Sometimes, They Win

"I'm Cherry!" She burbled as she grabbed the Scotsman and pulled him into a hug, her voluminous breasts squished between them. Noah glanced over at Seb to see if he'd noticed. One pierced eyebrow arched as he watched. He'd noticed.

Seb disliked almost everyone, but when it came to attraction, he was, in his own words, "into whatever." So instead of having just one particular type of person to be jealous of, Noah had to be jealous of everyone. It was exhausting.

Following the ginger bombshell were three other equally gorgeous people. An adorable sprite of a blonde with huge blue eyes, called Chelsea, a smug brunette with sleek long hair called Allegra, and a slender, smirky guy with intense eyes and jet black hair, whose gaze flickered over Seb cooly.

"This is Kassam!" Bobby said. "Kassam meet your date, Seb."

Noah shifted uncomfortably aside as Kassam approached.

He was the only one without a date. After his last long-term relationship with a woman had deteriorated into toxicity, he'd realized he couldn't keep living with this weight on him. This lie that made his family comfortable. It wasn't fair to himself or to his partners, who he'd carefully chosen to take the control in everything, so he never really had to be present.

When he came out, everyone reacted the way he thought they would. His friends and his brother were surprised but supportive. His mum was angry and tight-lipped, pretending it didn't exist, just like the rest of his family.

Despite his newfound freedom, he could never bring himself to date anyone. To explore another man's skin, smell, or taste. He was trapped. Locked in his own hesitation. Helplessly drawn to the only person he knew he wasn't going to have.

He always felt so behind. So awkward. He wasn't cool or interesting enough for a guy like Seb.

"Yeah," Kassam said. "I'm a DJ. You own a record store, right?" Seb nodded and the man landed his intensely blue gaze on Noah. "What about you?"

"I'm a librarian."

"Huh." Kassam looked bored at that. "Not really into books."

"Noah collects vintage books," Seb said. "His collection is cool."

He swallowed past the dryness in his throat. He hadn't even known that Seb was paying attention to anything said in the group, nor paid attention to his flat when he'd been over. Did that mean something?

Kassam began talking about music and Seb lit up at that, and Noah's cautious excitement waned. Behind him, Chelsea was chattering endlessly to Lucas. Noah closed his eyes against the aural assault. Some people couldn't leave the silence alone, and it was clear that there would be none with her around. Not that she wasn't nice, she was. But Lucas was shooting horrified, help me looks at everyone, and the blonde didn't seem to even notice.

Everyone else made awkward small talk as the queue limped along. Everyone except for him, who made up for all the air Chelsea was taking up, by saying nothing at all.

Finally, they made their way to the booth. Bobby flirted with Morticia Addams in hopes of getting a discount, and like always, managed to receive one. He wasn't the most mature lad, but he had charisma to spare. Though his date looked a little put out about it.

They made their way to the entrance. A giant man with Maori tattoos stood at the front, wearing an executioner's costume with the sleeves removed. He explained the rules of the maze, gesturing with an ax that looked uncomfortably real. Noah had seen the one at the armory in the Tower of London and it looked like a replica. Except it had rusty stains along the edge. He tried to get a better look at it, but the man was waving it around as if it weighed nothing.