It's been a year since Clay, otherwise known as Porkchop, planned the graduation event in Newport Beach. The event where a handsome Tyler Hamilton caught Clay off guard by kissing him. Clay, up until that day, had never kissed a boy before.
At 24 ye...
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WHEN I got out of the locker room, freshly showered and feeling on top of the world, Connor and Charles were waiting for me at Connor's car. School had just started up, but since all my classes were online, I only made it up to campus when it was a practice day, or to train with the team on certain mornings. But tonight after practice was a special occasion.
"Ready for the party, Hamilton?" Charles yelled out from Connor's passenger seat. He was sticking his head out the window.
"Sure as hell am," I said, approaching the car.
Connor was leaning against the door and opened the back up for me, so I could throw my duffle bag in.
"You sure you can drink on a school night?" I teased.
"Ha ha," Connor said, unamused. "I only have one class tomorrow, Hamilton. Don't even bat an eye."
"Don't tell me," I said. "You're the designated driver."
"He is!" Charles yelled from the window.
Connor groaned while I laughed. He pointed a finger at me. "You laugh now, but remember that I'm the one who'll be hauling your drunk ass home. I'm the first one who'll be at your side when you can't hold a drink down. I'm reliable."
"He's the reliable Big S!" Charles pitched in. "Can we get a move on, for fuck's sake!"
"Don't worry, I know how to hold my liquor down," I said, patting his shoulder. "But I'll be counting on your reliability."
"Was that a sexual joke?"
"Nah. Don't you know? I have a kind-of-almost-boyfriend," I said. "I'm faithful!"
"You can tell us all about your kind-of-almost-boyfriend in the car. And I'm relieved," Connor said, swinging his keys on his wrist.
We got in the car and Connor started the 20-minute drive to the house where the party was at, just outside of campus. I checked my phone, but hadn't gotten a response from Clay to my last text about seeing him on the weekend. He was busy. Since school had started up for me, I'd been a little busier with basketball practices and trying to not be super bored doing homework for my online courses. And Clay had been planning several big events, a wedding and a few others I didn't exactly remember the details of. It was hard to find time when he was available, but I wanted to see him, to squeeze in more time with him.
I didn't confide in him like I'd hoped to. About the whole Zach thing, about texting Alexander, about anything. For one, I just found it hard to even fathom opening up that much. I also was scared of telling Clay about Alexander. I knew how Cayden felt about it. He was protective when it came to Clay and didn't want me to mislead him if I was texting Alexander. That's why I hadn't been keeping Cayden in the loop when it came to my messages with Alexander, and I tried to avoid the subject. Surprisingly, it was easy.
