“I’ll be back in January.”
It was only one semester, but Rafe was going to miss football games and Halloween parties and the first snowfall and guys in corduroy. Rafe seemed to get this, too, but there was a spark of excitement flitting in his eyes.
“I want to do this,” Rafe said.
“Is this because of Kelvin?”
“Kind of, but in a good way.”
Coop didn’t ask for details about what happened between Rafe and Kelvin after they all snuck through the stairwell. Rafe came back the next morning with a dopey grin that both grossed out and irked Coop. This was Kelvin, after all, the guy who fucked with Coop and Matty. And those moans were permanently recorded in his brain.
“Are you two a thing, or something?” Coop steeled himself for the ugly truth.
“No. That’s the best part! This whole year, I’ve been so fixated on trying to find a boyfriend because I never had one back home. I was out for all those years, and nada. But hooking up with Kelvin was fun and exciting. I had a meaningless, no-strings-attached college hookup, and I liked it. A lot! I don’t want a boyfriend right now. I want to keep having fun. Safe fun, of course.” Rafe was more animated than Coop had seen him.
“Look at me! I’m a slut!” Rafe did a leg kick.
“I’m happy for you, man.” Coop meant it. The guy needed some unpredictability in his life. “I’m going to miss you this fall, but I hope you tear it up over there.”
“Who woulda thought that by the end of this year, you would have a serious boyfriend, and I’d be proudly single as fuck?” Rafe laughed at them. He did have a point.
The crowd was in a lull as it was between performances. Soon they would be amped—to hear him.
“Hey,” Coop said to Rafe. Curiosity finally got the best of him, even if it made his stomach turn. “Whatdidhappen with you and Kelvin?”
“Making out and hand jobs, then we fell asleep. His bed is very comfortable.”
“Cool.” That wasn’t too bad.
“He’s not that great of a kisser, though. Very bitey. That’s why I didn’t want his mouth anywhere near my—”
“Got it.” Coop put a hand up.
“But he let me take that blazer I liked.”
“Good. Thanks again for taking one for the team.”
“My pleasure,” Rafe said. “I guess that makes me an R-rated gigolo.”
“PG-thirteen.”
They returned to their friends. Denise waited with them, and she had a look that told him the time was now.
“Ready, Coop? I mean, Evan Cooper,” she said.
His friends gave him a rowdy round of applause to send him off. Matty hopped off the cardboard box and wrapped him in a tight hug that made Coop wonder if he’d been hitting up the gym between classes. “Go get ‘em, String Cheese.”
Coop pecked him on the lips. Any more than that threatened to embarrass him up there. He walked with Denise up to the stage and climbed the three steps into the spotlight. Lights shined down on him. He couldn’t see the crowd, only darkness. But he heard their murmuring, their anticipation. Coop closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.
“Now, let’s hear it for our next performer. Give it up forEvan Cooooooperrrrrr!”
* * *
Aweek later, finals were done, people were packing up their dorm rooms, and Matty was on the start of a new adventure, working on a research project in the School of Public Health that would take up most of his summer. He was working out of the robotics lab for now until the assistant position started up officially next week.
Coop surprised Matty at the lab with a chocolate chip cookie and a slice of pizza. Imelda and Smitty the bartending robot hung out behind him. Coop kept an extra eye on them, just in case one of these machines did go full-tilt Terminator on them.
“I didn’t know if you were feeling sweet or savory tonight.”
