Chapter 48

Ten minutes later he was home for a quick shower and a change of clothes. There he expected his mom to say something but she wasn’t in. What could she possibly say, anyway? Twenty-three is old enough to stay out all damn night if he wants. Old enough to sleep with my boyfriend,he thinks as he watches the cars pass, looking for Trace’s Jeep. He thinks of Paul as his boyfriend now, though neither has used the word aloud to describe the other.

When he came back to the studio, Mike was already waiting in the parking lot. Paul’s Cherokee was still gone—Adam thought maybe he’d gone out for breakfast and should’ve been back by now, but wasn’t. When Mike sees Adam glance at Paul’s reserved parking spot for the hundredth time, he asks, “So what, you two spent the night together?” He sits on the curb beside Adam and waits for Trace, too.

“What’s it to you?” Adam glares at the bright sun shining off the chrome bumper of Mike’s car.