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Cody gave us a brief rundown of life on the road with his guitarist boyfriend and his almost-famous band, Jealousy It sounded like a sweet deal…private jets, five-star hotels, and frequent celebrity sightings While the rest of our gang was gearing up for our final year of grad school, Cody had successfully launched He’d graduated last June, had a great job, and was about to move in with his hot rock-star boyfriend in West Hollywood

To be honest, it felt like he’d already moved out I hadn’t seen him in weeks I was happy for Cody, but our apartment felt lonely without him

Heck, I was lonely Or maybe just a tad depressed Who could blame me? My best-friend-slash-roommate had been busy or MIA all summer, my family was in crisis mode, and my fall schedule had just blown to shreds

The first was a bummer for me, but awesome for my friend, while the second sucked, and the third was e hole inI had any real power over And e I could keep to e, Asher, Tommy, and Holden were my new roomies

We found a great house to rent in Pasadena, close to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, where a few of my friends had internships, and within a reasonable couys We were a close-knit group, and we had a ton in couys were smart They’d notice if I was ho for the in daily Star Trek marathons

I figured it was best to get the interrogation and pity party over with in one fell swoop I invited Cody to our “pre- that it didn’t seeral part of our circle And that was completely true

I rads Holden, Asher, and Tommy became part of our crew a few years later when they enrolled at UCLA for their ineering prograineers

We’d become close over the past few years My buddies were driven intellects who shared ed me to aim for excellence in my field We bonded over shared classes, lab experias

Were we nerds? Well, maybe

I reached forfor the straw inlasses I finally captured it and took a long pull, carefully asse conversations

The couple at the neighboring table was evidently in relationship crisis mode Their hushed, harsh whispers contrasted with the sporty enthusias from the opposite end of the café It somehow penetrated the friendly cocoon of Cody’s story about three am room service at the Four Seasons