“You look cold, bro,” Everett said. “You should’ve brought your jacket.”
“N-nah, I’m fine, dude,” Seymour said, teeth chattering.
Everett rolled his eyes and took off his varsity jacket. “Here,” he said, helping him put it on. “Can’t let my best bro catch a cold.”
“Th-thanks, brah.”
They were at the park. It wasn’t a date. Why would it be a date? Who mentioned dating? They were friends and they didn’t want to be more. They were at the park, hanging out on a bench, watching the sunset together. It wasn’t gay. They weren’t gay. They were completely platonic.
“Dude, now you’re shivering,” Seymour said.
Everett shrugged. “I’m fine. I can deal. We only have this one jacket between us.”
“Well, then there’s only one way to keep us both warm.”
Everett didn’t even have the chance to reply before he felt Seymour pull him closer, embracing him.
“B-bro?”
“We gotta share our warmth, Ev. Come on, it doesn’t have to be weird.”
That was enough to convince Everett. He let his friend wrap him in as much of the jacket as possible, which admittedly wasn’t all that much of it, but Seymour’s body heat and cologne distracted Everett from the cold.
With Everett’s body safely pressed against his own, Seymour felt relaxed. Then something came over him and his lips brushed against Everett’s neck, just for a moment.
“Bro?” Everett murmured. “What’re you doing?”
“Uh, you had something on your neck.”
“Yeah, and it was your lips.”
There was a long silence.
“Well, put ’em back,” Everett said. “It was kinda nice.”
Seymour hesitated. “You sure?”
“It’s not gay if it’s not on the lips, bro.”
Of course it wasn’t. Why hadn’t Seymour thought of that?
They cuddled on the bench for almost an hour. The sun had finished setting a while ago, but the night sky was just as beautiful. Everett was just as beautiful. Seymour kept kissing him, and maybe one day they’d do this again, only with their roles swapped. Seymour couldn’t deny that he’d fantasized about Everett kissing him, his lips making their way down his neck, onto his chest, and then back up. If Everett had thought to ask him, he wouldn’t be able to deny it. It was a good thing, then, that Everett would never think to ask about it.