“He’s jealous,” Dante replied. “Trust me. There’s something broken inside of him. Everyone likes you, Jordy— from the minute they meet you. You just have such a good spirit and such positive energy, you attract people to you. And you’ve got such an adorable face”—he kissed the tip of my nose—“and the way you smile, your whole face just lights up, so it makes people want to make you smile. You’re funny and smart, and apparently richer than God. Of course he’s jealous.”

“I never thought of it that way.”

“You’re so damned hard on yourself.” He smiled at me. “Like all that stuff about how ugly and fat you used to be. You were neither, do you know that? You just convinced yourself that you were.”

“Oh, please.” I grinned at him. “Like you would have looked at me twice back then.”

“Not everyone is as shallow as Chad.” He got up out of the water and wrapped a towel around himself. “I’ll be right back.”

I watched him as he walked into the house, then looked up at the sky. The sun was down now, and the sky was clear and full of stars. “Thank you, universe,” I said to the sky. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy in my life.” I took a sip of wine and slid down until I was completely submerged in the hot water except for my head. The bubbling water felt amazing. It was like all the tension in my body was gone, and I never wanted to get out of the hot tub. For that matter, I just wanted to stay in Dante’s backyard forever. While I was back there, it was like the rest of the world didn’t exist.

This must have been what it felt like in the Garden of Eden, I thought as the sliding glass door to Dante’s bedroom opened and closed again.

“Take a look at this.” Dante knelt down beside the hot tub, a framed photograph in his hand.

I slid up and took the picture, and did a double take. “Is—is this Cade?” I gulped.

The photograph was of Dante and another guy. Both were wearing jeans, with their shirts off, with their arms around each other, smiling into the camera. Dante looked gorgeous, as always. But the other guy—well, he had a great smile. But his torso was covered in hair, and his stomach hung over his pants. He had no muscle tone at all, and his arms were skinny. And yes, there was that great smile, but his face was nothing to write home about.

He took the picture from me and stared at it. “Yes, that’s me and Cade at Gay Pride in San Francisco two years ago—right before we broke up.” He put the picture down and slid back into the water. “When I first met Cade, I was blown away by what a great smile he had. He had this amazing energy; he was just so nice to be around. I just felt better whenever he was around, you know?” He shrugged. “My friends couldn’t believe it when I started dating him. He was a good person.”

“But he cheated on you.” I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. “I can’t believe he cheated on you. But then I can’t believe anyone would.”

“Looks don’t matter to me—they never really have,” he answered.

“Thanks,” I joked.

He laughed. “Well, looks matter when you want to find someone to fuck, sure. But for a relationship—who the person is matters more. I mean, a really nice guy who’s out of shape can always get into shape, but an asshole is always an asshole.” He leaned over and kissed me. “I was attracted to you the moment I met you the first time—at that party at the fraternity Chad brought me to. I could sense your energy—and that smile! Oh, that gorgeous smile.” He placed his hand on my leg under the water. “That night I asked you out for coffee, I really didn’t care if Chad was going to break up with me or not. I’d already decided I wasn’t interested in him. I just wanted to get to know you a little better, see if I was right about you. That night when I showed up at Fusions—I was looking for you.”

“Wait a minute,” I interrupted. “I thought Chad broke up with you.”

“No.” He made a face. “I broke up with him the day after we went out for coffee.”

And the last piece fell into place.

That was why Chad turned on me so viciously. He’d always been mean—to me and about me—but he must have really cared about Dante. Somehow, he sensed Dante was interested in me.

He blamed me. Because, of course, it couldn’t have been Chad’s fault Dante lost interest in him. It had to be my fault. I tried to break them up. I must have said something to Dante at coffee that made Dante dump him.

Well, I thought, understanding why he acted the way he did doesn’t justify why he did what he did.

If he couldn’t have Dante, he wasn’t about to let me have him. It was funny—I’d thought about it, wanted to do something to break them up, but not because I wanted Dante. But I hadn’t done anything except be myself, and Dante liked that better than Chad.

Scratch that—it wasn’t funny. It was actually kind of sad.

“So, all that stuff about him breaking up with you at Starbucks, that was all just a ploy?”

“Guilty as charged.” His hand moved up my leg.

“Tsk, tsk. I feel so, I don’t know, used.” I started laughing, but stopped when his hand snaked over into my crotch. “Don’t be starting something you aren’t going to finish.”

“Oh, I intend on finishing.”

I closed my eyes as his hand closed around my stiffening cock. It felt good.

“So what are you going to do about the fraternity?” he asked me, startling me out of my reverie.

“I haven’t really made up my mind,” I replied. “I mean, they’re not going to throw me out. I’m not about to let that happen. If I leave Beta Kappa, it’ll be my choice, not Chad and his friends’.” I grinned. “The Exec Council has a big surprise in store for them when we have our little meeting tomorrow. Chad’s failed—there will be no hearing. But whether or not I stay in the house—I haven’t really decided yet.”

He let go of my cock. “What are you going to tell them?”

“You sure you want to know?”

He nodded, and I told him. When I finished, he whistled. “Damn. Boy, you play hardball.”

“Do you still think I’m a good person?” I tilted my head.

“Yeah.” He pulled me in close and kissed me again. “I do. What they’re doing is bullshit, and I think it’s great you’re not only standing up to them but giving it back to them, too. Fuck them.” He winked. “And fuck them hard. Metaphorically, of course.”

“Thanks.” I touched his face. “I think I’m falling in love with you, Dante.”

“I sure hope so.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “Because I sure am falling in love with you.”

“Do you mind if we get out now?” I held up my hand. “I’m starting to prune.” I sighed and looked back up at the stars. “It’s such a beautiful night.”

Dante got out of the water and held his hand out to me. I took it and climbed out of the water. “Any night with you is a beautiful night,” he whispered, pulling me into him. He put his arms around me and squeezed me tight, lifting me off the ground and spinning me around. “Jordy, I’m so happy. You make me so happy.”

He took my towel and started rubbing my head, moving down to towel off my entire body. His hands were gentle, and it felt so good I didn’t want him to stop. He picked up his own towel and wiped himself down. He poured the rest of the wine into our glasses and tossed the empty bottle into a recycling bin. “Come on inside,” he whispered, beckoning me to follow him as he slid open the glass door to his bedroom. I grinned and followed him into the bedroom. “Get into the bed,” he whispered.

I obeyed, still watching him. I slid into the bed and pulled the covers over me. The sheets felt incredibly soft and silky against my skin. “Lie back and look up at the ceiling,” he instructed.

“Okay, but I’d rather watch you,” I replied. I put my head back on the pillow and looked up at the ceiling. He flipped a switch and the ceiling panels began to move. As I watched, they folded back, exposing a ceiling made of glass, and the stars spread out above me. “Oh, wow.”