“Kids mean more people to worry about in my life and that scares me.” His heart picked up a rapid beat in his chest, thoughts of Levi taking over, as they always did when he considered a serious future. Which was why he rarely let himself go there.

He glanced at Faith. “Come on.”

“Where?”

“Someplace we can talk. We came, we saw, we brought gifts and favors… Izzy and Gabe will understand.” As if sensing they were talking about him, Gabe glanced over.

Jason gestured to the door and Gabe nodded, his expression one of understanding. Grasping Faith’s hand, he wove through the crowds of people, and they grabbed their coats and slipped out the door. If he was going to have this necessary conversation, he was going to do it in a place that mattered.

“Where are we going?” Faith asked, rushing to keep up with his long strides. He couldn’t help it. Thinking about retelling this story made him antsy and anxious and he needed to move.

“You’ll see. Just bear with me.”

With traffic, it took him thirty minutes to cross town and head up toward the place where he and his brothers had met. He pulled onto the city street that housed Manhattan University, where he’d gone to school, and parked in a nearby lot.

“Is this where you, Tanner, Landon, and Levi went to college?” Faith asked after he’d handed the attendant his keys and they started walking up the ramp toward the street.

“What do you know about Levi?” he asked gruffly.

“The night I first met you, I Googled the nightclub and found the website. I read the dedication,” she said, her voice soft and full of understanding.

He swallowed over the lump in his throat but remained silent. They walked down the sidewalk and headed along the street known as Fraternity Row and came to a stop at a brownstone with steps leading to the front door. The fraternity located here now was a new one, not the one he and his friends had pledged, but the building was the same, just as the memories remained.

“What happened here?” Faith asked, her hand clasping his.

The bite of the cold wind nipped at his face, but he was here to feel the sensation. Levi wasn’t. So he stayed here, as he began to tell Faith the story.

“I met the guys in the dorm. We lived on the same hall and we clicked immediately. The four of us hung out and did everything together. We started school in late August, and of all the guys, I was closest to Levi. We had the same major, business, were in the same classes. He switched to room with me because he wanted a break from his twin.” He chuckled at the memory. The guys had started as roommates and things quickly devolved until Levi had wanted out.

“You must get close living together. I went to a local school, so I wouldn’t know. I can only guess,” she said.