Josh slumped back onto the couch. "Well, that's it then there won't be a party."

"Come on, we'll figure something out!" Alyssa told him.

"What are you two whining about?" Zay asked as he came into the living room.

"Zack went camping with his buddies, he left sometime this morning before we got up and left Josh a note." Alyssa waved the note in the air.

"And we care why?" Zay looked between them.

"We care because without my brother we have no alcohol for the party. How many people you think will show up when they discover it's a very dry party and not in a James Bond, shaken not stirred martini dry way?"

Zay shrugged. "So we find someone else to buy it. No biggie."

"Like who?"

"I don't know, let me call Seth and see if he can help."

"I'd rather you didn't, he'd probably knock over a liquor store," Josh replied with a scowl.

"Stop it. Do you want help or not?"

"Fine, ask him but if he does anything illegal it's on you!"

With a roll of his eyes, Zay left the room to go get his phone and call Seth. He found his phone in his room, it rang twice before Seth picked up.

"Hey, how's my old lady?"

"Are you ever going to stop calling me that?" Zay asked with a chuckle.

"Hmmm, maybe if you learn to ride on your own, but I don't see that happening anytime soon, you have horrible balance, my friend."

"Okay, fine I'll give you that one. I didn't call to discuss my riding lessons."

"Then why did you call? Phone sex?"

"Seth!"

"What?"

"Try and behave," Zay told him. "I wanted to ask a favor."

"Ask away," Seth told him.

"I know you have that fake ID, would it be possible for you to pick up some alcohol for Josh's party, his brother left us high and dry without warning. He'll pay for it all."

"Zay, I got rid of that ID. I told you I'm trying to break away from Darrel and his guys, that ID was part of it."

"Right, I should have thought of that. Sorry."

"However, I'm not totally useless, let me talk to some people I know and see if I can swing something.

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"Anything for my old lady," Seth replied with a chuckle.

"Sure, I'll talk to you later."

"Love ya," Seth said before disconnecting.

It gave him a warm feeling to hear Seth say he loved him. He knew it was too soon for those kinds of feelings, but it still felt good to hear it. He pocketed his phone and went back downstairs to where Lyssie and Josh were sprawled in the living room.

"Seth said he'd talk to some people he knows and see what he can do. He no longer has his fake ID so he can't go get the alcohol himself."

Alyssa arched a brow. "Why would he ditch the fake ID?"

Zay shrugged. "Part of his attempt to get away from Darrel."

"Yeah, I guess I can see that."

"You guess?" he asked as he sauntered further into the room and took a seat.

"Hey, I'm trying, Zay. I still don't trust the guy. His past kinda colors things in a bad way."

"She's right, Seth has been part of Darrel's group for a long time, it's hard to believe he suddenly wants to leave," Josh pointed out.

"Can't you trust me? Trust my judgment?"

"We trust you, we just don't trust him," Alyssa told him. "West said—"

"Right, of course, West." He threw his hands in the air. "West doesn't control my life and he isn't part of it, I don't give a shit what he thinks. He and Seth had a thing, it ended when West decided a life running with Darrel's crew wasn't for him. Did you ever think he might hate Seth and it's personal?"

Alyssa sighed. "Fine, don't listen see if I care," she grumbled.

"Lyssie, I appreciate the concern, but I'm happy. Happier than I've been in a very long time. Let me enjoy it."

She smiled. "Okay, I'll try. I worry about you, that's all."

"We both do," Josh added.

"Thank you, but I'm fine."

"I hope that's true," Alyssa muttered as he stood and left the room.

Josh blew out a breath. "I trust West and if he says Seth is bad news, then he is."

"I agree, but Zay isn't going to listen. He's convinced Seth is trying to straighten out his life, all we can do is be there if it all goes to shit."

Josh nodded. "I suppose I need to finish my English paper if I want to party this weekend."

She laughed. "Your grades drop and your parents will never leave this house again. The only reason they trust you is that your grades are good and you're a baseball star."

"I am not a star."

"Matter of opinion," she said with a grin. "But you're right, we should get homework done. My parents would kick my ass if I flunk that Spanish exam tomorrow and they wouldn't allow me to come over here for a month."

"Hey, come on, they love me! I'm awesome!"

She giggled. "Yes, they do but they aren't stupid they know about the parties. They sat me down and gave me the entire 'you need to be responsible for your actions' speech the other day. Since I haven't exactly done anything troubling they aren't going to ground me for the rest of my natural life. At least not yet."

"I appreciate that because I'd be lost without you," he told her with a grin.

"Yes, you would. Now, let's get this homework done!"

***

Marlow nudged West. "So, are we going in or not?"

"Yes, we are."

"West, if this is a problem for you we don't have to go."

He sighed. "I can't avoid seeing him."

"You aren't the kind to hide," Marlow put in with a chuckle.

West returned the grin. "No, I'm not. I feel like shit though and seeing him isn't going to make things better, he hates me." He had filled Marlow in on what had taken place with Zay, he felt he deserved to know. Now that Zay was openly dating Seth he didn't feel as if he needed to keep the secret any longer, though he did leave an explanation about Zay's parents out of it.

"Zay's a good guy, I doubt he hates you, or at least he won't forever. He'll forgive you eventually."

West snorted. "No, he won't not if he's dating Seth. That bastard will twist him all up and there's no telling if he'll recover from that shit."

"I know you went through stuff with Seth, but that doesn't mean Zay will do the same. He isn't you, West, give him the benefit of the doubt."

He reached out and took Marlow's hand in his. "I don't deserve you."

"No, you don't." Marlow leaned over the car's center console and kissed West briefly before he sat back. "Now, are we going in or not?"

"Yes, we are. Let's go." He opened his door.

Marlow laughed and opened his door. "There's my guy."

They strolled up the driveway, hands clasped together.

"Hey, West, Low!" They waved to the guys who greeted them and stepped through the front door.

The house was packed, as it usually was for one of Josh's parties, they shoved through the crowd until they found Josh and Alyssa sitting out back by the pool.

"Hey you two," West said as they stopped beside them. "In the usual spot, I see."

"West! You're here!" Josh jumped up and gave him a back-slapping hug. "I didn't think you were going to come because of ... well you know. But you're here!"

West chuckled. "Yes, I'm here."

"I convinced him he isn't the kind to hide from things," Marlow told Josh.

Josh laughed. "No, he isn't. I'm glad you're both here. Go, mingle have fun!"

West looked at Marlow. "You want a drink?"

"Just a beer."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

"You gonna be boring and hang out with us?" Alyssa asked.

Marlow grinned. "Yes, we are."

West left with a laugh as Marlow took a seat with Josh and Alyssa and they began dissecting the last baseball game. He pushed through the crowd, making his way to the kitchen to grab some drinks. His eyes narrowed when he spotted Zay and Seth on the couch in the living room. Zay straddled Seth's legs, their lips were locked together, and Seth's hands gripped his hips. He changed directions and stalked over to the couch.

"So now you've advanced to making lewd public displays, nice."

They broke apart and Zay twisted to look at him. "What the hell do you want?"

West snorted. "Nothing."

"Funny it doesn't seem like nothing. What I do with my life is none of your business," Zay told him.

Seth's hands remained clasped on Zay's hips. "Yeah, Sawyer, get lost this has nothing to do with you."

West's eyes remained on Zayden. "You know he isn't gay, right?"

Zay scowled. "Fuck off, Weston."

"He's bi. He'll drop you the moment you aren't useful anymore and move on to his next target. You aren't special to him."

Zay broke away from Seth and jumped to his feet. "I don't care what you think about our relationship. Who gives a shit if he's bi, he's with me and whether it lasts or not none of us can know, but right now, we're together. I'm sorry you can't handle that West, but I'm not the one who walked away, you are. You chose to leave, you chose to date Marlow. Don't fault me for my choice because you made yours and now you regret it. Stay out of my life!" he shouted.

People nearby were watching them, waiting for things to escalate and West saw phones out. He sighed, this isn't what he wanted. "You're right, I can't fault you for moving on. Just ..." His eyes went to Seth before coming back to Zay. "Be careful." He turned and walked away. He spent several minutes hiding in the kitchen, knowing he'd fucked that up. He shouldn't have gone over there, it was none of his business, yet he couldn't seem to leave it alone. Zay was right, he shouldn't care he'd been the one to walk away, to give up without even trying. It shouldn't bother him as much as it did. Would he be this upset if Zay had chosen any other guy to date or was he upset simply because he'd chosen Seth? He shook his head, the thought of Zay with anyone pissed him off. Maybe he wasn't as over Zay as he insisted he was. That was a sobering thought. He grabbed beers from the cooler.

"Right, time for a few drinks, and maybe I can forget my idiocy." It wouldn't happen, but he could try. He went back outside, studiously avoiding looking toward the couch where Seth and Zay still sat.

"Took you long enough!" Marlow said as he accepted the beer West held out.

"Yeah, I took a detour. It didn't work out as planned." He sat beside Marlow.

Alyssa arched a brow. "Detour?"

"I saw Zay and Seth."

"Ah, do I need to go inside and bandage any injuries?" she asked.

"Nope, it didn't come to blows but it didn't improve our relationship either." He chugged half his beer before he allowed himself a sigh.

"He won't accept any apology from you, West, you hurt him," Alyssa told him gently.

"And sent him straight into Seth's arms."

Marlow cleared his throat. "West, can we talk?"

"I thought that's what we're doing?"

Alyssa stood, grabbed Josh's hand, and dragged him up from his seat. "I think Josh should make the rounds and say hi to everyone, we'll be back in a few!"

"There's a zillion people here, why do I have to say hi to all of them?" Josh asked as she hauled him away.

"Because you're a good host!" she shot back.

Once they were gone West looked at Marlow. "I fucked up, I know."

Marlow shook his head. "West, it isn't that. You aren't over Zay, no matter how much you insist that you are. It's obvious you care about him."

"I care about you too, Low."

Marlow nodded. "I know, but Zay is different."

"No, he isn't," West insisted.

"He is. It isn't just that he's with Seth, I think you'd feel the same even if he was dating the perfect guy."

West grinned. "The perfect guy, like you?"

Marlow turned red. "I'm not perfect. My point is, I don't think you're ready to move on. I care about you, West, and I want us to work, but if you can't let Zay go then we aren't going anywhere."

He sighed. "I wish you weren't right. I'm sorry, I do care about you."

"I know, but your heart isn't in this. I can see that. I tried to ignore it, but I can't, not anymore." He sighed. "We both deserve to have someone in our lives we can dedicate our hearts to.

"I never did deserve you," West told him.

"Nope, you didn't," Marlow replied with a huge grin.

West laughed. "So humble."

"Oh, yes that's me. Okay, so friends?"

"Yes, I don't want to lose you from my life even if we aren't together. You were always a good friend, Low."

"Too good apparently."

"You are never going to let me forget how badly I fucked up, are you?" he asked.

Marlow tapped a finger against his chin. "Maybe not right away, but eventually. Let's not waste this night, come on and dance with me."

"Anything you want, you deserve it," he told Marlow and pecked a kiss on his cheek.