Gavin and Aaron texted me that they were on their way over. Apparently, Gavin had to talk to me and Aaron again. It made me think of the last time he had to talk to us, and it made me smile. My thoughts shifted to a certain long-haired Japanese guy.

        Kenji.

        I hadn't stopped thinking about him since that little dinner, and that was almost two weeks ago. I couldn't help it. I wanted to see him again, but I didn't know how I was going to, unless I asked Gavin to invite Kenji and Honoka over for some more "bonding." I sounded like a schoolgirl with a crush. I wanted to throw up at the thought. 

        No matter how much I smoked, drank, got high, worked out, went on drives or participated in any other "Darian activity", nothing worked. Kenji still consumed my thoughts. Even thinking about how much I hated my boring job at Shirley Shakes didn't seem to help.

        My phone ringing took me out of my Kenji haze, and I smiled when I saw it was my sister calling.

        "Hey, Eva," I answered, getting comfortable on my couch.

        "Well, look at that. If it isn't my favorite brother," she replied.

        "I'm your only brother but nice try." I chuckled. "What's up, Goldie?"

        My two sisters both had blonde hair, which they got from our mother, while I got my father's darker hair. River's hair was dirty blonde, but Eva's was a bright, golden blonde. It hurt my eyes sometimes, so I always made fun of her by calling her "Goldie."

        "Well," Eva said, "I just wanted to check on you, since you missed the party and all."

        Oh, that. "Yeah, and I'm perfectly content with that decision."

        "Well, Dad isn't." Of course not. "He's pissed."

        "When isn't he pissed? At least when it comes to me?" Eva remained silent. Thought so. "He would have been even more pissed if I would have shown my ass to that party because I probably would have managed to do something he considered 'disgraceful', so it all worked out in the end."

        "It would have been nice to see you though." There was a shift in her tone. "River misses you a lot. I miss you a lot, too."

        "Eva..."

        "I know you and Dad don't get along," she said. "But I hate how because of it, River and I hardly hear from you. Even when you lived back home, you always found an excuse to not be around." I didn't even think about that. "I know you don't want to be around Dad, but don't abandon me, Mom and River, too."

        "Eva..." I was speechless at my sister's confession. How could she think that? "I'll never abandon the three of you. You're the three most important women in my life."

        Eva scoffed. "Even now, we have to remind ourselves that you exist, and you've only moved out for a couple of months now. Imagine how much worse it'll be once you get married and find a new 'important woman in your life'."

        I almost winced at her words.

        My family didn't know I was gay. How could they? I had even dated a few girls, although those relationships were mostly physical and not very serious. No one suspected a thing, and I was glad because I didn't want them to know, especially not my dad. I didn't need him knowing his only son was a faggot.

        One more thing to add on his list of reasons why I was the ultimate screw-up.

        Instead of voicing out my thoughts, I opted to say, "You three will always be my world. Don't forget that. No girlfriend or wife is going to take that title from you guys."

        Yeah, because there wouldn't ever be a girlfriend or wife to steal that title from them.

        Don't get me wrong, there had been some important women in my life. My mother and sisters obviously being a few. Camila, Arya, Honoka, and Alissa being the others. I would always care for women as close friends or as family, but I could never see them as a significant other no matter how hard I tried. And trust me.

        I tried.

        It took all of middle school and all of high school, but I finally accepted the fact that a woman would never have my heart in the same way that a man could.

        "Whatever, Darian," Eva mumbled, disregarding me. "Show me, then I'll believe you."

        "Okay," I said. "I'll put in more of an effort from now on to see you and River and keep contact with you guys and Mom." She remained silent, probably not buying it. "I promise."

        "Okay," she finally said. "Don't let me down, Darian."

        "I won't." I didn't mind letting other people down, but I refused to do the same to my younger sisters.

       "Okay. I love you, bro."

        "Love you, too, Goldie." She chuckled before hanging up.

        I smiled at the thought of my mother and sisters. I was going to keep that promise by making an effort to keep contact with them. Eva was right. They shouldn't have to suffer for the tension between me and my dad.

        My doorbell ringing caught my attention, and I jumped to my feet to answer it. As expected, Gavin and Aaron smiled at the door.

        "What's up, Darian?" Aaron said, giving me dap.

        "Hey, man," Gavin greeted as I led them in after closing the door behind them.

        "Hey," I replied while getting comfortable on the couch again. My boys followed suit.

        Out of nowhere, Aaron's phone rang, getting all of our attention. He had the alarm ringtone instead of the legitimate one, which was annoying as hell. I sucked my teeth. "Man, turn that shit off, or answer the damn phone."

        Aaron ignored me and glanced at the caller I.D., his eyes widening. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath before tossing his phone on the couch, letting it ring. Gavin and I stole glances at each other before returning our gaze to Aaron when the phone stopped ringing.

        "Who was it?" Gavin asked.

        "Reid," Aaron answered.

        Ahh. I nodded in understanding. Reid was Aaron's older brother, and he was a senior at Shirley Heights University. He was a star swimmer at the university. He got the grades. He was pretty popular, and he was living the college dream. Let's just say Reid Collins was the son every parent wanted, and Gavin and I used to tease Aaron that Reid made up for his fuckery.

        "Still avoiding your family, Aaron?" I taunted while Gavin and I fought back our smirks.

        Even though Aaron and his parents were never really close to begin with, he and Reid were pretty tight. At least, they were. Ever since Aaron moved out after high school ended, he'd been avoiding his whole family, including Reid. He stopped taking their calls, he ignored their texts, whenever they stopped by at his and Gavin's apartment, he made Gavin tell them he was out even though his ass was in bed, etc.

        It was like my boy dipped out on his family.

        Then again, I wasn't one to talk because I dipped out on mine, too.

        "You know you have to talk to them eventually, right?" I said.

        "No, I don't," Aaron huffed.

        "Okay," Gavin went along, sending me a knowing look that I returned.

        We allowed him to believe what he wanted.

        After a few seconds of just relaxing, Gavin sat up straight and his gaze flickered between me and Aaron. "Okay. You guys are probably wondering why I wanted to talk, and I could have texted, but I think we should talk about this in person. It's a lot to ask, but I think it's necessary."

        Aaron and I sat up straight as well, resting our elbows on our knees as we leaned towards Gavin. "What's up?" I asked.

        "Kenji and Rosalyn broke up," Gavin informed us.

        My heart jumped. As fucked up as this sounded, a wave of relief hit me at the news.

        Kenji and Rosalyn got really close after the accident, and they were always together after that. It pissed me off back then and the thought of it pissed me off now. Their closeness got even worse when they started dating mid-junior year. They had been going strong since then to my dismay, except for now.

        Kenji and Rosalyn finally broke up.

        About time.

        Man, I was an asshole.

        Aaron wrinkled his nose. "Why do we give a fuck that pretty boy and his little girlfriend broke up?"

        I frowned at Aaron's condescending tone. Before I could speak, Gavin beat me to it. "I care because Honoka said he's taking it pretty hard." My frown only deepened at that. "I know the three of us haven't had the best relationship with Kenji throughout the years, but I want to change that. Kenji is Honoka's twin brother. He's important to her, and I want to have a good relationship with him just like I want Honoka to have a good relationship with the people in my life. This breakup is really bumming him out, so I was thinking. What better way to bond with someone than in their time of need? I think we should cheer him up. Get his mind off of the breakup with a boy's night out or something."

        "What do you have in mind?" I definitely liked where this was going.

        "I was thinking I'll invite him over to Aaron's and my apartment, and we'll just hang out. Probably watch some movies and chill."

        "What type of movies?" A devious look crossed Aaron's face.

        Gavin's jaw dropped. "Aaron, no! We're not going to invite Kenji over to watch porn."

        "Why not? That'll definitely get his mind off of things," Aaron defended.

        "Aaron, you're ridiculous." Gavin's focus moved to me, completely ignoring Aaron now. "What do you think, Darian?"

        "About the porn or the plan?" Gavin stared at me, speechless. I chuckled. "I'm messing with you. I think it's a great idea." I tried being nonchalant on the outside, but I was fist pumping on the inside.

        "I'm cool with it." Aaron shrugged, and Gavin smiled.

        "Perfect!" Gavin stood to his feet. "I'll call Honoka tonight, so she can tell Kenji. We'll figure it out along the way. Does tomorrow work for you guys?" Aaron and I nodded. "Great!" The excitement was clear in Gavin's tone, and I was excited, too, but I kept it in. I couldn't let it show just how happy I was to have another opportunity to spend more time with Kenji. "We'll see you tomorrow, Darian. I have to go to the gym to train, so Aaron and I have to head out."

        When Gavin went to the gym for regular workouts, it was either alone, with me and Aaron, or recently, with Honoka. But when he went to the gym to "train", I knew it was for boxing.

        Gavin was an amateur boxer, something he really got into spring semester of senior year. While badass Gavin slipped through our fingers, his fingers slipped into boxing gloves, and he hadn't stopped since.

        I nodded, and Aaron stood up to follow behind Gavin.

        Aaron glanced back at me with a goofy grin. "Bye, Darian!"

        "Uh-huh," was my response. "Close the door behind you."

        Aaron did for once. When he and Gavin left, and I knew they were out of hearing shot, I jumped to my feet and punched the air in triumph.

        It sucked that Kenji was sad about his and Rosalyn's breakup, but that didn't diminish my happiness. I was glad that Kenji was now single, even if I had no chance with him whatsoever.

        I wanted an excuse to hang out with Kenji, and I finally got one.

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* What do you guys think is going to happen next? Excited to see Kenji and the goons interact alone?

* As always, don't forget to vote and comment. :)