Page 4 of Betting Brett

“Duh,” Brett playfully rolls his eyes. It’s what he always gets, and I’m well aware of that. “Let me guess. Pesto?”

“Duh,” I echo, leaning back in my chair as I laugh. “And garlic knots for us to share. Some things never change.”

Except things did change. I moved away, and Brett began a new life. It was strange at first because I was used to spending so much of my time with him, and suddenly I rarely saw him. We went from seeing each other every day to sporadic visits.

When I decided to move back home, I knew part of my desire to return home was to spend more time with him. I missed my other friends, too, of course, but Brett was on another level. I’m pretty introverted by nature, so meeting new friends isn’t my best skill.

Brett is the opposite of me. He’s outgoing and can make friends with anyone. It’s hard not to like him because he’s such a genuinely decent human.

With all the nostalgia flooding my brain, I feel like I need a second to clear my head. I’ve completely lost track of my conversation with John anyway. I excuse myself from the table and walk to the bathroom.

I already know that this date has failed. There’s nothing really wrong with John. It’s not on him. He’s a little overbearing and just not for me. I’m going to have to put some effort into finding someone who is, and it’s not going to happen if I’m fantasizing about Brett every time I go on a date.

4

Brett

“Andy,whatareyoudoing here?” I blurt out, and my fake smile turns into a real one almost instantly.

“Oh shit, hey,” Andy says, huffing out a little laugh. There’s something about his body language that’s off. I can tell he’s worried or tense orsomething. “I’m just on a date,” he looks around and lowers his voice, “first and last.”

I smile sheepishly. “Me too. I’m on a pretty horrible date right now, so I should probably get back to that… I’ve got to pay the check.”

“Yeah,” Andy says. “I took a chance with a dating app, but there’s just nothing there.”

“I can’t figure out if it’s me or what,” I tell him, shaking my head.

“I’m sure it’s not you,” Andy says as we head back to our respective sections of the restaurant.

I make my way back to Amanda but stop once more in my tracks as I see Andy sit down. I don’t know what I expected, but seated across from him is a tall blond man.

I scan my brain for a second, ensuring I’m not losing my mind. Andy has definitely never mentioned being gay. Then again, he also never mentioned anything about his dating life until now. It’s not like I care. I’m just taken aback that he never told me. I shake the thought away. I’ll have plenty of time to ask him about it when he comes for dinner tomorrow.

When I sit down again, I pull out my credit card and slide the check across the table. As I wait for the waiter to return it, Amanda and I don’t say anything. I can tell she’s as ready as I am to end this thing. I help her into her coat when we stand up, and we head for the door. The route out takes us right by Andy and his date just as they are heading out as well. It feels strange just to walk by, so I stop and introduce Andy and Amanda.

Andy gestures to his date. “This is John, he lives in the next town over.”

Amanda shows more interest in John than she’s shown in me all night. “Hello, I don’t think we’ve ever met,” she says silkily as she extends her hand.

Instead of shaking it, John bends over it like we’re in some sort of Bridgerton knockoff. “I’m thrilled that we have the chance now,” he says as he straightens up. From my point of view, next to Amanda, I can see that there is definite heat in his eyes. She takes his arm, and they walk out the door together, chatting and leaning into each other. They’ve obviously forgotten all about us.

Andy and I look at each other in confusion. “So John is bi then?” I ask.

“Apparently,” Andy says with a shrug. “I’m just glad someone is getting a happy ending out of this.”

We head out to our cars together. “I have to go pick up Isabelle,” I tell him. “Otherwise, I’d much rather stay and hang out with you.”

“It’s all good,” Andy tells me. “We’re doing dinner tomorrow still, yeah?”

“Absolutely,” I say. “And don’t think you’ll get out of the whole ‘why didn’t you tell me you’re gay’ conversation.” I smile as I say it, though. I love Andy no matter what. I just think it’s odd that he never said anything.

“I’ll come over about six,” Andy says. “You can ask me anything. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

We both climb into our cars and head out. As I’m driving to my parents’ house to get Isabelle, I find it funny that I’m way more excited about dinner with Andy and Isabelle tomorrow than I was about going on this date tonight.

By the time I get to work the following day, the ramifications of Andy dating men have really hit me. I still don’t mind, of course. He’ll be my best friend no matter what, but it does complicate things. I’ve never really had to deal with my parents’ homophobia. I could always just walk away from the rants when my mom got going. She’s always been kind of rigid, but the church that she goes to and the echo chamber media she watches have made it so much worse.

I’m not going to be able just to walk away if she says crappy things about Andy. She threw an incredible fit when she found out that I took Isabelle to Sam and Paul’s wedding. Andy is going to be a big part of Isabelle’s life if I have anything to say about it. I’ll have to have a conversation with both my parents when Isabelle isn’t around and make sure they understand that they are entitled to believe whatever they want, but they cannot impose those beliefs on my daughter.

---