55 pages • 1 hour read
Alexis HallBoyfriend Material
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 33-43Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 33 Summary
Oliver makes hot chocolate and encourages Luc to face his problems. Luc admits that their relationship feels genuine, a sentiment Oliver agrees with. However, Luc’s experience with Miles makes him terrified of relationships regardless of Oliver’s efforts to soothe him. Ultimately, they agree to continue their “fake” relationship for fear of changing too many things at once. They spend the night together and both call out sick the next day. Bridget spam texts him for details before yet another work crisis pulls her attention away.
Chapter 34 Summary
Oliver and Luc spend the rest of Monday together. On Tuesday, Luc struggles to secure items for the Beetle Drive’s silent auction. Rhys stops by and tells Luc that Bronwyn is grateful that he was photographed at her restaurant, helping her notoriety, and briefly summarizes a news article that detailed Luc’s effort to turn over a new leaf. Rhys suggests that Luc use social media to draw attention to people like Bronwyn, but Luc resists the idea. Rhys tells Luc about a friend’s art installation. Luc agrees to go because he is trying to be a better person, inviting Oliver along as well.
Luc gets a call from Jon asking to meet. Luc is hesitant to agree to a one-on-one dinner. Jon leaves his personal contact information, referencing his cancer as he does so.
Chapter 35 Summary
Oliver and Luc enjoy the art installation on Friday evening. As they cuddle in bed, Luc tells Oliver about his father’s request to meet up. They talk through the situation. Luc decides to arrange a meeting, believing that even if his father mistreats him, he is in a place where he can recover emotionally.
The next morning, he schedules a meeting. He then joins Oliver downstairs, where Oliver is wrapping a wholesale package of chocolate candies as an inside joke for his friend Jennifer. The two discuss Jennifer’s birthday party, and Luc insists he wants to attend. However, Luc quickly descends into anxiety as he points out that most of his friends are not heterosexual and that he doesn’t know how to interact with heterosexual people.
Chapter 36 Summary
Oliver and Luc arrive at Jennifer’s house for her themed birthday party. Despite his initial concerns, Luc gradually settles into the conversations. Repeatedly, Jennifer’s guests highlight the fact that Oliver scares off all his boyfriends. The discussion teasingly turns to marriage; Luc saves everyone from discomfort by joking about having bought a wedding dress. Bridget arrives late, tells everyone about yet another work crisis, and then cheerfully greets Luc.
Chapter 37 Summary
The party guests sit down for dinner. Luc asks for the vegetarian option alongside Oliver when it becomes clear the hosts have not put in much effort to make sure Oliver is well-fed. People question Luc about his rock star parentage. When one of the attendees teases Oliver a little too hard about his relationship track record, Oliver expresses his genuine hurt.
A corporate lawyer named Sophie challenges Luc about his job, goading him to secure her as a dung beetle sponsor. Luc surprises them all by winning her over but refuses to take her money on account of her drunkenness. He invites her to the charity event instead. Between dinner and dessert, Oliver asks Luc to follow him to the hallway, where he surprises him with a kiss. Oliver asks Luc to go home with him.
Chapter 38 Summary
Oliver and Luc arrive at Oliver’s house and become physically intimate. Although initially self-conscious about his physical appearance and reputation, Luc enjoys his evening with Oliver.
Chapter 39 Summary
On Wednesday, Luc arrives at the brewery where his father asked to meet. Jon arrives late, but Luc is pleased by how out-of-place he looks in the artisanal space. Jon briefly monologues about musical artists, beer, and the passage of time. Luc asks him a couple of prompting questions. Jon finishes his beer and leaves, making a promise to have dinner when things slow down at Luc’s work. Luc ruminates on his father’s lack of remorse and his own emotional detachment about the situation.
Chapter 40 Summary
On the day of the Beetle Drive, Luc is frantic to cover the needs of the fundraiser, such as securing a musical guest and making sure that an older earl does not wander off unaccompanied. Oliver arrives and looks dashing in a tuxedo; he helps fix Luc’s appearance, which has frayed under his chaotic efforts.
Chapter 41 Summary
Luc and Oliver network, attempting to subtly get donors to give money. Although most of the donors at the event are benign, one couple has clear disdain for Luc and Oliver’s relationship, as well as for Oliver’s profession.
When Oliver and Luc spot Dr. Fairclough talking to a particularly sensitive donor, they rush over. Oliver feigns an intense interest in ant behavior and distracts Dr. Fairclough long enough for Luc to try to smooth things over. Luc observes Oliver talking to Dr. Fairclough at a distance and feels a rush of affection before he intercedes.
Chapter 42 Summary
Luc guides Dr. Fairclough and Oliver to where dinner is being served. They eat with the rest of the staff and their spouses. They encounter Sophie and her husband, who are delighted by the event. The rest of the fundraiser goes well. Oliver and Luc return to Oliver’s home, where they sleep in late the next day.
Chapter 43 Summary
At the office the following Monday, Luc, Rhys, and Alex engage in an exchange of knock-knock jokes that devolves into philosophical debate. Dr. Fairclough compliments Luc on the fundraiser and instructs him to keep Oliver as his boyfriend, although she makes it clear that she no longer intends to fire him. Luc intends to ask Oliver to be his real boyfriend after Oliver’s parents’ anniversary party but then realizes how little he knows about the family.
On Thursday before the party, Luc tries to question Oliver about his family but finds Oliver strangely aloof and distant. Luc’s different questioning approaches are mostly unsuccessful, and he falls asleep perturbed.
Chapters 33-43 Analysis
Luc is growing as a character, though he still has a long way to go. He is trying to be a better person, which he largely attributes to Oliver. Luc is unwilling or unable to see the good parts of himself. By citing Oliver’s influence as the reason for his kindness, Luc continues to construct a mythos that he is underserving of love, affection, and respect. He doesn’t take credit for his own growth or see himself as Oliver’s equal. Luc’s common refrain about Oliver being “perfect” creates a dependency within their relationship; this must be disrupted before the two can continue forward on a more equal, happier footing. Luc’s crediting Oliver for his own behavior lays the groundwork for their rift at the novel’s climax; Luc does not yet recognize Oliver’s imperfections and therefore cannot really see the way their lives fit together.
Despite Luc’s ongoing obliviousness, the novel presents the cracks in Oliver’s “perfect” façade. These cracks become visible in two moments: at Jennifer’s party and when Luc questions Oliver about his family. Oliver’s friends highlight the way his loneliness and relationship-jumping have impacted his life. They paint a much dourer picture of his solitude than Oliver himself presents, and this is the first time it is made clear that Oliver behaves in a way that does not match his reality. This is later reinforced by his caginess when Luc asks about his family. Oliver shuts down, a preamble for his later response to his parents’ cruelties. His inability to be open reflects his unwillingness to be vulnerable, a central element in his relationships with his parents and partners.
The two social gatherings in this portion both end as successes and showcase ways that Luc has grown. At Jennifer’s party, Luc establishes himself as both charming and firmly in Oliver’s corner. It is the first social interaction in which both Luc and Oliver end their evening feeling supported and cared for, allowing them to grow closer. Luc overcomes his anxieties, the first time he does so in the novel, as his defensiveness had counteracted all previous attempts.
Luc and Oliver continue to enjoy social success at the Beetle Drive, where Luc expresses a rare moment of tenderness for his coworkers and highlights his gratitude for their hard work. The novel shows the growing intensity of Luc’s feelings for Oliver; he grows defensive over their public displays of affection and is repeatedly impressed with Oliver’s social graces—behavior that previously irked him. At the Beetle Drive, the enemies-to-lovers trope fulfills its arc; it is the first time Luc thinks about loving Oliver in a way that is emotional, mental, and physical.
Luc’s interaction with Jon highlights the ways Luc has healed from his father’s abandonment. Jon expresses no interest in his son’s life and instead ruminates on the past and his own mortality. This shows that Jon views Luc as an extension of himself and the recipient of his history, rather than a person with independent thoughts. Despite his self-centeredness, Luc gives him comfort. He shows the way he has kept track of Jon, even though he has claimed otherwise. Luc knows more about Jon than he cares to let on; in the past, he has attempted to withhold this information as part of a power struggle. In this section of the book, Luc gives up that struggle.
Luc is highly empathic and has overcome the hurt of Jon’s abandonment. He has not put the past behind him, but rather uses it to change his own outlook. He faces his father with a clearer understanding of who Jon is, seeing him as a person rather than a mythical figure. By granting Jon personhood in his own mind, Luc can contextualize his father’s flaws and remove his personal expectations from their growing connection. He comes to understand the futility of his father changing and approaches Jon for who he is—a dying man in need of some comfort.
