“Hey!” Rafe came up behind them. “This line is takingforever.”
“Don’t blame us!” Eamonnsaid.
“You know, this whole term, you two have insisted that you go up to get the first round. Each and every time. You forget that your Token Yank used to be gainfully employed at Apothecary and is friends with all the staff.” Rafe raised his hand and waved at the bartender. The bartender smiled and waved them forward. “Which means we didn’t have to wait in this bloodyline.”
Rafe cut between kids and marched up to the bar. Eamonn and Heath looked at each other stunned. Rafe shook his head andlaughed.
“You stupid cunts,” hesaid.
They spent the rest of the night drinking and regaling each other with stories and memories. One story led into another into another, and the fuzzy static of nonstop laughter emanated from their table. It was a perfect night where the group’s chemistry fired on all cylinders, one that washed away all of the preceding drama of theterm.
“I love that I now know what the hell you’re all talking about!” Rafe exclaimed. He drank his Midori sour. It didn’t seem to bother him anymore that Nathan had started the Midoritrend.
Eamonn didn’t say much. He tried to savor these final hours, as this would probably be the last time he and Rafe ever saw eachother.
But he wasn’t going to let a thought like that ruin thisnight.
“Anotherround?”
* * *
It wasone of those nights where if you were a human being, you had no choice but to look up and cherish the beauty of this wondrous galaxy. Eamonn tried to hold onto this night as hard as he could. Rafe was leaving, really leaving, in six hours. But he promised himself he wouldn’t get down about it until after he was gone. He wasn’t going to waste the final hours they had lefttogether.
They made their way down the sloping hill to SweeneyHall.
“I don’t need your help,” Rafe said. He held his arm out for balance. “I’ve gone down this hill plenty of times by myself, many times after working a shift at the bar. The only reason I’m holding my arms out is just to besafe.”
“And because you’re pissed,” Heathsaid.
“Oh Heath. Shut it!” Louisa said. She also hand her arms out, though in her defense, she was wearingheels.
“Not true. I am a little buzzed, but I’m mostly just tired from doing all my last minute, finalpacking.”
“All that folding and zipping up suitcases is truly enervating work, Heath,” Eamonn said. “When I went to the loo and had to unzip and rezip my trousers, I nearly passed out fromexhaustion.”
“Bugger off!” Rafe said. “It rained this morning, so it’s a littleslippery.”
“Do you need a hand?” Eamonn asked. He couldn’tresist.
“I donot.”
“Louisa?” Eamonn extended a hand toher.
“I don’t needhelp.”
“Are you sure? You’rewobbling.”
“She said she doesn’t need—shit!” Heath went down on hisarse.
“Timber!” Eamonn yelled. Heath flipped him the bird. “Did you crack the pavement? That was like watching a building getdemolished.”
Eamonn was going to help his mate up, but Louisa beat him to it. She helped lift him back up, and she didn’t stop holding hishand.
“I got you,” shesaid.
They exchanged a look that neither Eamonn nor Rafe could decipher, one of those telepathic gazes built on the unique language of everyrelationship.
They walked down to the hall hand-in-hand, leaving Eamonn and Rafe in theirwake.
