Page 37 of Fluffing the Stallion

Dario comes home as I’m packing my schoolbooks into a box. “Going somewhere?” he asks, but I don’t think he’s looking for an answer.

Grinning over my shoulder, I say, “Yuri asked me to move in with him.”

Dario whistles low. “That’s a big step. You ready for that?”

I nod. “Yeah, I am. We both are. I know it’s fast but …” I trail off, not knowing what to say. It is fast, but it feels right. I’m not going to question it when my gut is telling me to go for it.

Pulling a box from the floor, Dario starts to help me pack. “I wish you’d stay until school was over, but I get it. I should probably get my butt in gear and pack too. We only have four weeks until graduation, then I have to be out.”

It’s insane to consider I’m almost done with my college education. When I first arrived on campus, a fresh-faced, naive eighteen-year-old from a small town, I didn’t know if I was cut out for college life. I wasn’t a big partier and didn’t really talk to a lot of people to make some lifelong connections.

I proved myself wrong. It wasn’t easy, considering I had to work so hard and fill out mountains of papers to get a scholarship, but it was worth it.

While I was here, I learned a lot about myself. I figured out what I wanted to do after graduation, figured out who I am as a man, who I am as a person. I figured out what kinds of people I want to surround myself with. Had I stayed in Maine, I wouldn’t have done any of that. So regardless of the hardships I went through, it was worth it to stick it out so I could grow.

It didn’t hurt that I met Yuri either.

While we pack, Dario and I talk about the incident that happened with Trev.

“He hasn’t come back,” Dario told me. “We all figured he would, since Jake pays tons more than any other job he’ll ever get, but nope.”

I shake my head as I take some of my folded clothes from the drawer. “It’s crazy how the whole thing blew up like that. I almost feel bad for him.” Almost, but not quite.

Dario shrugs, pulling some shoes down from the shelf in my closet. “Trev has always been a dick. Even when he and Yuri were on speaking terms, he always seemed jealous of him. Bailey and Eric said it was only a matter of time before things went south and they were right.”

I turn to him, a thought occurring to me. “How long have you all been working there?” I know Yuri started there when he was twenty-one, but I don’t know about anyone else.

Looking up as if thinking, Dario says, “I started when I was twenty, Bailey was there a few years before Yuri and Trev started. He’s almost thirty, you know?”

My eyebrows shoot to my forehead. Bailey looks no older than me. His slim, lithe body and youthful looking face made me think he was a college student like me. “I didn’t.”

“Yeah, and Eric started right after Bailey, I think. So, we’ve all been there for a while. We all feel like family, with Trev being the only exception. I’m not saying I’m friends with everyone there, but I don’t dislike working with anyone now that Trev is gone.”

I nod, taking all the information in.

It takes us about two hours to get my room packed. We collapse on the bed, sweaty and tired.

Smiling sadly, Dario looks over at me. “I’m gonna miss rooming with you. Two years sure flew by.”

“Same here. You made this experience really good. I was scared you’d be a slob.”

He barks a laugh. “Me too. Being older than most college juniors makes it harder too. I thought having a twenty-year-old roommate while I’m twenty-five would be a pain in the ass. You were chill as fuck though.”

“Thanks man.” I stand, grabbing a few boxes. “Now help me take some of these to the car. I’ll come get the rest over the next few days.”

Dario grabs some boxes and a few gym bags and helps me stuff them in my car. Luckily, I won’t have to drive far to get to Yuri’s apartment. Well, my apartment now. That’ll take some getting used to.

Clapping hands with Dario, I give him a one-armed hug. “We’ll link up soon. You can come hang out with me and Yuri sometimes or me and you can chill together.”

“Sounds like a plan, Clay. Make sure you bring your ass back to help me pack my room too. It took no time at all to get yours together.”

“Too easy, man. See ya soon.”

I clamber in my car, pointing it in the direction of my apartment. I text Yuri so he can help me with boxes from the car.

Me: I’ll be there in ten. See you soon.

Yuri: I’ll be here.

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