I groaned loudly as I dropped the box I was holding on the floor and
feel back into the couch. "Thank you so much Ev. I don't know what I'd do
without you." I said as I looked at him across the room.

"You're more than welcome." He said as he took a drink of his bottled
water. We both looked up as Evan's boyfriend walked in. I took in his form,
and I smiled. "Keep your eyes off of him. He's all mine." Evan said grinning
from ear to ear.

"You know what they say," I said with a grin, "All the good ones are
taken, or gay."

"Thank god!" Evan said as Bruce leaned down and gave him a kiss.
Bruce was 6'3", and built like a Greek god.

I shook my head. "Any chance you will ever go straight Bruce?" I said
with a grin.

"No offense but I don't like innies." He said with a flash of white teeth
as he grinned.

"Oh well. Can't blame me for trying." I laughed as Evan snorted. "Don't
worry I'll keep my hands off of him. My eyes are a different story." I winked at
Evan and he stuck his tongue out at me. "No, thank you both so much. I'd
never get all this done before I have to start to work if it wasn't for you." I had
been offered a job University of Kentucky, teaching Ancient History, the
money alone would have been enough to make me move across the country.
The opportunity to teach what I loved more than anything, was a dream come
true.

"Well as much as we would love to stay here, we have to get back."

"Oh I know. Thank you so much. Please be careful getting to the
airport." I said as I stood from the couch.

"You are more than welcome. And we will be." Evan said as he walked
toward me.

I looked up at him and felt my eyes dampen. "I'm going to miss you so
much."

Evan's bottom lip quivered slightly and he held it between his teeth
and smiled down at me. "I'm going to miss you too. Are you sure I can't talk
you into coming back with us?"

I shook my head and the tears began, "I love you so much. Thank you
for always being there for me."

"I will always be here for you. If you get an opening for a slightly
uptight, gay secretary you better call me!"

"You will be the first person I call."

"You better, take care of yourself okay?" Evan placed his hands on my
shoulders and looked down at me.

"Always." I squeezed his hand that rested on my right shoulder.

"You can't live on smokes and coffee." He said and pulled me to him. I
wrapped my arms around his waist as the tears came out forcefully.

"I can try." I said as I pulled away from him. "I'll take care of myself." I
looked up at Bruce, "Watch out for him, please."

"Always," Bruce said looking at Evan so lovingly, that my own heart
ached with longing.

"Okay thank you again. Go before I lock you two in here and make you
stay with me."

"Okay, bye darling!" Evan said as he took Bruce's offered hand.

I watched them as they walked back to their rented car and waved as
they pulled out of my driveway. I closed the door and leaned against it looking
around at my cluttered house that suddenly felt completely empty. I noticed a
box in the study door way, I don't know what I had even kept all of it. Yeah I
did, Evan told me I would want it. I pulled the box toward me and bit my lip as
I read the side, "Alex". I opened the box and could still smell his cologne in the
box. It had been almost six months since the night we fought. They had left
that day to go on a world tour, I hadn't kept up with them. I didn't want to
know that he was happy with some groupie of the day. I wanted to believe
that he was just as unhappy as I was. I snorted, yeah right. When you looked
like Aj, you didn't stay lonely for long. I shook my head and shoved the box
across the room watching it slide easily on the hardwood floor. I stood and
made my way into the study. I had to go to work in the morning, and I needed
to get things ready to go. Before long I was happily knee deep in books, and
lecture notes.