Elroy’s eyebrows went up at once. She wasn’t that much older than he was. The only thing that made him cringe more than being called a “boy” was being called little. He waited to see if she would stop chewing her bubble gum. When she didn’t, he smiled and said, “Yes, I’m good old Kyle’s little friend, Elroy.”

“It’s nice to meet you, hon,” she said. She turned to Kyle and looked him up and down. Then she hugged him and said, “Sweetie, I think you’ve lost weight.” She didn’t compliment his new clothes, his new haircut, or his contact lenses. She didn’t question what had happened to awkward young man who’d gone to Harvard with mismatched socks and a dented footlocker and returned as a handsome young man who could rival most male models. She went right for something negative on purpose, sticking the invisible knife in and twisting it around with a smile, not allowing Kyle to break out of the mold in which she’d always envisioned him. Oh, Elroy knew her kind all too well. He’d run into them before, both male and female.

Kyle shrugged and glanced down at the brown shag carpet with a defeated expression. All at once it looked as if he were wearing thick glasses and mismatched socks again. With one comment, she swept him back into all the torment in frustration of his teenaged years. Elroy wasn’t sure whether to hug him or kick him in the ass for taking it.

Elroy smiled and squared his shoulders. He wasn’t going to let her get off this easily. “And all he ever does is eat, Babe. I’ve never seen a guy eat so much, Babe. Why just last night he polished off two entire pizzas on his own, Babe.” Elroy had never actually met anyone named Babe and it made him smile to say her name. Kyle didn’t eat much. He was the pickiest eater Elroy had ever met. If they went to a restaurant, he picked and shoved his food around and they always wound up taking it home and Elroy would finish it later. What Kyle did eat was mostly junk food. Mention chocolate and his eyes glazed over. Ice cream seemed to give him an erection. But Elroy saw no point in missing an opportunity to play a few games with Babe.

Kyle’s head went up. He appeared confused.

Babe glanced sideways as if she didn’t believe Elroy. “Well, I’m just glad Kyle has met a friend like himself.” She tossed her head back and laughed. She’d emphasized the word “friend” instead of saying boyfriend or lover or partner. And she did it in a way that suggested she was superior to them because she was straight and they were gay. “Kyle has this tendency to scare people away without even knowing it. I’ve always had the feeling he’d wind up a bachelor. He’s never been a people person.” Then she threw her head back and laughed even louder.

It was interesting to watch all this head tossing, yet her hair never moved. Later, he would find tall cans of Aqua Net hairspray—ultimate hold—under the bathroom sink. There was nothing Elroy loved more than dealing with a bitch who thought she knew it all and didn’t know anything. He put his hand squarely on the small of Kyle’s back and this time he laughed. “Oh, you’d be amazed at how talented shy little Kyle can be.” Then he slapped Kyle on the ass right in front of her.

Kyle lurched forward.

The two goofy kids actually turned around that time to see what had happened.

Babe gaped for a moment and said, “Isn’t that nice, hon? I’ll go change for dinner.” Either she knew she’d met her match with Elroy, or she didn’t know how to reply. Either way, she couldn’t seem to get out of the room fast enough.

When she was gone, Kyle spoke in a stage whisper so the kids wouldn’t hear him. “What are you doing? Who knows what she thinks now? I don’t want them to think we’re lovers. We aren’t lovers.”

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“But you love me,” Elroy said. “You’ve told me that many times. And you know I love you.”

“That’s different,” Kyle said. “You know what I mean.”

Elroy sat down on the sofa and glanced at one of the kids. He couldn’t remember their names—Colin and Becky, or something like that—and didn’t care enough to ask. One of them was picking her nose, and the other scratched his ass. Elroy smiled at Kyle and shrugged. “She’s a dumb bitch and she’s homophobic. Who cares what she thinks? And if she calls me a boy one more time I’m going to stick a pencil in that bee’s nest hairstyle when she’s not looking.”

Kyle rolled his eyes and sat down, as if he knew he could never win that argument. He just shrugged and said, “Just be good. I want things to go smoothly.”

Elroy folded his hands on his lap and waited a few minutes. Then he leaned toward Kyle and asked. “Do you still love me?” He wanted to see him smile. He hadn’t smiled since they’d arrived at this hell hole of big hair, bad furniture, and polyester fabric.

It took a minute. Kyle didn’t look up from his book. But he eventually smiled and said, “Yes, I still love you.”

About an hour later, Elroy heard the back door open with a clank, followed by heavy footsteps. He hadn’t been watching the door because he’d become interested in the TV show, and he’d missed a glimpse of whoever had entered that time. He heard deep voices in the kitchen followed by soft whispers he couldn’t make out. He knew they were talking about Kyle and his “friend” from school. Kyle’s mom was probably preparing them to meet the “gay guy from Harvard.” There would have been no other reason for them to whisper at that time of day. So Elroy took a deep breath and prepared to meet the stepdad and the stepbrother Kyle had been screwing around with all through high school. Although Elroy had mixed emotions about meeting the guy who had not only popped Kyle’s gay cherry but had fucked him up a little in the head for other guys, he also found it mildly entertaining in a perverse sense.

Then both men walked into the family room at the same time and Elroy’s heart stopped. The two dumb kids didn’t get up or say hello to either their father or grandfather; they didn’t even turn. Elroy pressed his palm to his stomach and gulped. While Kyle stood to shake his stepdad’s hand, Elroy stood up and gaped at Kyle’s stepbrother. Of all the things Elroy could have predicted about that weekend, this was not one of them.

Chapter Twenty

“This is my dad,” Kyle said. He gestured to Elroy. “Dad, this is my roommate, Elroy. We’re just friends.” He spoke in a cold, even tone—as if trying to say, “And we’re not having sex or anything like that.” He didn’t offer a last name and Elroy wasn’t sure whether or not anyone in Kyle’s family knew he had billions of dollars.




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