Summary

Chapter 8 opens several days later when Niru agrees to meet Damien for coffee at the Tryst Café. Niru is nervous at first, but Damien assures him that things will get better, just as they did for him when he finally left home. Damien is 18 and from Newport News, Virginia. Both of his sisters are in the military, and his father expects him to join the Navy or do ROTC. Damien has other plans, however. He is thinking about moving to New York to dance. When Niru asks Damien if his parents know he is gay, Damien says they do no not—no big deal since Damien may never live with them again.

Niru rushes to practice after the date and thinks about the contrasts between the two of them. Damien is putting himself through school, unlike Niru. Niru wishes he...