He’d been at it since noon, dropping bags to twitchy freshmen, sliding quarters to a prof who always met him behind the library like it was some spy shit, dodging campus security’s lazy patrols. “I’ve been missing Malik’s protein, man,” he said to Marlon.“I know, man,” Marlon nodded, turning then to Malik as Jake was going for yet another bump. Gay sex You a good guy, dealer.” He laughed, clapping Malik’s shoulder hard enough to jostle him. Jake bragged about football, his hands slicing the air like he was reliving every pass. Jake waved him over from a corner booth, already halfway through a pitcher. The tension coiled throughout the room, locking Malik in place, keeping him talking and waiting for the other shoe to drop.“So, you live with Jake’s friend,” then asked Marlon, still casual as fuck, “the gay guy he sees?”Malik turned surprised eyes to Jake, who shrugged as nonchalantly as a man tripping balls on coke could and said, “Marlon’s different, it’s fine if he knows.
