Nico turned his back on Tomas and Pi Zeta-fucking-Eta and stalked off.
Harrison campus blurred as he cut through it. In the middle of the brightly lit corridor leading to the central library, Nico’s phone vibrated.
Elisa: C’mon, Nico. Call me! This is a disaster.
Not the best timing, but maybe her problems would help him forget his own. He hit dial and braced for it.
“Nico! Thank God. I’m so screwed. The wedding planner quit today. Her mother is sick and she needs to go to Boston to take care of her. I can’t believe this. How can this be happening? The wedding’s in three months and—”
“I’ll take over, Elisa.”
“What?”
“I’ll take over and make sure everything’s perfect.”
“Oh my God, Nico, you’re the best.”
Nico raised an eyebrow. Clearly this was what she’d wanted him to say. “It’s what little brothers do.”
“Wait, you were supposed to be in New York. With your boyfriend.”
“Ex-boyfriend.”
“But . . .”
“Just happened.”
“Oh, boo. I’m so sorry to be dumping on you now.”
Great choice of words. “You’re not. This is perfect. I don’t want to go home, and you need someone in Philly to make sure your wedding is amazing.”
“Are you sure? I could always look around for someone else . . .”
He snorted softly. They both knew she’d never find anyone decent at this late date. All the best planners were booked.
“I got this, E. Just pay for me to stay in Philly and give me some spending money, and I’ll make sure this is everything you dreamed of.” And that Nico wanted, but would never have.
“Boo, you are the best. I’ll make sure Papà pays you what he was going to give the planner. You’ll be all set up.”
Nico scoffed. “No way Papà will pay me the same as your planner.”
“If he doesn’t want to hear me whine every day, he will.”
A laugh barked from his throat. Their father hadn’t been able to refuse Elisa ever since she learned how to talk. “Whatever you say.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re the best brother ever! Sorry about that douche canoe.”
“Let it go, E. He’s not worth it.” He really wasn’t, and Nico wanted to bury the hurt that came from his rejection. “I’ll find a place and send you the deets to pass on to Papà so he can cut the check.”
“I love you to the moon and back.”
“A hundred million googolplex times.” Nico smiled at their traditional signoff. Something they’d been doing since they were in kindergarten. “I’ll call you tomorrow. And E?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t tell anyone Tomas and I broke up. I’m not in the mood for the barrage of calls.”
“You got it.”
He hit end and stared at the phone. Philly was unexpected, but at least it would give him time to rethink his life.
Luke
Kent: I’m sorry, Luke, but I’ve met someone who lives closer to me and I want to be with them. It’s better for both of us. Long distance wasn’t working.
Lucas “Luke” DeRosa stared at the laptop, stunned. An email? Nine months together, and Kent broke up in an email?
The cowardly, cheating bastard!
This couldn’t be happening. Luke had bummed rides and taken the bus to spend weekends together. He'd almost failed a midterm because he spent the weekend before nursing Kent when he'd been sick. Hell, Luke had planned his entire summer around Kent. Gave up the job back home to go to Philly and intern at the same accounting firm. They were going to live together.
Oh, fuck. Their apartment.
His dorm room door opened, and his roommate sauntered in like he’d never had a bad day in his life. Luke glanced up, and Coury’s smile vanished.
“Yo, what’s wrong, bro?” He plopped next to Luke on the bed. “You don’t look good. What happened?”
“Kent broke up with me.”
“What?” Coury straightened. “Why?”
That was what Luke wanted to know. “Said the distance thing was too much, and he met someone else.”
“What a fucker. Seriously?”
God, he wished it was a joke. “Shiiiiit. I sublet the apartment for us both and he’s staying with his new—with this other guy now.”
He should have seen the signs. Kent had blamed Luke for their inability to connect. Said Luke’s baseball schedule kept them apart. And being the fool he was, Luke accepted it had been his fault. Made up excuses to believe him when Kent said he couldn’t drive to Harrison.
“I’m so fucking stupid.”
Coury put a casual arm around his roommate. “Don’t blame yourself for his assholery.”
“Assholery?” Luke snorted. “Is that a real word?”
“Ninety-nine percent sure it is. This isn’t on you.”
“Yeah, up here I get it.” He tapped his head before moving his hand down to his chest. “But here?”
“I’m sorry, Luke.” Coury clapped Luke across the back. “Don’t sweat Philly. We’ll figure something out.”
Luke laughed. “I didn’t know you were coming too. Though help with rent would be ace.”
“You know what I mean.” Coury got up and pulled his laptop from his backpack. “The campus has a roommate-wanted site. That’s how I found the off-campus place I’m living in this summer. Don’t know if I saw any listings in Philly, but I remember seeing people advertise for other cities.”