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He turned to hug Hunter… and stopped dead in his tracks All the joy went of Brandon like a deflated balloon

Oh…

I suddenly realized the sa he did: that all of this would take place in the fall Colin and Brandon had one year of school left But Hunter…

… Hunter was graduating this spring

“Bro,” said Colin, turning to face their friend “I’h, and we can get your na father, even as an aluh…”

He looked up at his friend reluctantly But rather than disappointment, Hunter’s expression was all smiles

“It’s all good,” Hunter said, hugging Colin hard He gave hiuys flat on their ass “I appreciate it, but I don’t need that anyreat, but when it was over, that was the end foron”

“So are we,” said Brandon He pointed to the water-stained floor “Founding fathers or not, our first loyalty lies here”

“And here,” said Colin, throwing an arm around me

“Good to hear,” I laughed “I was feeling a little left out for a moment”

They pulled ht little circle around me like they always did Brandon slipped an arm around my waist Colin, over my shoulder

Hunter’s hand slid beneath theirs, settling over ave it an affectionate squeeze

“You’re never left out”

I sighed in contentuess I was lucky that way Everything just had a way of working out

“You know,” said Colin, looking around, “we could probably fix this place up pretty nice Even better than the last one”