All The Ways We Touch [BxB]

sixty-five - fire and ice pt. one

Elliot was in a good mood despite the guilt still hanging over him. His shoulders were back and his spine was straight to sit at his whole height in the back of the Uber. His father's press conference was cancelled with no statement or explanation given—Elliot had actually shut him up for once, and there was a pride that came with knowing that he'd successfully struck him and knocked down his plans. He doubted that it would be enough to keep him from ever rearing his head again, but he was enjoying his victory.

Jamison let out a low whistle as the Uber approached the house and had to stop due to large groups of people milling about in the street. "Wow, there's a lot of people here." While he preferred it when it was just their small group of friends, he'd had a blast at the Halloween party Duncan hosted, and figured this wouldn't be much different.

"We can just get out here," Elliot said to both Jamison and the driver. "Thanks."

Coming around the car, Elliot took Jamison's hand, their fingers interlocking, and began to lead him to the house. "Yeah, really. Seems he went a little crazy with the guest list." It was unsurprising given that Sam was Mr. Popular in high school and at Astoria State University, but it seemed excessive for a party that was allegedly about celebrating Ant. Though truthfully, he doubted that Ant would care very much. Little seemed to move him beyond art.

"Ant's friends or Sam's?"

"Probably Sam's," Elliot said, leading him through the crowd while occasionally nodding or waving at people he'd met before as they approached the house.

It wasn't as outrageous as Duncan's mini mansion, but Sam's house was closer to that than Elliot's. To Jamison, it seemed like far too much space for a twenty-two-year-old college senior, and he could only imagine how empty the house felt when Sam was alone. Or perhaps Sam enjoyed the space all to himself. To Elliot, it seemed right for him. Sam only ever gushed about his house, so he figured that he truly did love the place.

While yes, it was a huge house for a single person, Sam loved all four bedrooms, his office, and his game room. Sam's house was at the end of a long cul-de-sac that was sparsely populated with other large homes. A recently developed part of Astoria, these new luxury homes were built with plenty of space between them. The properties were generous with their acreage, which made it easy to hold parties.

The sheer volume of people trying to get inside was overwhelming, but they eventually squeezed their way in and found Vera and Jack hanging out in a corner of the beautiful kitchen that Jamison doubted Sam used. Or maybe he was unlike Elliot and enjoyed cooking and taking advantage of the chef's kitchen.

After greeting each other, they turned to the massive marble island that was covered in all kinds of liquor and food. Massive coolers lined the walls—packed with cans of soda, juice, and beer. After grabbing cups, they proceeded to mix Sprite and a few shots of vodka together and returned to Vera and Jack, who seemed to be in some kind of spat.

Vera was in the process of checking her makeup in the mirror of her compact. "You're not moving in with me."

"But babe, I sleep over every night!" Jack whined, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

"And I barely tolerate it as is," she snapped. "You already act like you live there, and it—"

Wrapping an arm around Jamison's shoulder, Elliot guided him out of the kitchen and into the living room. In the middle of the room was a coffee table, and Kyle crouched in front of it, dozens of baggies with pills laid out neatly in front of him.

"Hey, Kyle," Jamison said as he popped a squat across from him.

Shaggy blonde locks fell into Kyle's eyes, and he shook his head quite like a dog to clear them. "Hey Elliot, hey Jamison."