Dimitri spotted a shaved head and broad shoulders in the kitchen. Jason. He headed that way, thinking Arlo would feel safer among friends. Jason was at the tap, pouring a beer into a solo cup. He did an almost comical double take when he realized Dimitri had his arm around Arlo.
He frowned. “‘Sup, man? I thought you couldn’t make it?”
Dimitri shrugged. “Arlo said we could come, so here we are.”
Jason had the cup halfway to his lips when he paused, looking back and forth between the two of them. “Arlo said you could come? Like, he gave you permission?”
Dimitri shrugged. “I mean, he’s my boyfriend. If he doesn’t like parties, I don’t like parties.”
Jason blinked rapidly, as if attempting to process this completely new information. Dimitri didn’t blame him. They had traveled in the same circles since freshman year and Dimitri had never introduced him to a boyfriend before. Dimitri had never had a boyfriend before.
Silence stretched between them until Arlo stiffened. “Let’s just go. I knew people would be weird about me being here.”
Jason appeared to snap out of whatever stupor Dimitri had caused. “Nah, man. You’re good. You’re both good. Of course, you are. We’re not homophobes. Like, do you. Have a beer.” He looked at Arlo with wide eyes. “Do you drink beer? We have wine and jello shots!” he said excitedly before frowning, his head on a swivel as he looked around. “Somewhere.”
“I’m good,” Arlo said, sounding faintly amused.
They went to leave when Jason snagged Dimitri’s arm, tugging him around. “Wait, does Mandy know you two are a thing?”
Dimitri shook his head. “Arlo wasn’t comfortable telling anyone before tonight.”
There wasn’t anything to tell before tonight, but that was for Dimitri to know and Jason to never find out. His face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. He turned to a guy who was currently standing between the legs of a blonde perched on the kitchen counter. “Josh, watch the keg. I got something to do.” To Dimitri, he said, “Come with me.”
Dimitri looked at Arlo, who looked as suspicious as Dimitri felt, but he just shrugged. Dimitri followed behind Jason, once more weaving through groups of drunken revelers into what had once been a library when this was a normal house and not a frat house. An enormous wraparound leather couch hugged two walls, and Mandy sat on the arm, leaning over a burly football player who appeared to talk directly into her cleavage.
“Hey, Mandy,” Jason called. “Look who showed up.”
Mandy’s head snapped up, her face contorted like it irritated her that Jason had interrupted her, but then she saw Dimitri and a shark-like grin spread across her face, the guy on the couch forgotten. She rose, regal as a queen, smoothing the skirt of her green dress, hips swaying as she crossed to where they stood. Dimitri wondered if she thought that was seductive. Maybe it was to straight dudes. What did he know?
“He brought hisboyfriend,” Jason tacked on gleefully, emphasizing the word, as he pushed Arlo forward. “You remember Arlo, right? From the coffee shop.”
Mandy stopped short like Jason had dropped a dead rat at her feet, her nose wrinkling. “I’m sorry, what?”
Jason feigned confusion. “Yeah, didn’t you know he and Arlo were a thing?” he said, as if that wasn’t information he himself had learned just sixty seconds prior to this meeting. “For a while now. They’re really cute together, no?”
Dimitri wasn’t sure what he was witnessing. He’d always assumed Jason and Mandy were friends. They were always together. They had the same circle of friends. But, Dimitri did as well, so maybe none of them were really friends, just victims of circumstance and geography. Or, in Dimitri’s case, a meddling mother determined the world didn’t know of his secret psychopathy.
Mandy raked her gaze over Arlo from head to toe before dismissing him entirely to focus on Dimitri, arching one overly manicured brow. “You’re dating…him?”
Dimitri tilted his head, well aware there were people attempting to covertly film their encounter. Mandy’s crush on Dimitri was hardly a secret, but then, neither was Dimitri’s sexual orientation. “Yeah. Arlo and I have been together for a while now. Why?”
She raised her chin, her arms crossing beneath her breasts. “Because it makes no sense. Look at you”—she waved a hand—“and then look at him.”
Arlo stiffened. Dimitri’s whole body grew hot, an uncharacteristic rage rolling over him. He pulled Arlo back against him once more, cradling his body, as if he could deflect all of Mandy’s nastiness.
Dimitri dropped all pretenses, letting the mask of normalcy fall away, his voice a low growl as he said, “What did you just say?”
He could hear people murmuring throughout the crowd. He’d known she was going to throw a tantrum, but it never occurred to him she would attack Arlo because she thought he didn’t meet some arbitrary set of standards she’d decided were a thing. He wouldn’t stand there and let her humiliate him publicly, not even to secure an alibi.
Mandy’s smug demeanor cracked, some part of her clearly sensing Dimitri wasn’t who she thought he was, her voice wavering. “I’m just saying, you two hardly run in the same circles. That’s all. I didn’t knowthatwould be your type, I guess.”
Dimitri dropped his lips to the top of Arlo’s head. “That? You mean sweet, smart, sexy as fuck?”
“You forgot good in bed,” Arlo said helpfully.
Dimitri grinned. “My bad, babe. He’s fucking incredible in bed.”
Once more, her face contorted in disgust. Before Dimitri could say anything, Arlo said, “You good, sweetie? You look a little…emotionally constipated.”
