A week later, it became clear to Liam that Gavin hadn’t meant what he’d said.

"The Mandela Effect is just a term invented by the government to cover up the traces of time travel," were the words the tall man chose as his greeting this time.

"What...?" To say Liam was confused was an understatement. His expression reflected every ounce of his bewilderment—from his thick eyebrows drawing together in a sharp angle to his piercing blue eyes, which appeared even more hooded now, down to his full lips pressed into a thin line.

Meanwhile, the man across from him wore a completely different look. Gavin had clearly achieved exactly what he wanted, judging by the wide grin stretching across his face.

"We've got a lot of catching up to do," Gavin said dramatically, stepping forward.

Liam automatically stepped aside in the doorway, letting him in, still too caught off guard to find his words.

"No barriers, really?" At least one thing hadn't changed—Gavin still couldn't resist stopping by their LED message board.

"It's a quote from Maya Angelou. The full wording is, 'Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, scales fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.'" When it came to quotes about love, Liam could recite them from memory, even when he wasn't fully concentrating.

"Well, I can see why you didn't put the whole thing on there. The combination of 'love' and 'penetrates' might give people the wrong idea," Gavin remarked. His tone was serious, but his face was anything but. Once again, he was joking at Liam's expense.

The blond finally recovered and cleared his throat. "I'm sure you're not here to interpret quotes."

"Right." Gavin didn’t wait and strode toward Liam's office as if he owned the place.

Liam stared blankly at his retreating back for a few seconds before shaking off his surprise and quickly following after him.

"What seems to be the problem this time?" Liam asked, cutting straight to the chase as soon as he sat down.

"You told me to start choosing men too, so I did." Liam only needed to hear that sentence to know that Gavin wasn't listening to him again, but the tanned man continued, "I picked Larry, a terrible name if you ask me, and he turned out to be even worse company than Samantha and Leslie."

At this point, Liam was beginning to suspect the problem wasn’t with Gavin’s dates at all. One bad experience was a coincidence. Two was a pattern. But three? That was proof.

Instead of voicing his assumption, however, he asked, "What bothered you about him?"

"At first, nothing." Gavin surprised him with the words. "He was attractive, had good taste, and a great sense of humor."

"So what went wrong, then?" Liam didn't understand.

"I don’t even remember what we were talking about, but I made the mistake of mentioning how some people think the moon landing was faked. He was like, 'Of course, of course, that's nonsense,' and then he started explaining his own conspiracy theories. At first, I thought he was messing with me—but he was serious," Gavin explained.

"Like the Mandela effect?" Liam finally caught on.

"And that wasn’t even the worst of it," Gavin assured him.

"Can I hear another one?" Liam asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

Gavin’s brown eyes narrowed as he shot him a pointed look. "You're enjoying this."

Liam bit his lip, trying to suppress the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Of course not. I’d never dare."

His amusement was still evident enough, though, as Gavin gave him a look that clearly said he wasn't buying his bullshit. In the end, though, he decided to give Liam what he wanted after all.

"He told me that Earth is actually surrounded by a massive wall of ice. The heat it generates is what’s causing global warming. But the government doesn’t want people to panic, so they claim it’s because of carbon emissions and irresponsible human consumption,” he explained.

Liam blinked. "Why don’t we see it?" he asked automatically, before he even realized he was engaging.

The tall man answered without hesitation: "Because the Earth is flat, and at its edges are Antarctica and the Arctic, which connect directly to this ice wall. You can’t see it because it’s too far away—just like how you can’t see the whole city from your window." Noticing Liam’s stunned expression, he added, "I asked the same thing."

Liam's professionalism took a serious hit as he could only manage, "Fuck." His response immediately brought an amused smile to Gavin's face, but before he could say anything, Liam recovered and quickly added, "I wasn't prepared for that."

"No one is," Gavin said with mock solemnity. "That’s why it’s not being talked about."

At that, Liam lost it. Laughter bubbled up before he could stop it, and he clamped a hand over his mouth in a futile attempt to rein himself in.

Gavin's smile widened even more at the sight of him, clearly pleased with his reaction, even if he hadn't expected it.

"You wanna hear another one?" he offered.

Liam shook his head, still chuckling. "Not gonna lie, I kind of want to ask him out myself just to find out more."

"Does that mean you're attracted to men?" Gavin asked.

Since Gavin had shared plenty of his private life with him, Liam decided to reciprocate. "I am. I'm pan."

The tanned man nodded. "Makes sense."

Liam frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You take love too seriously. It makes sense that you can fall in love with anyone," Gavin clarified.

Liam would have liked to argue, but there was truth to it. He did fall in love easily—and just as easily found himself disappointed.

"What about you? Who can you fall in love with?"

Gavin seemed surprised by the question, probably expecting a different reaction. But Liam wasn’t about to argue something that was pointless to deny.

"You think I'm being picky," Gavin accused.

"I didn't say that," Liam assured him. "I'm honestly asking. We've talked about your dates, but not about your past experiences with love. You don't have to answer, but I was just wondering. The more I know, the better I can advise you."

"I'm as interested in love as the next guy." Gavin shrugged. "I've had relationships before—obviously, they didn't work out. I'm not looking for a soulmate, just someone I have chemistry with on all levels. It has to work in life and in bed, without that person limiting me."

Liam's eyebrows scrunched together. "Does that mean you're not willing to compromise?"

"Depends on what," Gavin replied without hesitation.

"What about long-distance relationships?" Liam offered.

"Not for me," Gavin said firmly. "Too much responsibility, too much effort, too much trust."

"And your opinion on marriage?"

"I'm not opposed to it, if that's what you're asking," Gavin said. "I figure I'll be the one who proposes—doesn't matter if it's to a man or a woman. The only rule is, I’m only getting married once. That’s it."

"That's actually the most romantic thing you've said so far," Liam noted.

"What's romantic about it?" Gavin raised an eyebrow, clearly not seeing it the same way.

"You're looking for your one and only," Liam explained.

The tanned man shrugged. "I guess." Then his expression shifted, the sternness giving way to a slow-growing smile. "But it sure as hell won't be someone who thinks the Earth is flat."

His words drew a short, relaxed laugh from Liam. "I take it that’s not something you're willing to compromise on."

"Definitely not." Gavin looked almost horrified at the notion. Watching his expression kept a smile on Liam’s lips—something he hadn’t expected to feel when meeting him.

"So, who should I pick next time?" The tall man asked before Liam could answer, shifting the conversation back to the main issue—the search for love.

"I don't know." Liam shrugged. "I won't give you any advice this time. I want to see who you choose for yourself after these three experiences."

"I can't tell if you're slacking on the job or issuing me a challenge," Gavin responded.

Liam stopped himself from rolling his eyes at the last moment. "The latter. After all, if anything goes wrong, I'll be here waiting."

"Hopefully, I won’t have to stop by, then," Gavin said.

Liam nodded, though he already had his doubts. It wouldn’t surprise him if Gavin deliberately picked someone least suited to him just so he could complain about them later. Still, he decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"In that case, I think we're done here." Liam stood and held out his hand. Gavin shook it, and their paths parted again—for at least a week. Not completely, though, as the first thing Liam said to his roommate that evening was: "You won’t believe what I heard at work today."