Time passed on like that party never happened.
The next morning, Banks was fine again and thwarted any questions about what the thing was that he wanted to tell me before Sam interrupted. I didn't want to press him, even though it was killing me to not know, so it was dropped.
Thanksgiving break was coming up quickly and before we all went our separate ways for the holiday, our house decided to host a Friendsgiving potluck.
Kenji invited Bridgette, his taco date who was almost his girlfriend but not quite, and Ollie invited Morgan but was too afraid to ask only her, so he invited all of her roommates too.
Banks brought Jordan, who came as Tess dressed in what she called quick drag. From studying up on a couple of seasons of Rupaul's Drag Race and from the obvious name of it, I knew that meant a drag look that was conjured up on the fly rather than taking hours like it usually did.
Her makeup was simple with hardly any contouring, her natural eyebrows were penciled instead of glued like they usually were. It all looked a lot more natural and it was easier to see Jordan's features under the makeup rather than the Tess face I was used to when Banks took me to a couple of her drag shows. She wore a short blond wig and a sweater dress.
Only when we sat down to eat, all crammed around the giant table we created in our dining room using our dining table, the old folding table, and the beer pong table, did I realize that I was the only single one of my roommates. Banks and Tess, Walker and Beth, Ollie and Morgan, Kenji and Bridget.
I didn't think it would sting so bad when I realized that, as if I was suddenly becoming aware of how single I was these days. I'd been single for a while, but without Sam there to fill in some of those gaps, it was easier to recognize.
Thankfully, with the other neighbors there, I wasn't the only single person around the table. Tory had a girlfriend who couldn't make it, Abigail and Cara came alone.
"Let's go around and say what we're thankful for," Beth suggested as we all started piling food on our plates, passing around dishes to make sure everybody got a bit of anything they couldn't reach on their own.
"I'm thankful that Albwin and his army won the War Of Furohr in our last LARPing session," Walker started off with a mouthful of the turkey cooked by me and Kenji.
Beth shot him a narrow look before saying, "Well, I was going to say that I'm thankful for my lovely boyfriend but instead, I'll say that I'm thankful for the 94 I got on my astrophysics exam last week."
Walker gave his girlfriend an apologetic kiss on the cheek and all was right in their world again.
"Well, I'm thankful for the new season of Aoashi," Kenji said and then turned toward Bridget for her to say hers.
"This corn casserole," she said after swallowing a bite. "Whoever made it, I am so thankful."
"I guess I'm thankful that I make a really good corn casserole then," Tory said from beside her.
Tess said that she was thankful for having the confidence to show up in drag and to be able to perform at Quake.
Banks, sitting to my right, finished a bite of stuffing and then took a swig of beer before saying, "I'm thankful that you all welcomed me into your group this year. I thought I'd just be Ollie's cousin coming into it, but you've all become really good friends in a way I don't think I've ever had before."
The weight of his thanks made the table go silent for a moment.
"That is how you give thanks," Beth finally said. "Y'all need to be more in touch with your emotions. Liam, what about you?"
YOU ARE READING
I'm Your Wreck
RomanceLiam Howard was a wreck. He had been for two years, ever since a knee injury ruined his soccer career, ruined his dreams, and made him a laughing stock of the community with a viral video of his worst moment. Now, he was still struggling to figure o...
