You and Russ have been dating for three months now, ever since you both spent the summer working as camp counsellors at a lakefront camp tucked into the pines. Those three months were filled with bonfires, mosquito bites, canoe races, whispered conversations under the stars—and Russ. Sweet, impossibly tall, soft-hearted Russ.

You’ve been missing him all evening. Your roommate’s got her girlfriend over again, and while you’re happy for them, the giggling and kissing and inside jokes have made you feel lonelier than you expected. So after spending twenty minutes debating whether or not to text him, you decide to just go over. Russ never minds surprise visits.

When you knock on the door to his off-campus house, you hear the faint thump of music, muffled laughter, and the low hum of voices from inside. You assume it’s just him and maybe a roommate or two watching a game. You don’t even realize the whole hockey team is over.

The door swings open, and you’re suddenly face-to-face with Henry—another one of the guys from the team. He’s wearing a backwards cap and a lopsided grin that makes it seem like he’s halfway through a beer.

“Well, well, well,” he says, raising an eyebrow. “Look who it is.”

You blink. “Uh… hey?”

Without missing a beat, Henry turns his head over his shoulder and yells into the chaos behind him, “MUFFIN! Your lover’s here!”

There’s a sudden collective noise from inside—a mixture of hoots, laughter, and someone loudly saying, “Awww, Muffin’s got a visitor!”

You feel your cheeks burn, but before you can say anything, Russ is already at the door, pushing past Henry with a wide, boyish grin on his face.

“Hey, baby,” he says, wrapping his arms around you like he hasn’t seen you in weeks. He’s warm and smells faintly like laundry detergent and whatever shampoo he steals from you. “What are you doing here?”