Phoenix (7 page)

shoving his last bite of burger into his mouth without much

more question.

“Yep,” Ethan said, turning his attention back to the

burger that he’d only half-eaten, but Blake knew that he was

a very slow eater and picked at his food before he ate it.

Blake just had fries left and he popped one into his mouth.

Things fell silent for a few moments as everyone finished

their meals, and then the waitress, different one, came over

and gave them their split checks. Riley was the first to pull

out his flashy black card and hand it to her, then Blake

pulled out his debit card along with Ethan’s right beneath it.

Devon craned himself over the table and handed her his

simple red debit card.

Devon settled back into the seat with a sigh, toying with

his fork. “So, do we wanna do anything after this? Or do we

just wanna go back to dormdom?” he asked.

Riley shrugged. “I’m up for anything, pretty much,” he

said in a casual sort of tone.

“I’ve got homework,” Ethan spoke up. Blake glanced at

him and gave a small smile. He knew Ethan just didn’t want

to go to a movie theater with a million people.

“What about you, Blake?” Devon asked, interest

obviously inflected in his voice as he leaned over the table.

Blake just smiled a bit and shook his head.

“Nah, I’m good. I should catch up on my reading for my

class tomorrow, ‘n I don’t really like big crowds,” he

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Phoenix

confessed with a shrug, feeling just how tense his shoulders

had gotten just in the last few moments.

“Okay, guess it’s just you and me, Riley,” Devon said,

looking over at him and grinning like a maniac.

Riley was looking between them for a moment with a

calculating look in his eye that made Blake want to squirm,

before he turned his attention back to Devon with a wide

smile and nodded firmly, saying, “Yep, guess so.”

* * * *

Devon had hoped that Blake would have agreed to come

with him and Riley to the movies, but it was understandable

that he didn’t like big crowds. At least he didn’t lie about it

and say he had something better to do. He liked how

straightforward Blake was. But he was still deathly curious

about him, about that darkness in his eyes that passed every

so often.

The foursome separated into two pairs as they left the

restaurant, and Riley gave Blake a big hug before walking

toward the theaters. Devon just smiled and waved at the

other two before bouncing up to walk beside Riley.

“Well, that was fun,” he said in an upbeat tone, and Riley

laughed with a nod. He grinned broadly. He was glad

people here appreciated his sense of humor, honestly. Back

home, the only people were Andy and his idiot sidekick

genius, Jimmy. With these guys, though, he felt like he could

just be a complete fucking idiot and be perfectly fine.

Riley was an anomaly. He seemed like a typical frat boy,

but he seemed so nice and fucking awesome, not to mention

the fact that he had tattoos littering his arms under the black

and white plaid shirt he had rolled up to his elbows. He

wasn’t sure exactly why Riley hung out with the people that

he did, but he was glad that he was diverse. He would have

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Joey James Hook

to say that Riley and Blake were probably two of his favorite

people that he’d met so far, and that was mostly because

they both absolutely fascinated him.

“Yeah. Not to mention I’m fucking stuffed,” Riley added

with a shake of his head, shoving his hands into the pockets

of his blue jeans as he walked.

“Me,
too
. God, that place is fantastic,” Devon said with a

grin, thoughtlessly falling in step with Riley as they made

their way through town. “So, what are we gonna go see, o

fearless leader?”

Riley snorted and shook his head. “Never been called that

before,” he muttered dryly, but then he sobered and got a

thoughtful look on his face. “Well, I dunno. What kinda

movies do you like?”

“I dunno,” Devon replied with a casual sort of shrug. “I

guess I like action-adventure or whatever. Slasher flicks are

always a good option. I don’t really like rom-coms, or

straight-up comedy ‘cause I don’t think it’s as funny as

me…” He trailed off with a shrug.

“Well, we could go see Red. I’ve heard good things about

it,” Riley suggested.

“Oooh, is that the one with Bruce Willis and John

Malkovich?” Devon perked up with a grin, watching as

Riley laughed and nodded. His expression broadened as he

proclaimed in a nearly echoing voice, “I’m down!”

“All right then,” Riley laughed as he began to lead them

to the theater. Devon could definitely feel a crush

developing on Riley, but that was all right. He liked the idea

of it, and maybe Riley felt the connection, too.

* * * *

Blake decided that he was going to go back to his dorm

room alone. Ethan said that he needed to do some hardcore

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Phoenix

reading and that Blake would distract him. He resigned

himself to spending the night by himself, at least until

Devon came home from his movie.

He changed his pants, getting out of his jeans and into a

pair of black silky pajama pants, but he kept his hoodie on as

he curled up on his bed. He propped his head up on his

pillow and grabbed a book off his bookshelf. More books

resided on his side of room than anything else.

Ethan had a million movies and a few books, Devon

seemed to have mostly music, Dominic had a bunch of

sports stuff, and he’d never seen the inside of Riley’s dorm,

but his felt different. He was a bit of a nerd, honestly, and he

knew it.

He purposefully picked a book that he’d read many times

before, tucking one leg under his ass, pulling the other one

close to his chest as he curled his lean body in on itself,

opening the page and beginning to read.

He was reading, sure, but since he was so familiar with

The Vampire Lestat
, he was thinking more than actually

reading. Thinking back on the last couple days was dizzying

to say the least. He’d known that this semester was going to

be different, but he hadn’t realized his entire world would

get redefined.

He hadn’t expected to have such a loud, happy, bouncy

roommate, nor did he expect to befriend Riley Sanders, the

school’s star middle linebacker. He didn’t expect the guy to

be so open and friendly, and he damn well did not expect

him to have such a killer smile. Riley made him feel

comfortable, more so than Blake had felt in a while.

The only thing that hadn’t changed was Ethan, but then

again he kind of felt like he’d changed, too. They’d grown

closer over the past few weeks. Over the break they’d rented

a hotel room together in the city and spent most of their time

watching movies or listening to music and talking about

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Joey James Hook

anything and everything that came into their heads. He’d

had a lot to talk about over the winter break, and Ethan was

always willing to listen.

He let his mind drift as he read, only half-comprehending

the words. His first two semesters of college had been less

about the classes and more about finding connections, and it

seemed this semester wasn’t going to be any different. He

supposed maybe he didn’t mind all that much…

He was knocked out of his thoughts when he heard his

phone beep to signify a text message on his bedside table.

He put his book down and grabbed for it, flipping it open

and furrowing his brows as he saw the name on the display

screen. He curled up again and stared at the name for a few

moments before he even opened the message.

Why was Trevor texting him?

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Phoenix

ast semester, Blake had had a boyfriend named Trevor,

L and Blake didn’t tell him that he was transgender until

they’d gotten serious. Trevor had been supportive at first,

but after a while, Blake had felt himself pulling away as

Trevor

pushed

harder.

He

wasn’t

completely

heartbroken—or so he told himself.

In a split second, staring at Trevor’s name, Blake

remembered very vividly when he’d come out to him.

“
Hey, Trev, there’s something I have to tell you,” Blake said in

a soft voice, catching Trevor’s wrist as his hand traveled up his

knee toward his groin. They’d been sitting on Trevor’s couch,

curled up and enjoying a mindless TV show, and his boyfriend

seemed to want to get a little frisky. The thought made him

uncomfortable, naturally.

“
What’s up, baby?” Trevor asked in a murmur, leaning in and

beginning to kiss at Blake’s neck. He tensed a little and shivered,

gripping onto Trevor’s bicep and pushing him away. “What’s

wrong?” Trevor asked in a hard tone that stung.

“
I need to tell you something,” he repeated in a firm tone, and

Trevor’s face darkened as he sat back on the couch beside him.

“
Okay, then out with it,” Trevor said, curiosity softening his

face after a moment of staring at Blake, who was looking at him

with wide eyes. He was considering not telling him—hell, he

didn’t even know how the guy was going to react to it.

“
Well, um, you remember when I said I was different, that I

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Joey James Hook

wasn’t a typical guy?” he asked, keeping his gaze on Trevor. The

feeling of uncertainty eased a little as Trevor reached out and laced

their fingers together, continuing to look at him with curiosity and

eagerness in his eyes.

“
Yeah?” Trevor asked. He had to wonder exactly what the guy

was thinking, and he wasn’t sure he liked the options.

“
I was speaking literally when I said that,” Blake said,

swallowing hard and looking up to see Trevor’s face fall to utter

confusion. “Up until I was eighteen, everyone knew me as Jillian

Stephanie Weber. I was born a girl.” He didn’t pause as he ran his

hand through his hair, letting go of Trevor’s hand. “I’m

transgendered, and I…” He trailed off. “I haven’t fully

transitioned yet.”

“
Wait, you used to be a girl, so you’re a transsexual?” Trevor

asked, and Blake winced at the terminology. He hated that term

and he wasn’t quite sure why. It sounded so corrosive and

offensive to him.

“
For all intents and purposes, yes, I am,” he said quietly,

pulling his hands into his lap and beginning to tangle them

together nervously only to unwind them and do it all over again.

“I just don’t have the money to transition more than I have.”

“
Whoa.”

“
Yeah, I guess,” Blake said in confusion, lifting an eyebrow and

shifting back away from Trevor, wondering if he was going to lash

out or something. The
whoa
seemed really strange to him and he

wasn’t sure what to do.

“
Seriously, I’ve never met someone like you before,” Trevor said

in a curious and light voice, moving closer and touching Blake’s

face.

He grimaced and batted at his boyfriend’s face, pushing his head

back and away from the prying fingers. “I’m not that different, you

know,” he said, pushing Trevor’s persistent hand away from the

soft slope of his jaw.

“
Oh no, you’re very different. You’re special,” Trevor said with

a broad, lascivious grin. Blake chuckled, but the fear softened in his

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Phoenix

stomach and the tension in his shoulders dissipated.

“
Really?” he asked in a quieter voice than he’d been expecting,

biting his bottom lip in sheepish surprise at the way the word came

out. It struck him as vulnerable, which was one thing he’d worked

hard not to be.

“
Yeah, really,” Trevor said with an easy smile, wrapping his

arm around Blake’s shoulders again to pull him close. Blake folded

in on himself and leaned his head against his boyfriend’s shoulder

thoughtlessly.

Sure, it’d be okay.