Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
I left Hale to deal with Xander. The second we reached the kitchen I turned on Tyler. “You’re gay!”
“What?”
“Enough already with the denying,” I moaned. “You’re gay. You like boys. I saw you kissing Xander!”
“You saw us?”
“It’s not like you were hiding.”
He flushed and scrubbed his hands over his face, groaning.
I frowned, wondering why this was so stressful for him. “Are you upset about the girlfriend?”
He stilled then winced. “Fuck!” Pacing to the island, he forked his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know what happened.”
“I do. You made out with a boy.”
He glared at me.
“What? There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“I know. It’s just…” He blew out a breath. “We were sitting there talking about the Kennedys then the next thing I knew, he was looking at me in this strange way. I got all flustered. He moved closer.”
I grinned and nodded. “Then he stuck his tongue down your throat.”
“Don’t be crass, Ray.”
“You were just dry-humping a random dude on my couch, Ty. Are we going to pretend either of us is demure?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “So not cutesy.”
“Aw, you are gay! This is wonderful!”
He frowned at me. “What do you mean some random dude. He’s Hale’s friend.”
“Not really.”
“He’s here.”
“So are twenty other strangers. The Davenports do Thanksgiving all wrong.”
“So, you don’t know him?”
“Five minutes ago I didn’t even like him.”
“Great.”
“Ty, it’s fine. He might be a bit of a prick, but anyone with eyes can see he’s good looking. You get your jollies! You deserve this!”
“I have a girlfriend.”
“Your girlfriend looks like a lesbian.”
“Rude.”
I shrugged. “As a beard, you should be able to recognize another beard. You told me you liked her hiking boots. That’s the only thing you mentioned about her appearance. What does that say to you, Ty?”
“It says she has good taste in boots.”
“Have you kissed her.”
“Yes. I’m not a monk, Ray.”
I went to the fridge and grabbed a can of ginger ale. Popping the top, I said, “I honestly believed it was this big secret you’ve been hiding your entire life, but you still seem confused.”
“It’s called fluidity, Rayne. It’s not as simple as you think.”
“It’s also not that complicated.”
“What do you mean?”
I shrugged. “I’m straight. I know I’m straight. I like Hale, and I like having a monogamous marriage. Can you claim the same?”
He met my stare. “No.”
“Then why stress over it? Be gay or be bi or pan or whatever you want to label yourself. The label doesn’t matter, Ty. I love you any way you come. And I never want you to feel like you have to hide your true self from me.”
He reached across the counter and squeezed my hand. “Thank you.”
I smiled. “Now, we can finally talk about it.”
“What do you mean, finally?”
“Ty, I suspected you liked guys since we were kids. You were obsessed with Jimmy Ferguson and made us go to all the football games.”
He blushed then his expression turned apologetic. “Part of me was scared—not of you or what you’d say, but of what my life would become once I admitted who I actually was. The world’s easy for straight guys. I wasn’t ready to give that up.”
“It doesn’t have to be difficult, Ty.”
“I know. But you also can’t guarantee me it’ll be easy, Rayne.”
I squeezed his hand. “No matter what it is, I’m here for you.”
“Thank you.”
I glanced at the door. “So…is Xander, like…the first guy you kissed?”
He blew out a long breath and laughed to himself. Then he met my stare. “He’s fucking hot.”
“Yeah, the assholes usually are.”
“Is he an asshole?”
I shrugged. “Hale says no, but I’m not so sure. I might have been misreading him.”
“Fuck, Ray, what am I doing?” He rubbed his forehead. “This is so unlike me. I don’t even know that guy. I don’t just go around kissing people. I went out with Carla four times before I kissed her.”
“Who’s Carla?”
“My girlfriend!”
“Oh. Right. I keep forgetting about her.”
“Tell me about it.”
We both glanced at the door, and I sighed. “We should probably go back out there.”
Tyler hesitated. “How am I supposed to act, now? I’ve never been in a situation like this before.”
I laughed. “Act normal, you weirdo. Just go out there and be cool.”
“It’s pretty bad when you’re the one giving me behavioral advice.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve had a lot of experience with awkwardness. I know how these things go. Just walk out there and act like nothing happened. Let him take the lead.”
He nodded. “Okay. I can do that. Let him take the lead.”
“Ready?” When he nodded again, I pushed the door open. Hale and Xander looked up at us and I waved up my ginger ale can. “Found my soda.”
We settled onto the couch—me beside Hale and Tyler to my left. Xander sat alone on the loveseat, his stare glued to the television.
Hale’s phone pinged, and he glanced at it, but went back to selecting the movie.