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He nodded and nearly stepped on Slider dashing through the door. The terrier sat on the couch, looking over expectantly as Coury circled the pool table. He plunked down on a cushion and Slider crawled into his lap. “Beckett’s right, you are an attention whore. And he should know.”
It had never been an issue for Coury. He’d known Beckett since they were five and it was just who he was. Coury didn’t shrink away when his best friend started up; if anything, he competed with Becks for loudest goof in the room.
Liam had always been around, always on the edge, and always left out. “Damn.”
Beckett had this idea that living with his grandfather was bad for Liam, but from what Coury could see, it was the opposite. He needed more contact with other students, for sure, but Coury could help with that.
“Here we are.” Liam’s announcement preceded his arrival with two mugs of coffee. “I didn’t know how you like yours, so I brought sugar and can get you milk if you need it.”
“Sugar is great.” The first whiff reached him and he breathed deeply. “Damn Liam, I just might have a new best friend.”
“Right,” he smiled. “Like Beckett never made you coffee.”
He shook his head. “I can’t think of a single time. And he sure as hell never helped me pass a class. Thanks.”
He set the mug down and moved over so Liam had room to sit.
“It’s not a big deal.”
Coury twisted to face Liam. “It really is a big deal. I can’t thank you enough. It really might be the difference between graduating or needing to take summer school. I so totally owe you.”
“Like I said, I love this class so it’s hardly work for me.”
“Still.” He raised his hand and pointed between the two of them. “Tomorrow night, it’s Friday Night Fun at the frat. Our monthly party. I want you to come. I promise I’ll hang with you again like we did last weekend. Unless you find someone else you’d rather talk to, in which case I’ll get lost.”
He smiled, noting the blush in Liam’s cheeks.
“I don’t know. I made my once-a-year frat party appearance last weekend.”
“Wow. Kill a man’s ego why don’t you. I thought I was good company.”
“You were great company, but didn’t you say we’d be more comfortable hanging out at Pop’s house?”
“Damn. You really listened to me.” He put his hand over his heart and tried to look touched. “That repairs my damaged ego, and then some.”
“You’re such a goof.”
“It’s part of my charm.” Beckett had said Liam would be resistant to going out. “How about this—you come to the party, and if you’re hating it, we’ll blow out and find something else to do.”
“You don’t need to do that.” Liam studied his mug.
“And you don’t need to help me pass tomorrow’s quiz. To steal a line from my oh-so-brilliant tutor, hanging out would hardly be work for me.”
Liam didn’t look up so Coury waited. His patience was rewarded and their gazes met. “You really want me to come?”
“Totally. And I mean it. If you’re not having fun, we’re gone. Or, if there’s something else you’d rather do tomorrow, let me know.”
Liam’s smile dimmed. “You don’t have to do this just because I’m helping you.”
Damn. He’d pushed too far. “If it was just that, I’d have just paid you. Seriously, I’ve known you forever. You’ve been at Harrison a year and a half and we’ve hung out twice—tonight and last Friday because Beckett was here. We’re friends, even if I kinda suck at it.”
It might not have fixed things, but he’d been honest. He did think of Liam as a friend, even if he was a shitty one in return.
“We’re friends?”
“I hope so.” He shrugged. “Think about it and let me know. No pressure.”
“Sure,” Liam blurted out. “I’m in. For tomorrow.”
“Cool.” Coury realized he was glad. “I’ll check with Luke and see if he’s staying with Nico, which is almost surely a yes because I heard that Isaiah and Darren were going to Erie to see Isaiah’s mom. So you can stay over if you don’t want to drive home. Again. No pressure. Just letting you know you’re welcome.”
Liam chewed his lip.
“Just think about it and know that the offer is open. In the meantime, I have a test tomorrow.”
“Right.” Liam smiled and cracked open Coury’s textbook. “If Glover does what Professor Jillson did last semester, this test will check if you read the intro and learned the basics. So let’s start with the eras, periods, and epochs.”
* * *
Liam
Liam waited for the Keurig to finish so he could bring Coury another cup of coffee. It was later than he’d thought, but Glover would deliberately make this first test hard to weed out those students who had no real interest in paleontology. When he took the class, he thought that was a great idea. Get rid of people who thought it would be an easy grade.
