Somebody knocked on his bathroom stall door. It took Ethan’s brain a few seconds to process this and what to do next. Um, obviously he was busy.
“Ethan, are you okay?”
He banged his head on the toilet paper dispenser. Of course, Preston had to be the person who found him in this position.This weekend just can’t get any better.
“I’m fine.” His voice sounded creaky and filled with cobwebs.
“You don’t sound fine. Can I come in?”
Ethan couldn’t believe Preston wanted to see him in all his upchuck glory. Yet when he opened the stall door, there he was, waiting with a glass of water in hand. It made Ethan forget that he was nauseous for a few seconds. The water splashed down his throat and gave his insides a well-needed shower.
“Thank you.”
Preston smiled at him. Those green eyes sparkled in the fluorescent lighting. Any lighting worked for Preston.
“Someone had fun last night.”
“I wish.” Ethan sipped at the water. He figured big gulps would come right back up. “How was Dave’s show? I’m sorry I missed it.”
“It was good. Dave had a rap solo for one song. Who knew the whitest guy at Browerton could rap?”
Ethan wished he could’ve seen it. He’d enjoyed a capella shows in the past, and he probably would’ve loved this one. Maybe his friends weren’t so lame, like Lorna and Greg kept telling him.
“How was Jessica?” Ethan asked. His stomach turned thinking about their fight last night.
Preston bobbed his head back and forth—trying to find a diplomatic way of telling Ethan she hated his guts, probably.
“I just don’t get why she’s so uptight about drinking. This is college. Everybody does it. It’s fun!” Ethan glanced at the toilet. “Sometimes too much.”
Preston got quiet for a moment, and Ethan could tell he’d better listen closely to what came out next.
“Her dad’s an alcoholic. Been in and out of rehab twice.”
Ethan shuttered his eyes. Pieces of Jessica clicked together.
“Guess where he got turned onto the sauce.”
“College.” Ethan didn’t need to guess on that one.
“Yeah, she’s pretty sensitive about it. She doesn’t want to see us go down that path.” Preston squatted down to Ethan’s level, and his clean scent filled the space between them.
“I’m not an alcoholic. I just do it to be social.” Does getting drunk with one other person in her room count as being social? Ethan could see how that was a slippery slope. A pang of sympathy blazed in his chest. If he’d known how much drinking affected Jessica, he wouldn’t have gotten trashed in her room, right under her nose. That wasn’t just disrespectful. It was downright cruel.
“I didn’t know!” Ethan said.
“Dave and I are the only ones she told. I figured you should know, that it’ll help explain things. Please keep this between us.”
Ethan lay his head on the toilet seat, which he knew was filled with germs, but he felt even grimier. There were valuable moments from last night: dancing with Lorna, taking shots with Sahil, giggling and talking and bonding and letting the night take hold of him. He didn’t want to cut out that life completely.
His nerves sprung awake, and he lifted his head. A damp towel massaged his neck. The cool beads of water soothed his skin. He craned his neck and saw Preston behind him.
“Thought this might help,” he said. “Well, until you throw up again.”
Ethan’s stomach turned, but in a good way this time. He and Preston had never touched, not like this. His neck had never felt so warm.
“Thanks. Why are you up so early?”
“I couldn’t sleep.” Preston stopped rubbing the towel. “Blake and I broke up last night.”
