“Hey, hey. It’s okay. It’s okay.” Greg cradled Ethan’s face in his hands. His thumbs wiped away the tears. Ethan had never felt safer.
Preston whined in agony. “I’m going to sue you, you assholes!”
“Shut the fuck up, man, or we’ll do it all over again!”
That was Sahil, watching guard over Preston. He nodded at Ethan in solidarity, before glancing away, letting them have this private moment.
Ethan held his hands over Greg’s. He wanted to feel them. He needed to. He needed to believe this moment was real. Greg massaged his hands, a simple, tender gesture that Ethan realized he was doing without worry in front of his frat brother. Greg kissed his hand.
“Stay with me, Folly.”
“I will.”
Φ
The ambulance and police came a few minutes later. Preston pressed charges against Greg and Sahil for beating the shit out of him, while Ethan pressed charges against Preston for attacking him. Greg had that worry-free smirk on his face.
“He messed with the wrong Con Law students,” he said.
Ethan had a mild concussion. They gave him some Tylenol and a washcloth to wrap around his head.
“Will I have permanent brain damage?” Ethan asked the paramedic as his hopes for a Supreme Court nomination potentially vanished.
“No. You should be fine. I suggest somebody stay with you for the next twenty-four hours to make sure the symptoms don’t worsen.”
“I’ll do it.” Greg stepped forward without a hint of hesitation. His brave smile couldn’t hide the worry lines creasing his forehead.
The paramedics did a few more checks on him. Greg was at his side the whole time, finding ways to touch him. Stroking his hand and his cheek and his thigh. Unlike Preston, these gestures were simple and sweet and came without a “I want to bone you” sinister undercurrent.
“How did you know I was here?” Ethan asked him.
“I saw you in your section, cheering and going nuts. Who knew Folly had so much school spirit? When I saw you talking to that guy during halftime, I won’t lie. A part of me was a little jealous.”
“More than a little jealous,” Sahil said. “The guy stared at the field like he wanted to tear it apart with his bare hands.”
“I couldn’t concentrate on the game. I hadn’t seen you in weeks, and then I see you with that asshole. Once the game started back up, I didn’t see you in your section. I tried to let it go, but I couldn’t. I had to talk to you, so we went back to the concession stand, but you were gone. Then Sahil heard you scream, and I raced over, and…”
Greg clenched his jaw shut. The memory burned him as much as it did Ethan.
“He wanted to be like us,” Ethan said.
“Too bad. There’s only one us, and it’s us.”
They both realized what they’d just said, and an awkward moment passed between them. Ethan then noticed Sahil was still there.
“Wait. Sahil…you know…” Ethan didn’t know how to put it into words.
“I used my powers of deduction.” Sahil elbowed Greg in the ribs. “Once you guys stopped seeing each other, Greg changed. He got angry and moody and became a total buzzkill.”
“That’s an exaggeration,” Greg chimed in.
“Barely. Anyway, we were having fun at the tailgate. Then Greg saw you at the game and talking to that guy, and he entered buzzkill-mode again. He had this pissed-off, gonna-cut-somebody grimace on. Yes, grimace,” he added before Greg could cut him off again. Ethan liked watching Greg be the brunt of someone else’s jokes for a change. “I told him that if he liked you, he needed to win you back. And finally he grew a pair and did something about it.”
Greg nodded, confirming the whole story. Today was full of surprises for Ethan.
“So you’re cool with Greg…”
Greg held up a hand to stop him. “Sahil, Senor Douchebag.” Greg laughed, but then got serious as he forced himself to pull out the words. “I’m gay.”
