Page 116 of String Boys

Whatever had happened that night, Seth had almost died.

So as pissed as Kelly was, he was going to take something away from that meeting. Maybe—just maybe—Sethhadn’tkilled Castor Durant. Maybe—justmaybe—Matty knew who had.

Two things going on at that crime scene.

Fuck.

Kelly was going to have to be nicer to his brother, wasn’t he?

SETH ANDAmara were playing chess when Kelly got there, and Kelly had a chance to sympathize with their friend, who never seemed to have a date on Friday nights.

“When are you going to get a boyfriend?” Kelly asked, barging in and throwing his stuff in its customary corner.

“How do you know I’m not gay?” she asked, without looking up. “I could be in need of a girlfriend. Check, Seth.”

“You like boys,” Seth said quietly. “You’re still in love with Vince. Checkmate.”

Amara looked up from the chess board to stare at him. “How in the fuck would you know that? Vince is at USC and—”

“And you’ve lost twenty pounds,” Seth said, grimacing sadly at her. “And I knew in the middle of our first year at Bridgford. Vince got a girlfriend, and you… well, for one thing you almost lost a challenge to Christopher Cramer, who was a shitty flute player and a total dog. You kept your seat, but only because you, I don’t know, started practicing in your sleep, like a nun. You never told him. Are you going to set up the board again?”

Amara wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Don’t you and Kelly want to stink the place up with loud and obnoxious boy sex?”

Kelly plopped next to her with a sigh. Actually, that had been on his agenda all the way down the fucking freeway. But Seth was looking at her with such compassion, and Kelly realized that right now, she needed both of them.

“We can do loud and obnoxious boy sex after we watchParanormal Activity.Seth, tell me you’ve got snacks.”

Seth started to put away the chess pieces and smiled slightly. “Actually, Guthrie is coming with pizza. Don’t get mad. He’s fighting with his dad right now, and I guess I’m his gbf.”

“His what?” Seth could just do that, knock around slang like he’d been using it all his life.

“Gay best friend,” Amara said, helping put the chess pieces away. “Except, since we’re just dropping Bibles full of truth on people’s heads, I’d like to point out that Guthrie’s been in love with you since I met him in March, Seth. I don’t know how you don’t know that.”

Seth wrinkled his nose. “That’s highly unlikely. I told him in December I had a boyfriend. Smart man’s money is to go crush on someone else.”

Together, using the same weird synchronicity that they seemed to have developed while at Bridgford, Seth and Amara moved about the dorm, setting chairs up to surround the end table where they put the computer so they could all watch the movie.

But they didn’t stop talking about each other’s love lives, and Kelly had to admit, even the idea that Guthrie was in love with Seth—and Kelly thought it was obvious—was less uncomfortable than his conversation with Matty.

It was like his lie to Matty really was the truth. He was hanging with friends.

Such a small thing on a Friday night.

Too bad Kelly had to drive two hours to do it.

Guthrie arrived with pizza, and because Amara had said something, Kelly was looking carefully at his face.

Oh yeah.

He smiled at Kelly, was polite, warm and friendly even.

That’s what made it love. His eyes were sad. Not angry or resentful or secretly hoping Kelly got an incurable disease.

They weresad, like he knew Kelly was better for Seth and Kelly was what Seth wanted, but it hurt him becausehewanted to be that person.

Of course, that didn’t stop Kelly from draping himself shamelessly over Seth’s body as they watched the movie.

When the movie ended and the pizza was mostly eaten, Seth hugged Amara and sent her to her dorm and then told Guthrie to text him when he got home. Everybody left, the party in Seth’s dorm room was over, and it was just the two of them.