It had been. And when I’d left, he’d been young still.
He’d grown up.
He was just as tall as his brothers, with a slim build, but well-toned. How’d I know that? Because the guy answered the door wearing nothing but fuzzy Santa Claus-patterned pajama pants. And mismatched socks.
The family resemblance to Nico, Leo, Cesare, and Gav was unmistakable. Same strong bone structure and dark hair. Though Zeno’s was about two months overdue for a trim, starting to flop into his face. His brow was pierced over his dark brown eye. And when he spoke, I spied another piercing in his tongue.
“Come here, man,” he said, grabbing me and pulling me into a bear hug with Alara smushed between us.
“I’m sure this family reunion is sweet and all, but I’m suffocating here,” Alara grumbled.
Zeno patted my shoulder a few more times before pulling away. “Got a two-for-one hug. You’re Alara, right? We met once.”
“We did. You were buying an ungodly amount of caffeine.”
“Me? No. I don’t have any vices,” he said, waving out toward his desk with nails in chipped black paint. It was covered in old take-away coffee cups and energy drinks. At least a dozen of them.
But other than his desk, his apartment was surprisingly tidy. Nothing at all like I’d been told, repeatedly, by people. Certainly not the ‘potential biohazard’ Alara had mentioned.
Maybe he came up with a cleaning schedule.
Or hired someone.
“And who is this?” Zeno asked, dropping down to a deep squat and holding out both hands toward Tuna, who, after a suspicious sniff, walked right over to be petted.
“I’m starting to think he’s sexist,” Alara said, looking over at me. “I saved you from a life of dumpster diving and fighting rats for the last scrap of food, you ingrate.”
Tuna wasn’t listening. He was too busy licking Zeno’s hand and rolling over to beg for belly rubs.
“This is Tuna,” I said.
“He’s amazing,” Zeno said. “I wish I could get a dog.”
“Why can’t you?” I asked.
“I’m not good with the… remembering to feed myself thing. Doubt I’d be able to take good care of a dog. So, no one ventures over here just for a chat. What’s up? Got a job for me?”
Alara pulled out the flash drive.
“This cost a woman her life.”
“And gave you some bruises?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Well, let’s see if it’s password-protected or not.”
He walked over to his desk, pulling open a drawer, then removed a laptop from a pile of them.
At my scrunched brows, he shrugged. “My setup cost a mint. I don’t want to compromise it if something has a virus.”
Alara absentmindedly stacked empty coffee cups together and tossed them in a nearby trash can as Zeno turned on the laptop and waited for it to load.
“So, how long have you two been together?” he asked, making a strange, strangled sound escape Alara.
“We’re, ah—” she started, but stopped herself.
Because we weren’t nothing.
