Red, White & Royal Blue

by Casey McQuiston

“The top list of reasons to love you goes brain, then dick, then imminent status as a revolutionary gay icon.” “You are quite literally Queen Victoria’s worst nightmare.” “And that’s why you love me.”

P.S. Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf—1927: With me it is quite stark: I miss you even more than I could have believed; and I was prepared to miss you a good deal.

“Oh my God, Z, what is that? Did you get engaged?” Zahra looks down at the ring and shrugs. “I had the weekend off.”

“I’m rooting for you, okay?” “Wait. Zahra. Oh my God. I just realized. You’re … my friend.” “No, I’m not.” “Zahra, you’re my mean friend.” “Am not.”

“Why’d you wait to use Shaan’s personal number?” “Because he’s my fiancé, asshole, but some of us understand the meaning of discretion, so you wouldn’t know about it,” she tells him

“If you want a fight, you should have seen it when I found out he had known about you two all along,” Zahra says. “Why do you think I got a rock this big?”

“Sorry,” Nora says. She sits down heavily. “I drank like nine Red Bulls to get through all of those and ate a weed gummy to level back out, so I’m flying at fasten-seat-belts right now.”