So the next few weeks were spent in a flurry of studying and writing papers. Blair was just as crazed as I was-his average had slipped over the semester as well, so we were both trying to catch up. I talked to my instructors, got advice, and studied everything over and over again until it seemed like at night I dreamed about my classes.

Talk about nightmares!

But it paid off. All of my papers got As-which wasn't a big surprise; I've always been good at writing papers-and every single final I took I breezed through. There was not a single question on any test that I didn't know the answer to-at least, thought I knew the answer to, which was a very good feeling and very different from my experiences earlier in the semester.

I was actually able to move into my room on the second to last day of finals. Mine were over on Wednesday, and I was moving into Danny Fisher's room. Danny had taken his finals early because his family was spending Christmas in Paris, and he was moving into an apartment when he returned. My parents got me one of those small refrigerators, a new single bed, and a microwave as my Christmas presents-Danny had left his desk behind for me to use. It didn't really take that long to set up my room-although my mom cried when I left the house with the last load I was taking, which in turn made me cry. "It's not like I'm going that far away," I said, wiping my eyes. "I'm just about ten minutes away."

"But you won't be under my roof anymore," she sobbed. "You'd better come home to visit every week!"

When I pulled away from my parents' house, it really hit me. I'm moving out, I'm going to live on my own.

It was a small step toward adulthood and away from being a child.

By the time I got to the house, the parking lot was pretty much emptied out. The brothers weren't sticking around for long once they were finished-they were loading up their cars and heading home. I hugged Marc Kearney goodbye as he put the last load of what he was taking home with him in the back of his battered old white pick-up. "Have a great Christmas, Marc," I said when we broke apart.

"Yeah, you too." He gave me his big smile. "You're going to love living in the house, bro. It's a whole different world for you now"

"Yeah." I waved as he started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot. Over at Alpha Xi Delta, I could see the same kind of departure scenes going on. I grabbed a box and headed inside. I was kind of bummed that my room was upstairs-I'd wanted to be as close to Blair as possible, but that just hadn't worked out. I lugged the box up the back staircase and stood for a moment in front of the door to room seventeen. I put the key in, unlocked the door, and dragged the box in. My bed was covered with boxes and bags of clothes. I stood there for a moment, then walked over to the window and opened the curtains and looked out over the backyard. This was going to be my home for the next year. I planned on staying in the house over the summer, and then after next fall semester ended, Blair and I would get our own apartment somewhere. We hadn't talked about where it would be, but I knew it wouldn't be in the Valencia. Blair hated that place.

There was a wrapped box sitting on top of my desk next to my laptop. I walked over and sat down. I picked it up and opened the card. In big red letters on a white background it read Congratulations! Smiling to myself, I opened the card and started reading.

Jeff,

Welcome to Beta Kappa! Knowing you has been one of the greatest things to ever happen to me in my life. We're going to have so many good times in the future-but for now, here's a moving in gift for you.

Love,

Blair

I tore open the box and started laughing.

My housewarming gift was a glass bong, screens, and a big bag of pot.

So, of course, I had to try it all out before I started unpacking.

It was very good pot. It took me much longer to unpack than it probably should have.

When Blair was finished studying for his final the next day, he came up to my room and we got stoned-and broke in my bed.

And if I do say so myself, it was the best sex we'd had to date.

I'm not sure why that was-maybe it was because we'd had so little time to be together over the past few weeks. Maybe it was because we both knew we'd be apart for at least three weeks. Whatever the reason, Blair and I couldn't get enough of each other. When we finally collapsed, spent and exhausted, we were both drenched in sweat and within a few moments, we were both sound asleep, our bodies entwined.

By Saturday morning, Blair and I were the only brothers left in the house, which was kind of fun. Originally, I wasn't going to be the only brother living in the house over Christmas break, but the other two-Jerry Pollard and Randy Pritchard, changed their minds and went home as well. Saturday morning, we made sure every door in the house was locked, the curtains in the Great Room were closed, and I fucked him there on the carpet. We did it again in the communal shower on the second floor. "It's kind of fun doing it in places we never in a million years would dare to, huh?" Blair said with a grin after he shot a big load that washed down the shower drain.

"You know it," I said, pulling his body to me and kissing him deep and hard.

Around one, though, it was time for him to get going as well. "I hate leaving you here by yourself," he said as he dressed. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"I hate you leaving me here by myself." I was sitting on his bed, naked. "Call me every day?"

"You know it." He came over and kissed me on the lips. "And besides, you won't be here by yourself all that long." It was true. The spring semester officially started on January 15th, but every year everyone came back for New Year's, and the house threw a massive party to celebrate not only the coming of the new year, but the end of the previous semester. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me? We'd have so much fun."

"My parents would never in a million years let me go away for Christmas. Besides, I'm in charge of the house while everyone is gone." It wasn't really much responsibil ity, frankly. I just had to make sure the place didn't burn down or get broken into.

"Well, why don't you come down right after Christmas for a few days?" He asked. "We could go to my dad's place out in Palm Springs. You'll love Palm Springs. It's wonderful there."

"Okay, let me think about it." I started putting on my clothes so I could walk him out to the car. "But I'd have to be back in time for the New Year's party."

"I told you I wouldn't miss that party for the world." Blair gave me a mock glare. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you weren't going to miss me at all."

"Now you're just being silly." I smiled. Things between us had changed a bit since the blowup over Marc Kearney. In a way, my intense need for him had lessened. I didn't love him any less, but I'd realized in that two day period when I thought I had lost him forever that I needed to rein it in a bit. It wasn't that I loved him less, nor was it that I desired him any less. But the truth was, as I realized during the weeks that followed that speed bump in our relationship, that I had no real control over what happened with the two of us. I loved him, but had slept with Marc without even a second thought other than shooting a load inside his ass. If I could do that, there was no reason why Blair couldn't as well-and we'd even discussed the possibilities of it happening during our separation. And while neither one of us liked the idea, we had come to the conclusion that if it happened, it happened-and it didn't mean we cared for each other any less. "You know I'm going to miss you."