The Windber Hotel was not, in fact, a hotel. It was a large corner building on the busiest town center street that had been converted into a bar/restaurant in the late nineties.

The first floor was open with wood tables for dining and a large square bar in the center with exposed light bulbs and vines hanging from the ceiling like tropical icicles. There was a loft area in the back with potted and draping greenery and a skylight. A spiral iron staircase led to the rooftop deck, which had a panoramic view of the town and the Pennsylvania landscape, which included endless forest and mountains in the distance.

We arrived a little after seven and our table wasn't ready. We walked past those already seated, eating gourmet dinners and appetizers, and each grabbed a drink by the bar. For a second drink, we made our way to the roof. Darren, I knew, hated The Windber Hotel. It was overcrowded and expensive. He didn't like that people got dressed up or the noise of the rooftop when you're passing by on the street. He ignored me the entire ride there and made no effort to look presentable, dressed in a white t-shirt and black jeans.

Anna was wearing a sparkly black dress and flats. Her red hair was curled and her dark-framed glasses were different from the pair she had worn in the morning. Even her nails were sparkly. She seemed older and taller, or maybe that was because I was so used to seeing her crouched over Noah, talking about farm animals or making silly noises. I was glad for the chance to get to know her, so I sat next to her beside an oversized potted palm bush while Charlie and Darren remained at the large chalkboard that listed the specialty cocktails.

"Cheers," I said. I raised my martini and clinked her glass of beer. "So how did you start working for my brother?"

"I met Phil while he was doing work on my parents' house," she said. "He heard them talking about opening up a daycare after I graduate and said he was looking for a nanny."

"I didn't know you want to open a daycare."

"Yeah, I'm studying business at Community. I didn't want to take out loans like my brother, so it's taking a little bit longer, but then I won't have debt when I start my business."

"That's amazing!" I said. "I haven't done anything with my art degree. I work at a gallery."

"It must be so cool to live in New York though."

I looked around at the pink sky and the tall green trees and the gray mountains barely visible behind the clouds in the distance. "It's a different view, that's for sure."

I thought about what Darren had said about going home. He was so sure that I was leaving, although we had never discussed it. We hadn't made any arrangements to pack or sell the house, there was still the reading of the will, and I didn't know if I wanted to go back. Was it fair to Noah to take him away from Theresa's family? The evening was supposed to be fun, but there I was, contemplating the rest of my life. I took a sip of my drink.

Charlie came over and sat on my lap. I could tell he was already feeling his martini. He spilled a little on us as he sat. Darren handed Charlie the napkin from under his iced tea. "Darren has just told me the most interesting thing," he announced to the group.

I panicked. I looked at Darren and he must have seen it on my face because he looked away abruptly.

"He has never played Never-Have-I-Ever. Can you believe it? What a fantastic way to get to know each other. Let's play!"

Anna agreed and looked to Darren, who shrugged.

"Everyone hold up one hand," Charlie said. "Every time someone says something you've done, put one finger down. Last one with a finger up wins and buys the next round. Questions?"

"Yes. Why is this a good idea?" I asked.

"Great. Since there are no real questions, I'll go first. Never have I ever been straight." Charlie held up his five fingers proudly.

Anna and Darren looked at each other and smiled. They each put a finger down.

"My turn," Anna said. "Never have I ever been gay."

Charlie and Anna laughed. "Touche," he said. "Your turn baby." He kissed me on my cheek.

"I don't know," I said. "This is stupid."

"I'll go." It was Darren, the only one still standing. "Never have I ever moved out of Windber." He stared at me, smug, like he had won something.

I put my finger down. "This is kind of defeating the purpose, Charlie. We're not learning anything new about each other."

"Just go," Darren said.

I looked at him. "Never have I ever turned sprinklers on on somebody."

Darren put a finger down. "Never have I ever left the front door open in the middle of the night."

"Wait," Charlie said. "It's my turn."

I put a finger down and ignored Charlie. "Never have I ever gotten drunk and done something stupid and then acted like it was everyone else's fault."

"Never have I ever put a baby in a bath before checking the temperature," Darren said.

"Never have I ever flirted at a funeral." I nudged Charlie off of me so I could stand up.

"Never have I ever worn my brother's suit to his funeral."

"Never have I ever dated my best friend's wife."

"Never have I ever stalked someone in high school."

"Whoa," Charlie said. He stood between Darren and I. "What's going on?"

I maintained eye contact with Darren, a foot away from his face. "For someone who has never played before, you're awfully good at it." I walked away. "I'm going to check on Noah."

I was so angry I could have torn up one of the potted plants. When I was away from the group, I took out my phone. I watched Anna and Charlie interrogate Darren from across the roof as I called Noah's grandmother. "Hey, Linda," I said. "How's it going over there?"

"Your nephew is a terror," she said. I could hear screaming in the background and then something crashed.

"Do you need me to come get him?" I asked. It would have been the perfect excuse to get out of the double date from hell.

"No, it's just that age. I've done it before."

"Cartoons usually calm him down," I offered. "Unless there's singing."

"Are you having a nice time?" she said. "Actually, I have to go. Noah's running away. Noah, Noah!" She hung up. I wanted to throw my phone off the roof, but I had already gotten in enough trouble for being without a phone.

I turned my back to the group and leaned on the stone ledge. I looked out at the view and scanned the town. I could see the creek and my parents' old neighborhood and the high school football field. I thought about Darren and what he had said about stalking. I couldn't believe it. How long had he thought that? Was he always just waiting for the perfect time to hold that over me?

When my brother had confronted me about the pictures of Darren before homecoming, I had just blurted it out. With our parents gone and my friends at school acting funny because of the rumors, I had nothing left to lose. Phil had pretended to be confused for as long as he could, not ready for another major life event. A gay brother.

"What do you mean you're gay?" he had said. He was straightening his tie, looking at me in the mirror. "That stuff about Darren isn't true, right?"

I still wasn't in my suit. I had decided I wasn't going to the dance. "James Warton just said that because I took a lot of pictures of him. But he's the quarterback!"

"Explain it to me, Ryan. Because I don't get it. And I have to go pick up Jenny in a minute."

"I'm gay. I like guys. But I don't like Darren!"

Darren appeared at the bedroom door in a white suit at the exact moment I had said his name. He had long hair back then and a freshly shaved face. As soon as I saw him, I blushed. Phil caught the redness in my face in the mirror and turned around to look at me directly, for confirmation. And at that moment I knew he knew. He didn't need me to say anything else.

I ran out of the room and down the hall. "Am I not cute enough for you?" Darren called after me, laughing.

I heard Phil punch him in the chest and they started to wrestle. I slammed my bedroom door and locked it. A minute later when Phil asked if I was coming, I didn't answer. He knocked on the door a few times, but I refused to say anything. I smothered my face into the pillow on my bed to drown out the moans that followed when I cried.

"Fine," Phil had said. "We're leaving without you." And I heard their stampede down the stairs and the car doors slam, the engine rumble to life, and the tires screech down the pavement to the high school.

I'm not sure what had happened at the dance, but that was the last time Phil spoke to me for a month. If he had needed something from me, he'd put it on a post-it note and leave it on my door. If it was urgent, he'd send Darren to deliver the message, which was just cruel. It wasn't until he had told me that we were moving that he started speaking again, Darren right behind him, ready to help with the packing.

That football field held so many bad memories, not just from homecoming. The college fair where a recruiter told me my work wasn't good enough for their program, the countless gym classes where we were divided by gender for activities and any remaining friend was always on the other side, or the games I couldn't go to without someone making a joke about my camera, which I had given up because the rumors were unbearable. Or graduation, when someone had yelled, "Fag," after my name was called.

I looked away from the field and the school and looked back at the forest. The sun was setting behind the mountains and the roof was getting chilly. Suddenly there was a hand on my back and I jumped. "You startled me, Darren," I said, stepping away.

"Wait," he said. He held a martini in his hand and offered it to me. "I come in peace. And, um, the table is ready."

I looked back at Anna and Charlie who were heading down the spiral staircase with the buzzer and their drinks. "I'm not hungry."

"Please," Darren said.

"You kissed me, Darren."

"I know."

"And then you turned into a different person."

"I know. I'm sorry." He looked defeated and small, which wasn't easy when you're over six feet tall.

"You can't just kiss me. It's not just a kiss to me."

"I was scared."

"Scared?" I got whiplash from turning to look at him. I was confused.

"Through all of this shit, it felt good to have you back. You're the only other person who was there for it all. I know we gave you shit growing up, but you were always around, following us even when we told you not to. You watched us jump off the tire swing and into the creek for the first time, you were around for our dog-walking business and every lemonade stand. Those disastrous science projects. You saw us win games and fight with our girlfriends. Our first cigarette and Phil's first hickey. When I stepped on a nail at the trolley, you ran for help." He took a breath. "We're the only ones who remember all that now and it was nice. I got scared when Charlie showed up."

"So you kissed me because you thought it would keep me here?"

"Did it work?" he asked.

He had a huge smile on his face, the same old Darren charm, and I couldn't help but laugh. He laughed, too. I pushed him away and my drink spilled all over his white shirt. I laughed even harder and picked up a napkin from the nearby table. I started to pat his chest and his stomach with the napkin to absorb the gin as I apologized through my laughter. I pressed into him and through the damp shirt I could feel every muscle and his warmth. When my hand was back on his chest, he put his on top of mine and held it there. I could feel his heart beating as fast as my own.

I looked up at him, at those deep green eyes that had been there for as long as I could remember, looking down on me, teasing me and protecting me, only now they looked different. He looked at me differently. "It worked," I said. 

Author's Note: Thanks for sticking with it through the terrible twos! I hope they weren't too terrible ;)

What do you think is next for the gang?