“Chad moved upstairs,” Roger replied. “I’m not surprised you didn’t see him at the party.” He made a face. “He doesn’t seem to want to let his boyfriend out of his room.”

“Boyfriend?” I couldn’t have heard that right. “Chad has a boyfriend?”

“I know, right, can you believe it?” Roger laughed. “Poor thing has no idea what he’s let himself in for.” He shook his head. “He’s hot, too.” He touched my arm. “There but by the grace of God goes you, right?” He peered at me. “You are over Chad, aren’t you? You don’t still—”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I replied, giving him my phoniest smile. I faked a shudder. “I can’t even imagine how miserable I’d be. I don’t even want to think about that.” A boyfriend? He has a boyfriend? I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach. I somehow managed to keep talking, or rather responding, to Roger as a weird numbness crept over me. Get ahold of yourself. Just because he has a boyfriend doesn’t mean it’s going to last, and you need to make sure he has no idea how you feel. You can do this. You can act like it doesn’t bother you in the least.

But part of me wanted to just get in my car and go home.

“He seems nice, too,” Roger prattled on. “They apparently met at Fusions Wednesday night.” I’d wanted to go but stayed home in case Chad showed up and spoiled my planned surprise, damn it all to hell, but on the other hand it would have sucked to have seen them meet and hook up. This was better. “Apparently he has a really good job, and seems smart, too. He graduated a couple of years ago and bought a house out in Avignon—”

“Avignon?” It sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it.

“It’s a suburb just west of town,” Roger explained. “Polk’s one suburb.” He laughed. “Chad of course enjoyed every second of introducing him to me.” He shrugged, his eyes glittering with malice. “Of course this guy’s only seen the good side of Chad and has no clue it’s all an act. Chad is such a douche bag. I mean, they’ve been together what? All of three days? And Chad’s already acting like they’re ready to head to Canada and get married.” He laughed again, rolling his eyes. “They barely know each other—once this guy gets to know him better he’ll be heading for the hills fast enough—like all of Chad’s boyfriends do.”

It’s only been three days, that’s not really long enough to fall in love, they hardly know each other, I’m sure after they spend some more time together Chad will realize he’s all wrong for him and be ready to move on, I can’t believe this is happening, I should have fucking gone to Fusions Wednesday night, what the hell was I thinking, all of this work was for nothing . . .

“But I’m sure Chad will bring him out of his room. He’ll want to show him off.” Roger sighed. “I know I would.”

“You’ll meet someone, Roger,” I replied absently, pulling myself together again. I couldn’t hide in Roger’s room all night, and I wasn’t going to flee the party. So, Chad had a boyfriend? It was a temporary complication, that was all, and I just had to be patient. I stood up and patted his shoulder. “Thanks for the joint, but I’ve got serious cotton mouth now. I’m going to get a beer, maybe dance for a while.” I smiled at him. “Promise me you won’t just stay in here all night.”

“I’ll see.” He shrugged. “If you want to smoke some more, just knock.”

“Roger.” I put my hands on my hips. “You’ve got to stop hiding in your room. Promise me you’re going to come out to the party. You’re never going to meet someone sitting here all alone. The perfect guy for you could be out there right now wondering where his perfect guy is—and you’re trapped in here.”

“That’s really sweet of you—”

“I’m serious.” I tapped my foot. “If we’re going to be friends, Roger, you’re going to have to listen to me.”

He nodded. “Okay, you’re right. I’ll be out there in a bit.” He looked down at his clothes. “I might want to change.”

“If I have to I’ll drag you out by the hair,” I teased. I put my hand on the doorknob. “Got it?”

He smiled. “Thanks, Jordy, for caring. And you really do look amazing.”

I closed the door behind me and ran to the bathroom. I turned on the cold water spigot and splashed water on my face, trying to get my breathing under control. I looked at myself in the mirror. “It wasn’t all for nothing,” I told myself. “This won’t last, and I’ll be right there to pick up the pieces when they break up, and Chad will see I’m the right one for him.”

I felt a little better about the situation. I just had to be patient. It wouldn’t last—Roger was right about that.

I smiled at myself. Of course it would happen.

After all, I was the right guy for Chad.

This guy, whoever he was, was just a momentary distraction.

I walked back to the party. The deejay was playing “Evacuate the Dancefloor” by Cascada, and I started dancing in place while I poured myself another beer from the keg.

“You’re a good dancer,” a guy said when I passed the tap over.

“Thanks.” I smiled at him, thinking to myself, Wow!

He was short, maybe five foot six, but he had to weigh at least 190 pounds. He was wearing a faded pair of jeans that gripped his huge legs and a yellow, short-sleeved pullover stretched tight over a massive set of pecs. His waist was small, and he was cute with short, curly dark hair, blue eyes, a smattering of freckles across his snub nose, and an endearing smile. “Are you one of the new brothers?” he asked as he filled his cup. “I was studying in London last semester.”

“You’re Mike Van Zale!” I smiled, holding out my free hand to shake his. At the same time my heart sank a little. He was one of Jeff’s little brothers and unfortunately was straight. He’d been dating the same girl since he was a sophomore in high school, and she was a sister at Delta Gamma. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Blair and Jeff are my next-door neighbors. I’m—”

“Jordy Valentine.” Despite his small frame, his hand was bigger than mine. “Jeff’s told me a lot about you, too.” He smiled, and I noticed one of his front teeth was chipped a little bit. “I’m glad we’ve finally met.” He gestured around the room with his beer cup. “So, are you enjoying being a Beta Kappa?”

“Yeah.” I took a big gulp from my beer. “It’s great. I love it here. Smartest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

“You’re supposed to be really smart, right?”

“I guess.” I shrugged. “I made the dean’s list last semester.”

He winked at me. “Well, I might need help with one of my classes this semester.” He rolled his eyes. “I fucking hate economics.”

“Oh, well, it’s really not that hard, it just takes a basic understanding—”

He held up his hand. “It’s a party—we can talk about econ some other time, okay? But would you be willing to help me, if I need it? I really struggled with macro, and I’m really worried about micro.”

“I’d be glad to.” I grinned back at him. “Just get my number from Jeff and we can set something up.”

“Great.” He winked again and headed out to the dance floor.

I watched him go, cursing at myself. He wasn’t flirting with you, dumb-ass, he’s straight. He was just being nice because he wants you to help him study. But Christ, what a waste of an amazingly hot guy! I hope his girlfriend appreciates what she has in him.

I decided to go outside and get some air. As I walked to the door to the backyard, I saw them coming toward me. They were holding hands, and Chad hadn’t noticed me yet. All of his attention was squarely on the guy he was with, and my heart sank even further when I got a good look at him.

I can’t compete with that.

He was taller than Chad, which meant he had to be around six foot four at the least, and he had to weigh about 240 pounds. Chad had a great body, but this guy dwarfed him. His biceps were about the size of my head. He had bluish black hair; big, round brown eyes; and perfectly white, even teeth. His skin was olive, and his eyelashes looked dewy. He was built like a football player, and there was no excess fat anywhere. He looked like he could bend steel bars in his powerful hands. I tried to duck back out of sight before they saw me but was too slow.