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“Anyway. I
    didn’t know Devon here was your new roommate.”
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    Joey James Hook

    Blake cocked am eyebrow and looked at a grinning
    Devon. He idly wondered if it was him that they were
    laughing about, but he kept himself quiet and pushed those
    insecurities away. “I didn’t know you two were friends,” he
    said instead.
    “Only since about four this afternoon,” Devon interjected,
    and Blake smiled at him with a nod. It was kind of starting
    to amuse him how everyone seemed to be interconnected in
    one way or another.
    “Oh, hey, Ethan. Didn’t see you there,” Riley said with a
    broad smile as Ethan stepped closer and tucked himself
    under Blake’s arm. He looked down in time to see Ethan
    giving him a sheepish smile.
    “Yeah, I’m pretty quiet generally,” he said in a tone that
    proved his point. “I’m like a mouse you don’t notice.”
    Riley laughed and nodded. “Well, you should speak up
    from now on,” he told him. “In fact, I think we should all go
    out, get a bite to eat, just talk ‘n get to know each other.
    What do you guys think?”
    Devon lit up immediately and straightened, proclaiming,
    “Hell yes, I’m up for it!”
    Blake turned his attention to Ethan, seeing that he was
    chewing on one of his snakebites nervously. “You wanna?”
    he asked, nudging him gently with the arch of his hand.
    Ethan looked up at him with a nervous expression,
    swallowing hard before nodding a little. “I think it’ll be
    fun,” he said, and the tone told Blake he was anxious about
    going out with a bunch of people, but he was willing to do it
    if Blake wanted to.
    “What’s the verdict, guys?” Devon asked, and Blake
    looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, chuckling and
    shaking his head. This guy was something else, but every
    time he was around him, he seemed to find himself smiling.
    “Yeah, come on. I think we need to get out of the dorms
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    for a while anyway,” he reasoned with a shrug, feeling
    Ethan’s meek nod next to his chest. He was nervous, hell his
    stomach had just erupted into a fit of butterflies, but he
    figured why the hell not. Riley and Devon seemed interested
    enough in doing it. It wasn’t like they were going to
    suddenly turn around on them, right?
    Riley grinned broadly, dimples pressing deep into his
    cheeks as he said emphatically, “All right, awesome!”

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    Joey James Hook

Chapter Five
    evon was quite intrigued by the way Ethan clung hard
    D onto Blake as they spoke, and he had to wonder if they
    were dating or not. It was blatantly obvious that Ethan was
    in love with Blake, but he was wondering idly if it was
    mutual or not. He couldn’t quite pin down Blake’s body
    language.
    Riley led the way down to the small town the school
    owned and operated, and Devon was happily following
    him. He’d found the larger man very, very interesting,
    mostly because it was obvious that he was a total frat boy,
    but he was fucking awesome at the same time. He was very
    caring, and very easygoing. It wound down some of the
    tension that was almost always thrumming through his
    body.
    Blake and Ethan hung back behind him, and he could
    hear them talking, but he tried not to eavesdrop. It was
    probably none of his business anyway. He hurried up to
    walk next to Riley, bouncing with every step just because
    that was just how much energy was coursing through his
    system. He needed to go on a two mile run every night to
    calm down, and he swore by that.
    They reached the restaurant quickly, a burger joint, and
    sat down. Riley and Devon sat on one side of the booth and
    Ethan scooted in beside Blake, staying very close to him.
    “So, how long have you been going to school here?” he
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    Phoenix

    asked Riley curiously, and he could see the way Riley’s lips
    curled into a small smile in the half-light.
    “About two years, and I’ve got about two years left. Got
    in on a football scholarship, but I’m going for a bachelors in
    medical studies,” he