Tourist season at Lake Wallenpaupack means a break in the monotony of Alexi’s life. They’ve been secretly advertising the ice cream parlor they work at through the Foodspotting app, hoping that will bring even more customers. One such customer is Eli, a recent addition to the area with a bright and open disposition that Alexi is drawn to immediately. And since Eli is demisexual, Alexi welcomes him into their friend group of other queer twenty-somethings.<br><br>The more Alexi gets to know Eli, the more smitten they are. If only they didn’t have crippling self-esteem issues, problems at home with their dad, and enough emotional baggage to fill a freight train. They’re desperate to get out of that rut so they can have space in their heart for someone like Eli. After years of playing a passive role, making the first steps towards change might prove too much for them.

#IceCreamSundae

Sleep didn’t come easy either. Alexi pondered on why Eli’s ASMR affected them more than the others. After some fitful introspection they concluded it was because they were lonely, and unlike all those other people in the videos, Eli was actually Alexi’s friend. Someday Eli might actually hug them or grow fond enough of them to murmur intimately in their ear. Alexi wasn’t exactly starved for physical attention; Pat was usually down to give backrubs or braid their hair into awkward three-inch braids, and their dad hugged them on occasion, usually after the two of them resolved an argument. It wasn’t the same. At the end of the day, Alexi went to bed alone, woke up alone, and did the same things day after day with the same people.


Chapter 19