* * *
Eamonn returnedto campus and met Heath for a midday pint. They settled into a booth at Apothecary. Eleven-thirty wasn’t too early to startdrinking.
His finger circled the rim of his glass. “So, what the fuck is going on with you and Louisa? Are you two shaggingagain?”
Heath looked away, but his red cheeks were always a dead giveaway. Eamonn remembered the time as a first-year when he walked in on Heath wanking off on his bed. All that week, whenever he saw Heath, the guy looked like someone smashed two cherries on hischeeks.
“You two were being extra nasty to each other last night. I know it had to be shagcentral.”
Heath beamed with his goofysmile.
“We haven’t seen each other all summer. We were just catchingup.”
“Well, that’s a neweuphemism.”
“We are still broken up. Justfriends.”
There it was again.JustFriends.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Heath tried to sound adamant, God bless him. “I don’t want to get sucked into all that dramaagain.”
“Riiiight.” Eamonn had heard it all over the past two years. Just friends would turn into shagging friends, then into a relationship, then a fight, then a break-up, and finally back to just friends again. Living in a flat with them was like living with a rollercoaster.
“It’s true. Louisa is impetuous and flighty and loud. I can’t believe she brought up Nathan lastnight.”
Eamonn’s chest tightened. He hated that just his name could do that tohim.
“It’s fine,” he said. “Rafe asked about the fourth person in the flat. She had to give him ananswer.”
“She didn’t have to start talking about his bloody actingcareer.”
Eamonn had encouraged Nathan to try out for a play as a first-year. He couldn’t forget the look of pure joy on Nathan’s face when he got the lead. He reaped what hesowed.
“He’s your mate, too,” Eamonn said. “It was always the four of us. Nathan and I just couldn’t do the just friends thing like youtwo.”
Heath squirmed in his seat, which made his long torso rock back and forth like a skyscraper in anearthquake.
“What?” Eamonnasked.
“Nothing says you two can’t get back together.” Heathshrugged.
“Oh, come the fuckon.”
“What? Nathan only broke up with you because he got cast in that film. He didn’t drop out of uni. He’s just taking a semester off while theyshoot.”
“He’s not coming back. He’s going to be a movie star. Why would he come back for a stupid degree after acting opposite Helen Mirren and HughGrant?”
Heath tipped his glass at Eamonn. “Foryou.”
Eamonn rolled his eyes. “Trust me, mate. That’s nothappening.”
He got up and walked to the toilet. People had written their names and messages all over the walls. It was a mishmash of scribble and color, and for a moment, it allowed Eamonn to block out the memories. But only for a moment. Then he vividly remembered the night Nathan told the three of them together over drinks that he was leaving school to take the part. He said it so coldly, as if he were telling someone on the Tube. “Sure, I’ll miss you guys,” Nathan said matter-of-factly.
Eamonn watched him pack up his room a week later, completely calm. In his mind, he was already on set. “What about us?” Eamonn asked, his heart beating wildly in hischest.
“We should just call it quits now. No sense in dragging this out,” Nathan said while folding hisshirts.
“I’ll come visityou.”
