Page 84 of A is for Aftercare

“I’m wondering what Blake’s told you,” Calvin says.

I frown at them both. “Am I missing something?”

My friends glance at each other, a softness to their gazes that I’d swear has never been there before.

“The three of us hooked up,” Calvin says.

“And we’re still seeing each other,” Gabe chips in, smiling happily.

“I didn’t realise.” I clear my throat. “You should have brought Blake.”

“Photo shoot,” Calvin and Archie say simultaneously.

“He’s working,” Archie adds as his cheeks go red.

“And here’s the fourth musketeer,” Gabe says, nodding to the door.

Spencer smiles and heads to the bar. He's fairly similar to Gabe in height but slimmer in build. He has a short beard and moustache, and as usual, his mid-brown hair is gelled back. Unlike Calvin and Gabe, who have turned up in T-shirts and jeans, Spencer is wearing a shirt and chinos. Archie would describe Spencer’s attire as ‘smasual’, which is still a fucking stupid word.

Once Spencer has a drink, he joins us at the table. His eyes widen as he looks at Archie. “Wow. You and Corey are identical.”

“Except the glasses,” Archie says. “You’re Corey’s doctor?”

I stutter over how surreal this moment is. “Hold on. We’reallseeing a triplet each?”

“We’re sharing,” Calvin says.

“Apparently so,” Spencer says, sitting beside me. “It’s a funny old world, isn’t it?”

“I’d say we all have excellent taste,” Calvin says, winking at Archie.

Archie blushes even more fiercely and dips his chin. I can’t decide if this is a good turn of events or if it makes things more awkward for Archie.

“If I’d known, I’d have invited your brothers,” I say, wondering why Archie hadn’t told me. Then again, I didn’t tell himwhichfriends he would be meeting. I make a mental note to make sure we never have a communication blip like this again.

"I don't think it would have mattered," Archie says. "As I said, Blake's working, and Corey has Lexi to think about." He drinks a sizeable gulp of his rum and Coke.

“It’s nice to meet you, Archie,” Spencer says, leaning around me to shake Archie’s hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“You have?” Archie raises his eyebrows. “If any of it’s bad, Corey is lying.”

Everyone laughs, which seems to lighten the mood a little.

"All good," Spencer assures him. "You're close?"

“We are,” Archie says, sitting more upright. “We’vealwaysgot each other’s backs.” He glares at each of my friends in turn.

Calvin laughs. “Okay, that’s a polite way of telling us you’ll come for us if we hurt your brothers, right?”

“Basically, yes.”

“We wouldn’t,” Gabe says. “We adore your brother.”

“Good to know,” Archie says. Then in a more jovial tone, he says, “How did you all meet?”

"At a local munch," Spencer says. "Hamish was on the lookout for new people to invite to his parties."

“We’d already met,” Calvin says, waving between him and me. “I took the rather spectacular photo that graces the back cover of all his books.”