Cocktails & Dreams Read Online Free PDF Page A

miracle if they ever met again.
    “Well, what did you think?” Conor asked as he flopped down beside Nicholas.
    “Think about what?”
    “About the state of global warming.” Conor shook his head. “About applying for med school in Cali, dumbass. That’s what we went out there for, right?” He brushed invisible dust off his shirt, avoiding Nick’s eyes. “Do I need to look for a new roommate?”
    Nicholas spotted a landmine ahead and decided to tread lightly. His decision to pursue med school had precipitated the only real argument that the friends had ever had, especially when Nick decided to look outside of Boston. Conor’s insane self-confidence didn’t stretch to his education, and he scoffed at anyone returning to college at twenty-seven, especially himself. One thing led to another, and soon they’d been shouting in each other’s faces. Eventually they calmed down, and an uneasy truce existed on the subject. Now it seemed that Con was ready to pick at the scab.
    “Not quite yet, Con,” Nick replied carefully. “I just applied; there’s no guarantee that I’ll get accepted. But, yeah, if I do get in, I’ll go. I need to do this.”
    Conor looked up at the ceiling with a disbelieving expression. “Like the son of William Cooper wouldn’t get in wherever he wanted. The schools will be fighting over you.”
    Nick’s tone showed his irritation. “That’s not fair, Conor. I’ve only applied to the one school, and I’ve never used my father’s name or reputation to get anything. He’s the surgeon, not me. The fact that you would say that just pisses me off royally.”
    Conor seemed to deflate. “Sorry, man,” he mumbled. “You know I didn’t mean it.” He heaved himself off the couch and started to pull his case into his bedroom. Without turning around, he asked, “When will you find out?”
    “Probably May. If I get in, I’ll be moving in June or July to get settled before school starts.”
    Conor just nodded his head and continued into his room, shutting the door quietly.
    After a couple of days of sulking, Conor’s natural good humor started to return, though Nicholas saw him with an expression of uncharacteristic seriousness more than once. Work kept both men as busy as it always had, and the months until Nicholas could reasonably expect to hear from UC Davis sped by.
    The only breaks in Nicholas’s routine were occasional visits to his parents and dreams about his mystery girl. Those only got more frustrating and frequent as time went by. Tantalizing glimpses of her filled his nights: the slope of a breast, the sweep of her inner thigh, the sweet curves of her waist and neck. It was frustrating, to say the least, and it became harder and harder for him to write her off as a blip in his sexual history. It became a relief to go to work, and the more exhausting his day, the better.
    Nick was crashed on the couch after a particularly brutal shift when Conor’s booming voice dragged him from a particularly hot dream of his mystery girl in the shower.
    “Mail, horndog!” Conor dropped an envelope on Nick’s chest and loped into the kitchen, nearly banging his head on the lintel.
    Opening one eye, Nicholas tried to focus on the writing on the front of the envelope. University of California at Davis . Oh. He slowly sat up and opened the envelope: Dear Mr. Cooper, We are pleased to inform you…
    Conor’s tension filled voice came from the kitchen. “So?”
    “Yeah, Con, I’m in.”
    He waited for the explosion and was surprised when Conor just said, “I figured. Wanna grab some dinner?”
    “Sure!” Nicholas was ready to agree with almost anything if he didn’t have to renew their argument or deal with a sulking roommate.
    After a quick burger and a couple of beers at a sports bar, they walked out to look over the pond on the Common. Nick took a deep breath, realizing that he would miss this. Still, things always changed. He started ticking off the arrangements that had to be made