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Luke nodded. Harrison had some of that. “So you’re one of the have-nots, like me.”
“I guess. I mean, my family is well off, but nothing close to qualifying for the unwritten rules.”
“Sorry. Again.”
“Yeah, me too. Mostly because I should have said fuck it and pushed back. Like Isaiah did.”
“Your roommate? What’d he do?”
A smile softened Nico’s face. “He fought back. Harrison was going to give the Gage Scholar award to Darren Gage, whose great-something-grandfather founded the school and the program. Isaiah filed a grievance and it was granted.”
“Did he get the scholarship?”
“He got something, alright.” Nico laughed.
Luke liked amused Nico more than the angsty version. “You’re totally gonna need to explain that.”
Nico gave Luke a wonderfully detailed retelling of Isaiah’s story. Which turned out to be quite the romance. “. . . they’re so sweetly in love I might get diabetes just from sharing their story with you.”
“Might get it from hearing it, too.”
Nico glanced at Luke, those brown eyes skating over his face, and Luke squirmed. Did Nico hear the jealousy in his voice? Could he see how hurt he still was over Kent? Could he see how much Luke wanted to rewind the last six months and do things differently? Figure out where he went wrong?
Luke rubbed his nape, and Nico’s smile dissipated. “I love their story, but it makes me wish I’d made better decisions. I’m working on not making that mistake again.”
“Amen!” Luke pumped up his hands, startling Nico into a laugh.
“Oh, lord help me.” Nico snapped a hand over his heart. “What about you? No coming out horror stories?”
“Iowa isn’t the worst place for gay rights. I mean, we were one of the first to approve gay marriage, but I didn’t have confidence it would go well. Especially with my teammates.”
“Yep.” Nico pointed to himself. “Living proof that teammates can suck. So when did you come out?”
“Told my parents after I graduated, Coury first day on campus—he was my roommate—and the team just before spring training started.”
“How’d that go?”
“Better than I expected. We had workouts all fall semester, and Coury and I both figured Dustin, the team captain, wouldn’t freak out, so I told him. As we expected, he was cool about it. He even helped me come out to the rest of the team.”
“He told them?”
Luke snorted. “No, that’s a chickenshit way to do it. At our first team meeting, he had everyone tell the others something personal. Mine was to tell them I was gay.”
“Holy Mary, Mother of God! I’d have passed out if I had to do that.”
“Yeah, I almost puked waiting for my turn.” Two years later, it still made him sweat. “Then I blurted out, ‘I’m gay’ when they got to me. Dustin asked if anyone had a problem with it. No one said anything. Having his support really made a difference.”
“Dustin sounds like a great guy.”
“He is.” Luke’s phone vibrated and he pulled it out. “Coury must be giving me an update.”
“Seriously, we can listen to the game it you like.”
“Maybe, let me see if it’s still—” Oh. Not from Coury.
“Still what?” Nico looked over. “I take it that’s not about the game.”
“Um . . . no. Facebook update from my ex.”
“Ah.”
“Yeah.” He should have put the phone away, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking. Pictures of the happy couple on the new boyfriend’s yacht. Blowing off steam before I have to knuckle down and work this summer. Thank you, Sebastian, for an amazing time.
Right. Amazing. Not boring, like Luke.
“You should block him and be done with it.”
“Huh?” Should he?
“Been there, done that. It never ends well.” Nico shook his head. “Like I said, block him.”
“But we’re still friends.” They were. “And we have to work together this summer.”
They did.
“Honey, he sounds like a player. They’re never worth the time.”
Luke frowned at Nico. “You don’t even know him.”
“You’re right.” Nico kept his gaze on the road. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
Neither should Luke have been so sharp. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bark at you.”
“It’s okay. I was out of line.”
Staring at the photos, maybe he was the one who didn’t know Kent. “No, you weren’t. It’s still a bit raw.”
And it touched a bit too close to home. Kent had called him boring once, during an argument. Said he wanted more excitement in their relationship.
He clicked off the phone, stuffed it in his bag, and fell back against the seat. “Not gonna look anymore. If you see me checking out his timeline, smack me and take my phone.”
“Oh my, the things you say.”
“I’m serious. He’s moved on, and I should too.” He sucked in a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “How about we listen to the end of the game?”
Nico
Whoever thought to build rest stops on the Pennsylvania Turnpike deserved a fucking medal. Or at least a good blow job. Not that Nico would volunteer to make payment.
