Everything To Lose - E.M. Denning

Chapter 1

Zane

Zane grabbed three beers out of the cooler and passed two off to his kid brother, Jonathan. Jonathan passed one over to his best friend, Dante, and they cracked them open. It didn’t matter that Jonathan and Dante weren’t old enough to legally drink, no one around them cared. There was a bonfire, a lake, and a group of people all college bound soon.

Zane would be starting his senior year, but Jonathan and Dante were freshman. Because Jonathan wanted a career in art, he was off to some fancy art school in Los Angeles, and Dante planned to attend the same school Zane went to, a few hours away in upstate New York.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving tomorrow,” Dante frowned into his beer and Jonathan threw an arm around him.

“You’ll be fine without me.”

Dante shrugged. “It’s going to be weird.”

“Life is weird, Dante.” Jonathan tapped their beer cans together. “Drink up. The night is young and so are we.” Jonathan flashed Dante one of his toothy grins and downed the rest of his beer. “Speaking of, which, I see Laina over there.”

Zane watched Jonathan pat his back pocket, probably looking for a condom, knowing Jonathan. He leaned close to Dante and breathed in his face.

“How’s my breath?”

Dante stepped back and frowned. He waved a hand between them. “Fucking gross.”

Jonathan shrugged. “Nothing I can do about that now. Wish me luck. Zane, watch Dante for me. Make sure if someone comes to take advantage of him, they wear a condom first.” Jonathan winked and disappeared into the shadows.

“Fucker.” Dante swore quietly and sipped at his beer. Dante, quieter and more reserved than his best friend, the total opposite of Jonathan, Zane sometimes wondered how the two of them could be friends. But Dante had always been a fixture in their life. He’d met Jonathan in the first grade and had been around ever since.

“He’s an idiot.”

Dante looked up at him. “You don’t have to hang around if you don't want to. I know you probably have friends here somewhere.”

Zane bumped his shoulder into Dante’s. “I don’t mind hanging with you.” It wasn’t a lie. He hadn’t planned to attend the end of the summer party this year, but Jonathan begged him to go, claiming that he’d be too drunk to find his way back to the road to meet their ride.

Dante went quiet and they stood there for a few minutes watching the bonfire kick sparks up into the sky.

“Can I ask you a stupid question?”

“Shoot,” Zane sipped his beer. “Jonathan does all the time.”

“What’s college like?”

“You nervous?” Zane glanced at Dante. The kid had his can of beer in a death grip.

“Me, nervous?” Dante scoffed and they both laughed. Shy and timid, it had shocked Zane when he’d come out of the closet. Not because it surprised Zane that Dante was gay, but it took balls to be honest about yourself and he was always so guarded.

“It’s not as bad as whatever you’re dreaming up in your head.”

Dante snorted. “I believe that.”

Zane remembered his first week on campus. He’d bounced between elated and scared shitless so often he probably had brain damage. “It’s wild. You’ll get used to it though. You got used to Jonathan, didn’t you?”

“I had a lifetime to get used to the little shit,” Dante laughed. “Did he ever tell you how we became friends?”

“Knowing Jonathan, he probably took one look at you and declared you to be his new best friend.”

“I was in the sandbox and Lucy St James took my Hot Wheels. He got pissed off when she wouldn’t give it back. At lunch he used to trade his pudding for her granola bar, but that day he told her he didn’t want to trade anymore because she was mean to me. Then he declared me to be his best friend.”

Dante was a better friend than Jonathan deserved. Jonathan was off in the woods with Laina Graves instead of here with his friend on their last night together. Dante didn’t seem to mind, though, so Zane tried not to.

“College will be fine. You might not meet a Jonathan, but most of the people on campus are pretty great. You’ll find where you fit.”

Dante shrugged. “I suppose.” He drained his beer and tossed the empty on the ground near the cooler. “I’m glad you came, by the way.”

Zane grinned at Dante. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Someone will have to carry his drunk ass to the road, and it sure won’t be me.”

Zane tipped his head back and laughed. “He’ll