FARRROOWWW!”
I release the blind, and we return to breakfast for dinner. But the air is tense as we eat.
“It’s going to get worse, Redford,” Oscar says, eyeing the door and then me. He cuts his eggs benedict with a fork and knife. “We Are Calloway hasn’t even aired yet.”
The first episode broadcasts on the premium cable channel tonight. We’re planning to watch the docuseries here, and I hope Maximoff can make it to Superheroes & Scones before it begins.
I’ve seen most of the footage I’m in. Cleared the clips with production. But fuck, it’ll be strange to be on TV alongside the Hales, Meadows, and Cobalts.
I dig into the scrambled eggs. “I don’t mind the screaming fans.” They’ve always been a part of Maximoff’s world, and if I couldn’t handle that shit, we wouldn’t be as good as we are together.
Oscar and Donnelly share a look.
I wash my eggs down with a swig of water. “What?” I frown.
Oscar reaches for the salt and peppershaker. “Donnelly told me you were offered to be on the cover of Out Loud Magazine, and you rejected it.”
I glance at Donnelly. “Man, that wasn’t that important to share.”
He swigs orange juice. “I’m a straight boy—”