Page 116 of All Roads Lead to You

He raised a blond brow, his coffee-and-cream eyes staring hard at me. “Seriously? How did that happen?”

“It’s a long story,” I sighed and chugged back half the can of beer, feeling the burn in my acid stomach.

“I’m all ears if you need to talk, man, because it looks like you have something heavy to say.”

“Thanks. I do. So, yeah, we kind of had a blow-up early on, but then we talked, and it cleared up so much shit between us. After that, the trip was amazing and fun. We got to enjoy hanging around each other. I think my favorite was Lake Tahoe. I really want to go back there.”

“Wow. Okay, well, I’m glad to see you both figured your shit out. At least you two will stop fucking fighting, and I can stop listening to it. I still don’t like him, but I guess as long as you do...” He shrugged and took another sip of beer.

Here it goes.

With a deep breath, I exhaled the truth. “It’ll be more than that. I’m not going to go into details because it’s not entirely my story to tell, but let’s just say we connected as more than just brothers.”

“What does that mean?” His brows shot straight to his hairline, and his eyes widened. “Wait… I’m going to assume you mean more than a friendship here.”

“Yeah.”

He ran a hand through his blond hair. “Shit, we’re going to need something heavier than this cheap ass beer.”

Caleb walked out into the dining room, opened the liquor cabinet, and brought back a bottle of something amber colored and two shot glasses. He set the glasses on the table and poured the liquor to the brim.

“Dad’s whiskey… the good stuff.”

He tossed it all back like a shot and coughed. I wasn’t a whiskey drinker, and I didn’t want to throw it all up, so I took a tiny sip.

“Wimp,” he teased. “Now out with it. Tell me how stepbrothers may be more than brothers.”

“As I said, it’s not all my story, but after we worked out our shit, I kind of messed with him one night. He’d never had a real kiss before, so I thought I’d show him how it was done, kind of like how you and I did before we started dating others.”

“Let me guess, one thing led to another.”

“Yep, exactly.”

That we were talking about this and Caleb not telling me I was being an idiot solidified our friendship.

“I mean, you’ve only ever been with Lauren, so this is kind of weird, and I never imagined you with a dude, but I guess I could see that happening to you more than to Logan. He’s so… stiff and broody. Then again, he’s barely ever been with anyone before, so maybe it makes sense. Wait… is he gay or something?”

“That’s his story.” Although not answering was an answer in itself.

Caleb poured himself another shot of whiskey and downed it while I still nursed mine. “And what about you?”

“I’m not gay, but something else.”

“Bi?”

“No.”

I had definitely questioned my sexuality again after meeting up with Caleb. We’d kissed once upon a time, and he was a good-looking guy, but there were no sparks. Then again, he was my best friend, and I only saw him as such.

“What else is there?” he asked.

“Apparently, I’m a pansexual, and I only learned that when Logan and I hit a gay bar in Austin, Texas.”

I went on to explain the difference between bisexuality and pansexuality to him, and he sat there, listening without judgment. I’d never been more appreciative of my best friend before.

“Now that you and Logan have feelings for each other, it doesn’t change the fact that you two are also family. How is that going to play out? Do your parents know?”

I downed the rest of my drink, feeling the stinging burn go straight to my gut. “All good questions. We don’t know. Logan wants to tell them, but I’ll go with whatever he decides.”

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