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My tongue feels too fat for my mouth, and panic starts to skitter up my spine. “Is that weird? Do you think maybe I’m just faking it because I’m around everyone else who isn’t straight?”

Ozzie swims closer and touches my arm. I can’t help but look up into his face. “I don’t think that’s how being queer works.”

Right, yes. I know this. Clearing my throat, I drag both hands through my hair and attempt to keep the curls from dripping all over my forehead. “It’s just…there’s this guy I know that I’ve had a crush on for a while. You don’t know him,” I try to say quickly. But that doesn’t work.

“Rune,” Ozzie and West both say at the same time.

My blush runs from my cheeks down to my goddamn toes. “Oh god, I’m obvious?”

“You’re like one of those annoying laser pointers every time he’s in the room,” Ozzie says, entirely fucking unhelpful.

I groan and tip forward, floating face down in the water until Ozzie forces me back up. He waits until I clear the water out of my ears to ask, “Are you okay about not being straight?”

I snort. “I mean, I don’t actually care if I’m bi…or whatever I am. I did kind of like being the token straight at the station, but that’s mostly for jokes.”

“Token straight?” West looks surprised. “Were you the only one?”

“Lex is married,” Ozzie says. “But I don’t know if he’s straight. Same with Teo.”

West bursts into laughter. “Yeah, Lex is definitely not. He and his wife have an open thing going. He hit on Henry before he realized who he was.”

“Oh my god, when?” Ozzie asks, slapping his hand over his mouth.

“At North’s birthday party two years ago.” She laughs, the sound trailing off into a sigh. “It was great. He was so mortified. He still can’t look at me.”

“Aww. He’s sweet,” Ozzie says.

“Anyway, back to my sexuality not-crisis,” I say, feeling a little grumpy. “It seems like a pointless crush because Rune clearly doesn’t like me⁠—”

“Bullshit,” Ozzie says. When I blink at him, he looks somewhat apologetic, but he doesn’t take it back. “He’s like that asshole in kindergarten, pulling your hair because he has a crush.”

“I don’t think it’s like that,” I protest, but the words are weak. Is it like that? I don’t know Rune well enough to tell. I’ve just been lusting and refusing to give a name to the feeling that was always sitting heavy in my stomach—and probably my balls. “I don’t know.”

Ozzie sighs. “I think you should trust me on this. He likes you.”

“Then how do I go about putting my mouth on Rune’s mouth?” I demand. If I could do that, it would solve at least one of my problems.

“You have to ask,” West chimes in.

“Yes. Consent is sexy,” Ozzie adds.

“Thank you, you fucking geniuses. I know that. But, like…” I fully plan on asking how I’m supposed to bring that up, and then the sliding door to the pool opens, and the first thing I see is wheels on a large wheelchair.

And then a messy mop of hair and a familiar face that breaks out into a huge grin. “Oh my god! Easton!”

My words go drier than the Sahara.

I’m not about to talk about all the things I want to do to Elio’s dad right in front of him, but my disappointment at being cut off fizzles at the sight of him in his little Batman swim trunks, looking a hell of a lot better than he did the last time I set eyes on him.

The smile that spreads across my face is genuine, and for a moment, thoughts of putting my mouth all over Rune’s body fade into the background.

“My favorite person!” I call, swimming to the edge of the pool. “What are you doing here?”

“Nana’s going to teach me how to swim,” he says.

As if on cue, a short woman in a very bright purple bathing suit with very long black and grey hair tied in a braid comes in. She has Rune’s face, and it makes sense, suddenly, why I always thought he was so pretty.

Before I can say anything else, Elio’s in front of me, setting the brake on his wheelchair. “If I jump, will you catch me?”