Page 133 of In Plain Sight

“But you and Zander, you’re together?” she asked tentatively.

I nodded, some of the tightness in my chest lessening. “How much did you see?”

“Honestly, nothing.” She fiddled with her bracelet again. “Just you guys standing in the living room and you looking like you were about to faint from fear.”

“How did you know there’s something between us?” I had to ask. “If you didn’t see anything.”

“His sweatpants.” She spun the bracelet around her wrist. “Unless he went to our high school and played on the hockey team without me knowing about it, those were yours. That, and your reaction, was enough for me to put two and two together.”

I shook my head. I’d given him a pair of sweats to wear when we woke up so he wouldn’t have to put his jeans on again. At the time, I loved seeing him some of my old team gear. Now I felt like an idiot for not realizing how obvious a sign that was.

“You really like him, don’t you?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t just like him. I love him.”

“Have you told him that?”

I shook my head again.

“Is there a reason you haven’t said anything? Is it new?”

“Not that new,” I said honestly. “We started talking about three weeks after I started at the garage, but it’s only been official for just over a month.” That was the easiest way to describe the timeline of our relationship. As much as I lovedmy sister, there was no way in hell I was telling her about Kinksters or how we started things by having anonymous phone sex together. “He’s not out.”

“He’s not?” she promoted when I fell silent.

“His mother is religious, and he grew up in a religious community,” I said, choosing my words carefully. I wasn’t trying to hide Zander’s background; Jade just didn’t need me to info dump everything about him in one conversation. And it wasn’t my story to tell.

A sad look crossed her features. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” I sighed, my shoulders relaxing now that I’d opened up and the world hadn’t ended. “She’s all he has, and he’s afraid he’ll lose her and his community if they find out about him.”

“Is he…like you?”

I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest. “No, he’s gay. I’m bi.” My voice cracked slightly on the word, but I got it out.

She smiled. “How does it feel saying that out loud?”

“Good.” I huffed out a breathy laugh. “Weird, but good.”

We fell silent for a few beats.

“What did you need to talk to me about?” I asked, only then remembering that she’d come over for a reason. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, mostly.” She resumed fiddling with her bracelet. “It’s Mom.”

“What’s going on?” My head was still spinning from the fallout of getting caught and telling Jade my secrets.

“She’s really stressed-out right now. You know how she gets this time of year.”

I nodded.

Our mother loved Christmas. She was the type who put her tree up as soon as the Halloween decorations were down and left it up until at least mid-January. It was her favorite holiday,and she always spent the season stressed-out and trying to make sure everything was perfect.

“She invited Eddie’s kids and their families to Christmas dinner.”

“She did?”

Jade nodded. “I only found out because I heard her talking to Eddie about it on the phone a few nights ago. She told him she was trying to find the right time to tell us, but it hadn’t come up yet.”

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