“We’ve been off all week, and I think maybe it’s his parents. They’re coming tomorrow, and I can’t shake this feeling that their presence is going to send him back into the closet. That sounds selfish and awful and insensitive, doesn’t it?”

“Yes.” Benny touches my arm. “Sorry to hear that. I guess that means no sex?”

“Well, that’s the thing. We pretty much blow each other every chance we get. Yesterday, he pulled me into the campus center bathroom in the middle of the day, and he’s been dropping hints that he’s been practicing for the Big Stuff.”

“Oh.” Benny’s eyes go wide. “And we all know you’ve been practicing. No, wait, scratch that. You’re practiced judging by the vibrations inside our room when the door is locked, and I’m waiting outside.”

“Binch. You can hear me?”

He smirks at my use of binch. “The whole suite can. But it’s fiiiiine. Get yours, prostate massager!”

“I feel like I’m always ready these days.”

“Same,” Benny says as a knock on the door jostles me.

“Get that. I’m hopping in the shower.”

“I love when you talk dirty to me!” he says, then shouts, “Coming!”

In charge of using his connections to get alcohol, Benny lines our coffee table and TV stand with handles of cheap vodka and gin. Cases of warm Natty Ice line the room.

Benny makes Chloe, Sofía, and me take a zillion pictures together. Chloe is dressed like Ursula from The Little Mermaid. Well, sexy Ursula, and it works, especially side by side with Sofía’s Ariel costume, complete with a luxurious red wig and purple seashell bra. They roped me into being Prince Eric. I couldn’t afford a complete costume, so I’m shipwrecked Eric, with a ripped white button-down and ripped navy-blue pants, no shoes, my hair wild like I just washed ashore. Luckily, even though it’s ripped, I’m still fairly covered, so you can’t really see my body. Baby steps, right?

Sofía put on bright-red lipstick and kissed my cheek, so I’ve been branded by Ariel, and for good measure, they both make me hold a fork I stole from the dining hall. Chloe roped two other freshman animation majors into being Flotsam and Jetsam, so she had minions to boss around. We really do stand out.

The suite is wall-to-wall people, and I have no clue who any of them are. And that’s not just because most of them are costumed to the gods.

But one person isn’t here.

“Where the hell is Jack?” Sofía slurs, gulping down whatever is in her Solo cup that has turned her teeth a Smurf blue. “I love that hot piece of ass. Sorry, can I say that?”

“Yes, he is hot,” I say. “I’m kinda pissed. He was supposed to be here an hour ago.”