For the rest of the evening, the three of them shared with one another about the pizza toppings they liked the most. As the night progressed, Arlo noticed that they had consumed a lot more beer than they really should, and there were only a few slices of pizza left, especially Micah. Jenson came in a close second.

“I need some fresh air,” Arlo was slurring his words a little as he got up. He was swaying a bit, but he somehow succeeded to steady himself on his feet before making his way to the balcony. He was a little bit tipsy, but overall, he was all right. “I’ll be outside on the balcony.”

“Wait for me,” Micah called out to Arlo who was already sliding the door open.

“Me, too,” Jenson added.

Arlo noticed that Micah and Jenson seemed to rely on each other as the two men stumbled all the way out to the balcony, but they managed to do it in the end. Soon, the three of them were standing side by side out there on the balcony. It was nearly the end of winter so it wasn’t freezing, but when the wind blew, Arlo still shivered.

“The view is nice.”

Micah snorted at Arlo. “Dude! We’re only on the third floor. We can’t see no shit from here.”

Jenson giggled, and Arlo could tell that the man was a bit more intoxicated than he had assumed. “That’s hi ... hila ... fuck! That’s funny!”

Arlo snickered. “Your face is funny.”

Jenson glared at Arlo. Or he probably attempted to. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to focus the expression in Arlo’s direction. Arlo laughed at the hilarity of the situation.

“I’m so glad that the three of us are friends at least,” Micah said softly, but it was a quiet evening, and Arlo could hear every single word clearly.

“At least?” Arlo repeated.

Micah smiled at Arlo, and for some reason, he looked sad. “Yeah, man. Do you know how much I fucking like you?”

Arlo chuckled. “I fucking like you, too.”

“No!” Micah exclaimed loudly, and Arlo was taken aback when the man started to sob. Apparently, Micah was a weepy drunk. “You don’t get it. I had ... I had a huge crush on you right from the first time I la ... laid eyes on you. Your eyes are pretty, man. Your face is also pretty. Fuck! You’re fucking pretty everywhere.”

Arlo was stunned. “Micah --”

“I’m not finished yet!” Micah shouted while crying even harder. “You and Jenson are both so goddamn pretty. I like you both so much, but you will never fall for someone like me. I’m not rich. Or handsome. Or sophi ... sophiphistiquated. Just a small-town hick.”

Jenson was quiet as he abruptly plopped ass first onto the floor, and Arlo wasn’t sure if the man was still fully awake and conscious. He had no choice but to take care of Micah before he could check up on Jenson. He was more worried about Micah because the man was definitely three sheets to the wind at this point in time. Moreover, Micah appeared to be a few seconds away from toppling over and smashing his face onto the floor. Arlo hastily rushed toward Micah.

“Okay, Micah. That’s enough, man.”

Then Arlo wrapped one arm around Micah’s waist before gently dragging his friend all the way into the apartment. He was thankful that Micah wasn’t resisting. Not that Micah could do something like that anyway. He was inebriated, and Arlo could tell that the man was about to fall asleep. He knew where Micah’s bedroom was because he had visited the apartment many times before. After carefully placing Micah on the edge of the mattress and positioning the trash can right next to the bed just in case he needed to puke, Arlo slowly removed his friend’s clothes and pants, leaving the man in a pair of fitted trunks. He covered Micah with a blanket before he walked out from the bedroom. When he reached the living room, he was astonished when he saw that Jenson was sitting upright on the couch. Jenson must have somehow regained some sobriety over the last few minutes. At the very least, it was sufficient to get him up and moving on his own from the balcony to the couch in the living room.

“I’m going to sleep on the couch,” Jenson informed Arlo. “The three of us need to talk tomorrow morning.”

Arlo knew exactly what Jenson was referring to. He silently agreed because it was time. There were too many unspoken words among them, which resulted in their current situation.