"How is it going with Oliver, then?" Marzia grins as Elio's phone buzzes again. He checks it out, the biggest smile on his phone as he reads the message.

"Who says I'm texting Oliver?"

"Oh, please," Marzia laughs. "So?"

"I don't know." Elio shrugs, smiling sheepishly. "We've just been talking a lot, you know?"

"I know." Marzia rolls her eyes, playfully kicking his foot as he checks his phone again. "Is he your boyfriend now? Officially, I mean."

"No! We're just talking."

Marzia can see the dark blush on his face - having been friends with him long enough to know what it means - when he is feeling so awkward that all he wants to do is run.

"What happened?" she asks, no longer teasing him.

"Nothing. I haven't seen him since we got back." Elio shrugs, but then he sighs. "We sort of… did more than talking, I guess…"

"Did more than talking, how?"

"We did stuff…"

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Elio. Stuff? What? You played Scrabble? You sang a song together? Just tell me what happened."

"We were just texting, and then he sent me a selfie of him in bed... " Elio tries to explain, avoiding his best friend's eyes as he remembers that night just a few days ago. They had been flirting for days, but it hadn't gone much further than some teasing and sending each other shirtless selfies. But that night the teasing had gone further, and before they knew it, they had taken a step which Elio later realized he probably wasn't ready for.

"In bed? As in…?"

"It didn't show anything," Elio chuckles - his blush darkening. "But… I don't even know how we got there, but we watched each other… do stuff."

"Oh my god," Marzia laughs. "How was it? Is his… oh… not good?" she asks when she realizes that Elio isn't laughing. "Wait, he didn't make you, did he? You wanted it too, right?"

"I did… I think." Elio shrugs.

"You think? Do you regret it?"

"Not really, but it was too soon. We hardly even know each other."

"Did you tell him that that's how you feel?" Marzia asks, a worried look on her face. "That you're not ready for all that?"

"Yeah, sort of. But I don't regret it, so… I don't know. It just feels weird, I guess. And he just sent me a text saying he wants to come visit soon."

"Are you scared he'll want to do stuff…" She teases. "... when he's here?"

"Maybe?"

"He seemed like a really nice guy. If you're not ready, just tell him. But watching someone jerk off on your phone is always weird, that's not just you. He probably feels weird too." She shrugs, trying to reassure him. "I'm sure you'll feel different once you do stuff in real life."

"I just feel like…" Elio's phone buzzes again, so he checks it - Oliver still talking about next weekend when he can come over to see him.

"Elio! Put that phone down and talk to me."

"He's been with a guy before."

"So? You're not jealous of this other guy, are you? Does he still see him?"

"I guess… They go to school together, but nothing is going on between them anymore. I'm not jealous, it's just… what if I'm not…"

"That guy?" Marzia asks. "He's not with him, right? He's with you."

Elio can't help but smile, well aware that she knows exactly why he's insecure. He has never had a boyfriend before, and this is all new to him. But she refuses to let him wallow in his insecurity, thinking too much of him to let him talk himself down.

"Just tell him how you feel."

"I will."

"No, now. I know you. When you see that face of his… that body, you won't be talking to him about your feelings. You'll be right here…," she laughs, patting the bed. "Doing more than just stuff. You still have those condoms, right?"

"I hate you so much right now."

"Love you too." Marzia winks, before kissing him on the cheek. "Now talk to him."

"But what about…"

"I'll be downstairs, hanging out with your parents."

Elio is about to stop her - definitely not ready to have this conversation with Oliver right at this second - but he watches as she walks out, flashing a reassuring smile before closing the door behind her.

He considers sending Oliver a text, but that gives him another chance to back out. So he calls him up, his heart nearly beating out of his chest the longer it takes for Oliver to pick up.

"Hey, man," Oliver finally answers, the smile shining through in his voice. "Sorry, I was just downstairs getting something to drink. What's going on?"

"Just hanging out with Marzia."

"Right… so what's really going on?" Oliver laughs. "Unless you were just calling me to say you were with Marzia."

"I wasn't."

Elio can't get the words out, because what if he hurts Oliver if he tells him that what they had done was a step too far? That he doesn't want to do it again? He knows that Marzia is right though - if he doesn't tell him now, he never will.

"What we did that night… over the phone…"

"Yeah?" Oliver sighs, the smile now gone from his voice.

"I think maybe it was too soon for that. It was fun, but I just…"

"I agree."

"You do?"

"I do," Oliver confirms. "We should get to know each other better before we do things like that. Don't get me wrong, it was great. But…"

"It was too much, too soon?" Elio suggests.

"Exactly. That's why I checked with you the next morning, because I felt like we should have waited before we did that."

Elio can feel his cheeks flush, this guy really too good to be true.

"Are we okay?"

"Of course," Oliver answers, the smile back in his voice. "Did you get my texts? I asked my parents and they are alright with me going to visit you. I've already found a B&B where you live, so I can…"

"Next weekend?" Elio smiles, the butterflies fluttering in his stomach at the thought of getting to spend more time with Oliver. "Oh, shit. I think I have to work at the shop."

"That's okay. I can hang out with you there? Or we can do it another weekend."

"Yeah, I'll just have to ask my parents."

"Awesome."

The door opens, and Marzia quietly sneaks in - a tub of ice cream and two spoons in her hands. Elio chuckles as he watches her struggle to close the door with her hands full, but he doesn't get up to help.

"Let me know what your parents say, yeah?" Oliver asks on the phone. "I can't wait to see you again."

"Yeah, me too." Elio smiles, before blurting out words he had thought of dozens of times now - words he knows he shouldn't have said as soon as they have left his mouth. "Love you."

Marzia's eyes widen in shock, nearly dropping the ice cream as she stares at Elio.

"I lo…"

"Sorry, I was talking to Marzia," Elio cuts Oliver off.

"Oh… right… of course," Oliver chuckles embarrassedly. "Tell her I said hi."

"I will."

"I'll talk to you later?"

"I can't," Elio quickly says. "I'm with Marzia."

"Right… with Marzia." Something in Oliver's voice changes, and Elio feels like he should explain what has just happened, but he is too embarrassed.

"Bye."

Before giving Oliver a chance to say another word, Elio hangs up the phone. Burying his face in his hands, too embarrassed to face Marzia.

"What the fuck was that?" Marzia asks after a silence that seems to last for hours. She sits down on the bed next to Elio, the ice cream slowly melting in her hands, but too horrified for her best friend to even think about it right now.

"I am never talking to him again. That was so…"

"Stupid!" Marzia interrupts. "Telling him that you were talking to me? Why? He knows that we're not together, right? That that would never happen."

"I told him that," Elio says, but he had heard the change in Oliver's voice, and now that he thinks of it, maybe he had just given him the wrong impression. But Oliver should know better, right? It's not like he would be jealous of Marzia. Right?

"What did he say when you said 'I love you'?"

"I think he was going to say it back? Maybe?"

Marzia drops the ice cream to free her hand so she can smack Elio on the back of the hand, rolling her eyes as her face goes red.

"What the hell is wrong with you? He was going to say 'I love you' and you stopped him?"

"I didn't even mean to say it! I don't… you know, love him. That's big."

"But you like him, yeah?"

"Of course. A lot. But I've only seen him at camp. What if I see him again and he's not as I remember him?" Elio asks, trying his best to ignore the look of frustration on Marzia's face. "I know what you're thinking, but it's different over the phone. Maybe next time we hang out he'll think I'm…"

"An idiot? Who doesn't realize that this guy is obviously in love with him?" Marzia asks. "Seriously, Elio. Just enjoy it, and if he tells you 'I love you', just say it back to him."

"Even if I don't?"

"Don't you?"

Elio opens his mouth to object, but he knows that there is no point arguing with her. So he picks up the ice cream, Marzia already holding out her spoon to take a bite.

"So… when you and Oliver did this… stuff... "

"Fuck off, Marz," Elio laughs, his cheeks a dark shade of red. "I am not going to tell you what it looks like." He quickly takes a bite to eat, hoping Marzia hasn't noticed the grin on his face, but of course she already has.

"That big, huh?"