Page 57 of We Are the Stars

“But if you did…” Carsen pushes.

I shrug. “I’d maybe try it.”

“Oh, you’re a whole new kind of strange, Elliott. I like it.” Nate holds his hand out for a first bump. I oblige.

The timer goes off and the boys move around the kitchen like they’ve done it a million times before. Blake immediately goes to the oven and begins pulling our dinner out. Carsen heads to the pantry, tossing paper plates onto the granite countertops, then picks a few paper towels off the holder. Nate sets out cooling racks and refreshes our drinks.

I sit and watch, taking it all in. I don’t know if they realize it, but they have a family here, and it’s a damn fine one.

Once it’s all set out on the counter, Blake announces, “Dinner is served. Dig in!”

We load our plates up, each of the boys taking a scoop of nacho cheese sauce, and find a spot at the table.

“Okay, you’re onto something with this nacho cheese shit. This is fucking awesome,” Nate croons.

“I know. Carsen? You gonna try it?”

He eyes the cheese and his pizza warily. Finally, he picks up a slice and dips it cautiously into the sauce. He takes a small bite, and his eyes go wide. “Holy fuck. Thatisgood.”

I beam. “Told you so.”

We scarf down the pizza in no time flat, though not before fighting over who gets the last scoop of cheese.

“So, do you go to college around here?” Blake asks as we all sit around with our bellies full, too stuffed to move.

“UMass.”

“Which campus?”

“Boston.”

“No way!” He motions between himself and Nate. “Us too. I can’t believe we haven’t seen you around campus before.”

“It’s a big campus, and I like to keep to myself.”

“Would they know Jackass?”

I nod. “Probably. Everyone seems to know him.”

“Jackass?” Blake questions. “And hey, why are you home so early? I thought you were closing at the bowling alley tonight?”

Carsen raises a brow in my direction, silently asking for my permission to share the story of the evening. I shrug, letting him know it’s up to him.

“There was an…incident at work. Jackass, who is also known as Jase—does he have a last name?”

“Barnes,” I supply.

“Jase Barnes,” Carsen continues, “is Elliott’s bestie. He came strolling—wait, no, he camestumblinginto the building. He said a lot of shitty things to Elliott, who took it all in stride, and then he got a little too close to her. I reacted.”

“So you hit him?” Nate says.

“Not as much as I should have.”

The boyfriends share a worried glance. “We know Jase,” Blake affirms. “No offense, Elliott, but he’s not a very nice guy. He… Well, he’s a dick, to be frank. I watched him trip a kid then high-five his buddies when the dude’s nose started bleeding. It was awful. He was also in a fight at an end of the year party we went to.”

“Oh shit, that was him? He was in a more questionable room of the party, flipped out because his date wanted to dance, grabbed her hard enough to bruise her. I started heading that way when some other guy stepped in and it started a huge fight. We bailed soon after,” Nate adds, and then he winces. “Sorry, Elliott.”

“Don’t be sorry. It seems like I’ve lostmyJase.”

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