Page 4 of The Laughing Game

“I’m not gay! I’ll admit that I might be alittle bitbi. I’ll put that on the census form next time it comes around. Happy?”

“Yes, actually. And I know someone else who will be,” Sebastian said.

Both Jacob and I said, “Who?”

Sebastian only smiled.

“Who?” I repeated.

He regarded me more seriously. “Do you really want to know?”

I thought about that for a split second.

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

“Gideon Foster.”

A strange white-hot flash went through me from head to toes. I pretended that that name had had no effect.

“Gideon Foster,” I said. His name felt good in my mouth. Holy shit. I was probably at least a bit bi.

“Yes,” Sebastian said. “I believe he and Vihaal have a bet also.”

My breathing picked up. I uncrossed my leg, then crossed the other one.Be cool, be cool.

“Look at him,” Jacob said to Sebastian. “It’s as if you just handed him a surprise Christmas gift.”

“Or a grenade.”

Gideon Foster and Vihaal Petrovsky were friends of theirs, and I’d been getting to know them slowly over the past few months. Casually. As friends. They were prospective business clients, and I liked to get to know people before I committed to working with them. At least, that was what I told myself.

I laughed but it sounded totally fake, even to my ears. “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t even care. Why would I care?”

“Oh fuck, you’retotally into them!” Sebastian said. He turned to Jacob. “You owe me fifty bucks.”

“Seriously?” I said, standing up. I couldn’t keep still. It was like a bomb had been dropped, but I couldn’t tell if I wanted to run or if I wanted to let it shatter me into a million horny pieces. “You twohave a bet?”

“So, Gideon thinks you’re bi, and he thinks you’reintohim and Vihaal. At least a little teensy bit,” Sebastian said with glee, holding his thumb and forefinger a few millimeters apart. “I think you’re into them about this much,” he said, moving them apart. Quite far apart.

“Come on,” I said, my voice barely there.

Jacob leaned forward. “Angel. Are you into Vihaal and Gideon? We’d understand if you were. They’re really quite something.”

“Um,” I murmured, squirming and trying to hide the fact that my cock was swelling at the mere thought of them, even though I hadn’t been a horny mess when I’d walked into the club. At least not tonight. “Ah…maybe a little bit?”

“I knew it!” Sebastian shouted, standing up. He turned to Jacob. “I told you.”

Jacob slowly smiled as he stared at me with a strange kind of satisfaction. “Won’t Gideon and Vihaal be delighted.”

“You can’t tell them. Please, don’t tell them,” I muttered. “God. This is so embarrassing.”

“Why is it embarrassing? It would be embarrassing if we’d found out you had a crush on Justin Trudeau or something like that.” He narrowed his eyes. “Doyou have a crush on Justin Trudeau?”

“No, I don’t have a fucking crush on Justin Trudeau! I don’t have a crush on anyone!”

“Well, maybe Vihaal and Gideon. A little one,” Sebastian said.

I seemed to be panting. Why was I panting?

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