Page 71 of Septembers

“Uhm hmm. It’s too shy to tell you.”

Theo put it back in its place in the drawer, where it would be with all its t-shirt friends. “You can tell me anything,” he stage-whispered. “That goes for all of you.”

Dae laughed and Theo spun around just in time to see his dimples disappearing.

“Do you think you can tear yourself away from your fabric family long enough to go to a wedding?”

Theo heaved a wistful sigh as he closed the drawer. “It’s okay. Daddy will be home soon.”

Dae shook his head in amused horror. “I implore you to never refer to yourself as Daddy ever again.”

Against his better judgement, Theo winked. “No promises.”

Promises

Theo didn’t think he’d cry, but they got him with the vows. How could two people be so earnestly in love in front of hundreds of their friends and family?

The official-head-person didn’t tell Caleb to kiss the bride, but he went for it anyway, and Avery laughed into his mouth. It was very cute. Then they all wandered across the grounds for dinner. It was called Burbingham Manor or Bubblington Palace or some such nonsense. Theo suspected Avery’s family was rich. The rehearsal dinner had been fancy, but the wedding was on a whole other level. Or, more accurately, a different tax bracket. Everything was so hoity-toity in the restaurant, or no, the dining hall: silk tablecloths, crystal vases, and a seven-course meal. The wait staff floated around near-incorporeally, as if they lost points if they were caught existing.

After dinner they were led into another cavernous room named Tripfordshire Banquet Hall, and Dae had to tell Theo and Jordan to stop laughing. A nine person band, which Theo learned was a ‘chamber orchestra’, played softly as they all milled around chatting. He didn’t want to say it was boring, but it wasn’t not boring. He stayed with Dae, making sure he wasn’t feeling pressure to small-talk his way through the crowd. Dae mostly stayed quiet, but Theo wasn’t sure if that was his anxiety, the jet lag, or the chamber orchestra putting them all to sleep.

“Thank you!” Avery’s dad got up on stage and waved at the musicians to stop playing. “That was lovely. The Front Street Orchestra was a gift to Avery and Caleb from my mother-in-law, which was very thoughtful, wasn’t it?” Everyone murmured in agreement. “But, well, she left, so why don’t we switch things up a bit?” There was an even louder, more enthusiastic murmur of agreement, and a DJ set up her gear as the orchestra packed up their instruments.

The music hit like a spell cast over the crowd, and even the people in Avery’s family who Theo had pegged as stuffy snores were up dancing. The beat drowned out everything else in existence, as it usually did, each song morphing into the next, turning him into a sweaty, laughing, happy goof.

Dae had ducked out shortly after the dancing started, and Theo gave him a respectful four songs before he hunted him down, dodging flailing elbows and narrowly avoiding a kiss from one of Caleb’s aunts before he found him at a table in a corner, using a flower stem to doodle imaginary characters on the tablecloth. His tie was askew and his hair adorably mussed, which meant he’d been fidgeting.

“You know, if you actually gave him a custom Bob Is Not Your Neighbour drawing,” Theo said, slightly panting, “I think Caleb would die of shock and happiness.”

Dae smirked up at him. “Exactly why I won’t do it. That would be a tragic end to a wedding.”

“Feeling tired?”

He shook his head as Theo sat beside him. “There are a lot of people out there who want to know everything about Korea. It’s a bit draining.”

“And here I am ruining your alone time.” He got up to leave but Dae pulled him back down.

“Not you.” His fingers gently squeezed his forearm before letting go. “Never you.”

Theo didn’t even try to hide his smug smile. They flicked the cork of a wine bottle back and forth for a while in comfortable silence as the music vibrated the air around them, but eventually, one had to join the party.

“Dance with me.”

“What? No.” Dae cut a look to the dance floor, his face a mask of horror.

“You think these people would have an issue with two guys dancing?” Caleb’s cousin and her wife were already swaying cheek-to-cheek. To ‘Material Girl’!

“Of course not. I just don’t dance.”

Theo leaned forward, attempting a sternness they both knew he didn’t possess. “I’ve seen you dance, Dae.”

Dae matched his tone. “I was drunk, Theo.”

“So let’s get you drunk.”

“No.” The word was hard, like a boulder blocking a stream. “I don’t want to make any mistakes.”

“What kind of mistakes?” He prodded his bicep with a finger, over and over. “Rob a bank? Call all your exes and tell them that you’ve only gotten more attractive? Get on a table and take your shirt off?”