They were opposites.
Simon was cautious.
Liam was easy.
Simon thought before speaking.
Liam seemed to discover his opinions while saying them.
He taught fitness classes at a private gym and had the kind of natural confidence that made people forgive him for being late, loud, or occasionally foolish.
I liked Liam.
Not romantically.
At least that is what I believed.
He had been in our wedding.
He had held June when she was six weeks old.
He had helped Simon build our backyard deck and spent the entire weekend making jokes about Simon's inability to measure anything without checking three times.
Liam was family-adjacent.
Safe.
That made what happened worse.
By ten-thirty, most of us had been drinking.
Not falling-down drunk.
Loose.
Loud.
Everything seemed funnier.
Someone found an old deck of party-game cards near the bar.
Jessica shouted:
"Truth or dare!"
Everyone groaned and laughed.
Within minutes, a group of us were sitting in a loose circle pretending we were twenty-two again.
Looking back, there were several moments when the night could have turned out differently.
Jessica could have chosen another dare.
I could have picked truth.
Liam could have refused.
Simon could have taken me aside.
None of those happened.
Jessica pointed at me with her martini.
"Evanthy. Truth or dare?"
"Dare."
The answer came instantly.
People cheered.
I remember feeling a rush before I even knew what the dare was.
For once I was not June's mom.
Not Simon's wife.
Not the woman whose supervisor kept saying, "Maybe next quarter."
Everybody was looking at me.
Jessica grinned.
"I dare you to kiss the hottest guy here who isn't your husband."
The room erupted.
Someone shouted:
"Yes!"
Someone else laughed.
I looked at Simon.
He was not laughing.
His mouth tightened slightly.
"Come on," he said. "Pick another one."
That should have been enough.
A boundary does not become less valid because it ruins a joke.
But I heard his discomfort through the resentment I had been carrying.
In my mind, Simon was not saying, Please don't kiss somebody else.
I heard:
Don't embarrass me.
Don't be spontaneous.
Don't become the center of attention.
Be the safe version of yourself.
I laughed.
"Oh, relax."
His hand touched my forearm.
"Evanthy."
"It's a game."
"Let's just pick something else."
Jessica said:
"Oh, Simon. Don't be boring."
A few people laughed.
That moment matters.
Because I saw his face.
I saw that he felt singled out.
And rather than protect him, I joined the room.
"Exactly," I said. "Live a little."
Even now, writing those words makes me uncomfortable.
At the time they made me feel powerful.
My eyes moved around the room.
Someone pointed toward Liam.
Liam lifted both hands.
"Whoa."
Then he smiled.
That smile gave me permission I did not need.
"Liam," I announced.
More cheering.
Simon stood halfway out of his chair.
"Evanthy, seriously."
I turned.
"What?"