Page 88 of Loving Lies (Granton University 3)

When a distant look entered his gaze, Jonah drew in a breath, wondering what it would feel like to lose the love of his life. Losing Sean had nearly cut him in half. But a partner, a soul mate. Tess.

They hadn’t known each other as long as he’d known Sean, but already he knew she’d become an integral part of who he was. Losing her would be like losing himself.

“How long has she been gone?” he asked quietly. He’d never discussed anything personal with his boss before, but now he felt a kinship with the man.

“Let’s see…today’s the third. So, it’ll be three years next Thursday.”

Jonah began to nod with understanding until he realized what Dale had just said. “Today’s the third? The third of May?” Spinning toward the nearby calendar hanging by the wall next to the employee time clock, he gaped at the date. “Holy shit.”

“What? What’s the third mean?”

“Nothing.” Jonah turned back to his grill and flipped the burger, which had been a breath away from burning. But, Jesus. Last year, he and Sean had been planning on how wasted they were going to get on each of their twenty-first birthdays. Sean’s had passed a month ago, and Jonah’s…hell, the last thing he cared about today was finding a bar or buying all the legal beer he could afford.

He couldn’t believe it was his birthday and he’d completely forgotten it. His parents had never made a big deal about it. Only Sean had ever remembered and bought him presents, and even then, it had been pretty low key. But without Sean around…

A fresh wave of grief filled him, making him miss his friend all over again. Sean probably would’ve gotten him some kind of corny gag gift, like he usually did. He’d gotten a box of tampons last year. But it had been the thought, the knowledge that someone remembered his one special day, that had always counted.

The rest of his afternoon mellowed from there. He still had an overdose of euphoria flowing through his veins from spending the night with Tess and having her tell him to call her before he’d left campus. But that was now tempered with a dose of reality. It was his birthday, and probably no one would ever recognize it as such again.

Still, as he finished his shift, he was looking forward to calling Tess once he reached his apartment. Being able to talk to her would make the day complete.

Before leaving work, he purchased a bag full of Dale’s cinnamon rolls. No one else might know what date it was, but at least he could celebrate by himself. He used his cane to hobble his way to his door. Then he rested his shoulder on the frame, so he could hold his bag of baked goods with one hand and dig his hand into his pocket for his house key with the other. But as soon as he slotted the key into the lock, the knob turned from the inside, and the door was flung open.

He nearly tripped in his haste to get out of the way as Aubrey came flying out to greet him with a crazy, happy smile and a huge bear hug.

“What the hell?” He caught the kid with one arm, unintentionally hugging him back by bracing them both so they didn’t spill to the floor. “What’re you doing home so early?”

“I took the evening off from rehearsal.” Aubrey grabbed his cane and bag and hooked their arms together to help him into the apartment.

“Why? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” If someone else was giving Aubrey any more grief about this damn play, he was going to have to kick some ass.

But Aubrey just grinned. “Everything’s fabulous. I just wanted to spend a couple hours with my favorite roommate on earth to help him celebrate his birthday.”

Jonah jarred to a halt. “How did you—”

“Know?” Aubrey sent him a saucy wink. “Well, someone had it written on his calendar in his bedroom.”

Mouth falling open, Jonah could only gawk. He couldn’t believe it. Someone had recognized his special day after all. Emotions overwhelmed him, and he opened his mouth to thank his new friend for his thoughtful consideration. He probably would’ve totally embarrassed himself by hugging the kid, but half a dozen voices shouted from the darkened kitchen, scaring the holy hell out of him.

“Surprise!”

Tess was the first to pop forward, racing to him and hugging him. Shocked to see her, he hugged her back, pulling her close and breathing in her hair.

Bailey was the next to spill out of the kitchen, then Logan, followed by Einstein’s friend, Paige. But the last person to fill the front room startled him the most.

“Sam?”

His counselor hurried to him to give him a hug as soon as Tess pulled away. “Happy birthday! I wasn’t sure if you wanted any, but I brought you some beer, since you’re legal now, though I think you, me, and Logan are the only ones here old enough to actually partake.”

He shook his head. “You have to be the most unorthodox counselor I’ve ever known.”

“But you love me for it.” She gave him a motherly pat on the cheek.

“Yeah, yeah. So do I.” Bailey waved her hand to get their attention. “Now can we finally eat this pizza I’ve been forced to smell and not touch for the last half hour of waiting on Abbott’s slow ass to make it home?”

“I’ve got paper plates and napkins.” Aubrey led the charge back into the kitchen. As everyone filed off, Jonah lingered behind with Tess.

She glanced up at him and bit her lip. “Is all this okay? I know you don’t know Bailey and Paige and Logan all that well, but—”

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