Doubtful. Love sucks. Dustin’s last text made him wince, as Steven had forgotten about his friend’s own girl troubles. When Dustin had showed up on the Monday after the party for their tutoring session, Steven didn’t know whether his friend would want to talk about Kimmie. When Steven opened the door, Dustin’s first words had been, “Let’s never speak of her again, okay?”

“I don’t even know what her you’re referring to, bruh,” Steven replied, abiding by the bro code. If Dustin didn’t want to talk about Kimmie, then who was he to go against his wishes? Steven wondered whether Dustin might be interested to hear that the Count was out of the picture when it came to Kimmie, but at the same time he had heard from Lolly that Kimmie was still wigging out over the whole thing, so perhaps he needed to let things cool down.

Even though Steven had been warned by both his parents not to talk about private family affairs with outsiders, he knew he could trust Dustin to keep what he’d seen a secret. Steven also knew Dustin had family drama of his own. Everyone knew Dustin’s older brother, Nicholas, had been in and out of rehab for years, and as far as he knew that’s where he was right now. Heroin was something Steven had never tried, mainly because he was afraid he’d like it too much. He hadn’t tried meth, either, but that was more due to his misguided notion that meth was the drug of choice for the poor.

Steven considered the possibility of his father knowing that his wife slept with other men, but dismissed the notion quickly. Steven’s father was proud, as many Korean men were. It seemed a man would lose face immediately if he had a wife who had lovers on the side. His parents were certainly not the type to have an open marriage. Not a chance. Privacy, the protection of the family name, and Anna were his father’s top priorities, and Steven experienced firsthand how angry his father could become if anyone jeopardized those things. Steven shook his head, pissed with his mother for putting him in this terrible position. This was exactly the kind of shit Steven didn’t like to think about. Above my fucking pay grade, he thought to himself.