“I—I....” Loren stammered. Ash was a good friend, so the teasing wasn’t hurtful, just confusing. He sighed. “I guess I just can’t tell. It seemed pretty blunt, even for Ivan.”

They both watched Ivan’s rather blunt outline proceeding away from where they sat under one of the umbrellas outside Slice-O-Life, their favorite sandwich and ice cream shop. The big guy was often like a good-natured bull-in-a-china-shop, offering to pay for damages after a catastrophe. This time, Ivan had continued on his way, blithely unaware of Loren’s confusion.

Ash’s dimples became a grin. “I wouldn’t think his offering to help you lick up any stray runs could be misconscrewed.” She went back to furiously licking her own Double Dairy while Loren parsed the wordplay.

He sniffed in rebuke, then hurried to catch up to the planned attack on his ice cream tower. On a base of Deep Chocolate Chonk, he’d ordered a scoop of TrueNeapolitan, and the cherry, lemon and pistachio stripes were threatening to decorate his arm.

The sun picked that moment to burn away the last of the morning haze, and Ash and Loren scooted their chairs a few inches to take better advantage of the umbrella’s shade without missing a beat in their industry.

When the careful demolition was back under control, needing only a lick now and then, Loren commented. “I don’t really understand guys like Ivan. I guess he’s a friend, but we’re not close. He’s not one of the guys who picked on me back in middle school, at least.”

Ash’s turn to sniff, as if Loren had said something dubiously amusing. “Maybe he’s had a crush on you all this time.”

“Hah?” said Loren. That was so far out from expected that Loren took a moment to carefully bite off a bit of cherry Italian ice. Ivan crushing on him? Nah.

“You don’t have many guy friends,” Ash pointed out. “It’s not surprising you don’t know how to read their reactions.” She giggled abruptly. “I almost said you don’t have many boyfriends.”

“Hah,” he retaliated. “I’ve got lots of girlfriends, though,” he said. “I hang with you and your crew.”

“Yah,” she noted. Her confectionery stack had a Yellow Cream Cake base and a Perfectly Pineapple upper story. “And we treat you like just another one of the girls. It’s not romantic.”

“Pooh,” said Loren, making a face. “Do you really think Ivan likes me?” he asked suddenly.

Ashley nodded. “I think he like-likes you, if you know what I mean.”

Loren blushed and gulped. Being around boys made him nervous in an upsetting way. And being around Ivan was particularly confusing.

He really did feel most comfortable in the gaggle of Ashley’s girlfriends. Safe? Safe.

After being quiet for a moment, he said, “You’re my best friends.”

She agreed, nodding, then tried to retrieve a fleck of pineapple off her lower lip. “We really do think of you as one of us. Just another girl,” she repeated.

“We went on a few dates,” Loren mentioned in a futile defense of his dubious claim to boyhood.

Ashley rolled her eyes. “That’s when I discovered that I really am a lesbian.” She took another lick of creamy cakey goodness. “And you’re not,” she finished.