He couldn’t, wouldn’t ask Colton to stay, though. He wasn’t arrogant enough to think Colton would pick him over football and a life of fame, and he was too much of a coward to hear Colton say that to his face. Better to let Colton go gracefully, leave him with the good memories, than leave him with the image of Nick asking for something Colton couldn’t give. Even if together they could shake the stars, and even if, when Colton fell asleep in his arms at night, Nick knew that what they’d become had gone far outside the boundaries he’d tried to scribble around his heart.
