Page 74 of Ricochet

“I know you’re not.” He presses his lips against mine in a quick kiss. “You handled being stuffed in the trunk of my car really well.”

I pull his hand off from around my neck and glare up at him. “You did not.”

He chuckles. “I did.”

It’s a good thing Iwoke up in the middle of the night because Stone had to drive us back out of town so I could pick up Jesse’s car. He had pulled the keys out of my pocket and parked it a couple streets over just in case.

And then apparently shoved me in his fuckingtrunk.

He’s lucky I understand his reasoning.

After we got a shower together—best fucking shower of my life—he put some makeup over the cut on my neck. He also apparently has experience with covering suspicious wounds.

By the time I make the drive home, I’m walking inside my apartment just after six in the morning. I come to a halt in the open doorway when I see Jesse standing behind the kitchen counter with a mug of coffee in his hands. He must’ve just woken up because his hair is in disarray, and he’s wearing nothing but pajama pants.

“You motherfucker.”

“I’m sorry.” I hang his keys on the hook and shut the door. “I didn’t mean to be out all night with your car.”

“I’m not worried about the fucking car, dude.” He places the mug down and walks into the living room, stopping in front of me with a crease between his brows. “I woke up and freaked out when you weren’t here. I tried to call, but you didn’t answer. Are you okay?”

I’m close to losing my mind at everyone worrying about me. But, fuck…I feel bad for making Jesse worry in the first place.

“I’m fine. My phone died.”

“Do you want to tell me why you were out all night?”

I guess if I want to make it up to him, I could give him the truth. Or, at least, a version of it.

“I, um…I kind of had a date.”

His eyes go comically wide just before a grin stretches across half his face. “You?A date?”

I shrug, but his grin is infectious.

He crosses the room and grabs my arm to pull me to the couch, making us both sit like he’s expecting to hear all the gossip he’s dreamed so long about. “Please tell me it was your dreamy teammate from that party.”

I don’t know if Stone would want me telling anyone or if he’s even out. But I could use someone to talk about this with myself.I’m definitely not having any kind of crisis about it, which he’d probably be proud of me for. And if I was going to talk to anyone, it’d be Jesse.

“I can tell you it was a guy.”

His grin widens, and he’s practically bouncing on the seat cushion. “So what is this? A gay awakening? Bi? Pan?”

I consider it, but none of them feel right. Stone might not be the first person I’ve felt at least a semblance of attraction to, but…I don’t know.

Is it possible to be Stone-sexual?

“Do I have to put a label on it?”

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

It hits me all of a sudden why Jesse is my best friend. We’ve talked about all this before, and he’s voiced his theories. But he’s never pushed me.

“You could just use queer,” he continues. “Or no label at all. It’s completely your choice.”

Again, I contemplate it. That one feels right.

“Sure. If it’ll make you happy, we’ll go with queer.”

---