Page 166 of Dark Tangled Truths
A young woman comes out of the apartment building. She’s average height with long brown hair up in a ponytail and brown eyes. She smiles at the group of guys. The biggest guy stalks over and picks her up. She laughs and kisses him before he puts her down.
Another dark haired boy picks her up and kisses her.
“Put me down, Jack!”
But he carries her over to the others.
“Probably won’t be an issue,” I say and shake my head. “And here I thought we’d be the talk of campus, sharing our girl.”
Damon follows after Evan. Hawk punches me in the arm and takes off to join them. This isn’t what I thought my first day ofcollege would look like a year ago. Mom and Dad would have moved me into a dorm. If Dad had his way, it would have been Yale, though he’s happy I’m at Crowne Mawr.
I would have tried to make friends with some guys on my floor, but it wouldn’t have been the same as Hawk and Damon.
And there wouldn’t have been Evan.
She turns. “Come on, Cam. We need your help.”
Fuck it. I can’t wait to see how this year goes. I join my girl and my brothers. Our family helps us take things up to our apartment. Occasionally we’ll pass the other group moving in. I give the guys a short nod, but now isn’t the time for introductions.
It’s a long day of hauling things up and unpacking. Made a little faster with all the help of six parents. My mom orders pizzas and we sit at the table and stools on the island to eat. The apartment is large enough for four people. There’s a gym for residents on the first floor, but Damon will have access to the athlete’s gym at school for most of his workouts.
Hawk tried out for the team and got on, but I decided against it. I spent most of last year building a portfolio and working with the art teachers at Anteros to get into the art program here at Crowne Mawr.
We set up one of the extra bedrooms as a creative space for Evan and me. The other one has four desks for when we need to get schoolwork done.
After dinner, our parents say goodbye. They checked into a hotel nearby and will head home in the morning. After hugs from everyone and tears from our moms, they leave and we’re alone.
“Did you see that girl and her guys?” Evan leans against the counter in the open kitchen. Her feet are bare and there’s dust on her pants. “Five guys. Every one of them kissed her too.”
“I caught a couple of them making out with her in the stairwell,” Hawk says.
“Don’t get any ideas, little devil.” Damon narrows his eyes on her. “You’re stuck with just three.”
Evan laughs and holds up her hands. “I’m good with you guys. I can’t imagine that many guys.”
Her eyes look off into the distance like she’s trying to imagine it. Her fingers wiggle.
I shake my head. “That’s enough of that.”
I lift her against me and she wraps her legs around my waist, focusing on me. Her hands grab the back of my neck.
“Maybe we should remind you how well you take the three of us.” I carry her back to the bedroom.
She sighs dramatically. “If you insist.”
When I drop her on the bed, she giggles. I can’t believe we got here. That I’m living with my girl and my best friends for the next four years and foreseeable future. About to start our lives in college. When Evan reaches for my pants, I stop thinking.
APPROXIMATELY 13 YEARS LATER
EVANANN
My plane landed earlierthan I expected, which means I get to surprise the guys for a change. I sneak into the back of the hockey rink and take a seat in the stands. There are six people on the ice.
Cam, Hawk, and Damon are taller than the other three, but that’s not surprising.
“I want to be goalie.” Beth whines as she skates circles around her brothers. Her blond hair is tucked under her helmet. Of the three of them, she took to the ice the most. She’s still tiny, but fierce with a stick.
“I just started,” Keats says and looks to Damon. “Dad?”
