Noah almost laughed. What kind of idiotwasthis kid, thinking he could say that to him? Maybe he reallydidn’tremember much of that night.
“Depends on the people he’s talking to,” Noah said.
Dillion laughed sourly. His gaze flitted behind Noah, toward the doorway they’d both been aiming for, and then down to the hand Noah was still gripping. “Sure. Anyway?—”
“You’ve been staying away from him,” Noah said lightly. “Haven’t you, Dillion? Like we talked about. You remember what I’ll do if you don’t.”
“I have,” Dillion said, rushed. Scratch that idea—hedefinitelyremembered. There was no confusion in his voice, just cowardice and a cloying remorsefulness that reminded Noah a little bit of Mikey, convinced he could make things right if he just smiled hard enough.
“Good,” Noah said. He pulled Dillion close by the death grip he had on his hand. “I’d hate to tell your parents what you were doing with their money.”
Dillion’s throat clicked. His parents were Ohio-based social climbers who sent their kid to CalArts only for him to fail out, enroll in a community college in another state, and lie to them about it. As far as they knew, he was still in sunny California, asking for more and more money for his expensive art supplies.
Noah let him go, nodding toward the door behind them. “Were you about to go this way?”
“No,” Dillion mumbled. He clutched his coat pocket. There was something heavy in it, Noah realized. Heavy enough that the whole coat sagged to one side.
“What do you have in your jacket?” Noah asked.
Dillion let go of his pocket like he’d been burned. “Nothing. I have to go see a friend.”
He turned. Noah grabbed his shoulder again.
“Before you go,” he said. “Do you hear from my brother much?”
“Brother?” Dillion spluttered. “Who? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He wrenched out of Noah’s grip and walked off, just as fast as he’d come. Noah let him go, suspicions all but confirmed. Michael had been too quiet since they forced him to quit. This felt an awful lot like Noah’s middle-grade science fair, when Michael paid off an older kid to pour sawdust in his volcano and ruin his project. Noah didn’t even remember the reason anymore, only that Michael was mad, and that deserved punishment. Michael was always protective, sure. But he was alsopetty. If Noah pissed him off, Michael would make sure there were consequences.
Noah got out his phone and shot a text to the security team, who were lingering in the first hallway of the maze. Then he went to find Benji.
Three lefts later, he emerged into an overly bright room with a bar tucked into the corner.
There was a small crowd clamoring in front of it, the overworked bartender rushing around trying to fix everyone’s orders. It took Noah a moment to see Benji, who was standing at the very end, clutching two white wines and bending in close to listen to Daphne.
“—not how this usually goes,” Daphne was saying as Noah came up. “I wasfondof them, but it didn’t go deeper than that. Like a boss, you like hanging out with. But you don’t show them your not-work self.”
“I know,” Benji replied. “That’s why I like it. I don’t have to be different around him. I’m just me. And he—he likes that.”
Daphne reached up, and Noah noticed she was wearing Tia’s sparkly glasses. Tia must’ve been more drunk than he thought. And she must’ve bondedfastwith Daphne. Tia only gave out her sparkly glasses when she thought a) the person’s outfit would go from a ten to an eleven with them, and b) when she truly liked them.
“Just as long as you’re prepared,” Daphne continued, rubbing Benji’s arm. “He seems like a really sweet guy. But I don’t want you to get your heart broken when you remember it’s a business transaction.”
“It’s not,” Benji said, so fast and automatic that Noah’s heart leaped. “We— It’s deeper than that. I…”
Then he went so quiet that Noah had to step closer. Benji’s voice was almost lost in the low chatter of the college students’ families clamoring at the other end of the bar.
“I love him,” Benji whispered. “Fuck, Daph. I really do.”
Daphne looked up, her eyes going wide behind her sparkly glasses as she spotted Noah.
Noah nodded, trying to look like he wasn't grinning like a fool. Benji wasn't just telling Noah he loved him; he was telling his friends, too. This was a huge step for someone who had such a hard time admitting what was going on inside him. Noah wanted to pull him into his arms and kiss him until he ran out of breath. To find the car and pull Benji inside, yank him into his lap, and roll up the partition. He wanted to strip him naked and shower him with kisses, with biting bruises, he wanted to put a collar on him, he wanted to put aringon him?—
He shook himself out of his fantasies. There would be time for that later. For now, they had Dillion to take care of.
“Nice glasses,” he told Daphne. “Can I borrow our rising star for a moment?”
“Go ahead.” She gave Benji an excited little smile and ducked away.
