Page 53 of Never Will I Ever

“Suit yourself, Reynolds. But don’t come crying to me when you’re hungover tomorrow.”

“It’s three beers,” I remind him. Cracking the drink open, I toss the cap at his head, but he’s quick to bat it away before it hits its mark. “I’m more likely to be mauled beyond recognition by a mountain lion on my way back to my cabin later than be hungover in the morning.”

He arches a brow, tossing back in a playful lilt, “Is that your way of trying to score an invite to stay the night here? To keep your pretty face safe from the wildlife?”

While the comment was surely a meaningless joke from his tone alone, it instantly has the few feet of space between us feeling like nothing more than centimeters. Because…fuck, there’s part of me that wants to feign fear of the things that gobump in the wilderness if it means staying the night here with him.

How repulsive to think such a thing!

I shake my head—to dislodge the ugly claws sinking into my mind—while my cheeks heat. “You’d probably be the one luring it here in the first place. Setting me up for cougar bait would be an easy way to rid yourself of me.”

His soft laugh floats through the air between us. “You’re proving yourself rather impossible to be rid of, Reynolds. At this point, I’m done trying.”

Having no idea how to respond, I take another pull from my bottle and refocus my attention on the show.

A few minutes pass without us saying a word, the only sound coming from Kaleb’s laptop and the occasional sloshing of beer as we continue drinking. Again, it’s not entirely uncomfortable, but tension still lines my back and shoulders regardless.

My every atom is attuned to him, lying in wait for his next move or breath or—

“This is…”

Swallowing, I glance at him and wait for him to finish the thought. Surely the wordweirdorawkwardis about to spill from his lips, and after all that’s happened, I can’t say I’d blame him for it either.

But then his gaze meets mine, and he offers a shrug.

“I don’t know. It’s…nice, I guess.”

Well, I’ll be fucking damned.

My lips twitch up, hinting at a smile, as I take another sip from my drink. “You say that like we didn’t used to spend time together before now.”

“Maybe,” he murmurs, his eyes locked on mine. “But we both know a lot has changed since we first met freshman year.”

Understatement of the century.

There’s a lot of history between us, and as of late, it hasn’t beengood. But since our conversation on the dock,it feels like we’ve begun mending fences. Maybe even rebuilding a friendship. One I hadn’t realized I’d been missing until now.

Then again, how deep of a friendship was it to begin with if we’ve both hidden such integral parts of who we are?

“You didn’t have to keep it a secret, you know,” I find myself saying. When his brows furrow, clearly confused about my statement, I tack on, “That you were gay.”

His expression relaxes and he lets out a soft snort. “For a second you were making it sound like I was keeping a murder spree or drug addiction from you, not my sexuality.”

“Who’s to say you still aren’t?” I volley back, arching a brow. “I don’t know what you do in your free time.”

He lets out an amused laugh, and it causes my stomach to do cartwheels and backflips like a goddamn gymnast. “You caught me. I’m lucky those kids didn’t bring homicide or habitual drug use into the mix during Never Have I Ever, or I’d really be outed for all my secrets.”

The statement comes out so blunt and dry, I can’t help but smile. Something about his phrasing catches in my brain, though, like a fish on a hook. And while I have no room to be asking for details like this from him, the question spills free anyway.

“Are you, though? Out?”

Kaleb shakes his head back and forth, but more in a way of weighing his words than a flat out no.“It’s not something I broadcast to the world, but it’s not really a secret either. My family knows, and yeah, I had that awkward ‘coming out’ moment with my parents in high school. Some people at Foltyn know—”

“But I didn’t,” I cut in immediately.

A statement, not a question.

As I hold his gaze, I realize…fuck, it might even be anaccusation.

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