Page 27 of Faithful

“All of them!” She tosses a small decorative pillow at me but misses since she’s three sheets to the wind.

“You’ve met my family.” I roll my eyes. “Can you blame me for wanting to figure it out on my own and in private?”

“Doesn’t look like you’ve been doing it on your own, though.” She pauses and sighs heavily. “What’s the deal with you two anyway?”

“Good question.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“A few months…”

Leigh’s eyes widen. “Damn, Watson. I’m really offended now. You get to fuck Iodine’s lead singer and I know nothing about it.”

“Can we, like, stop calling it fucking?”

“Why are you all red? Are you blushing?” She narrows her gaze at me. “Please don’t tell me there’s more to it than… just sex?”

“I’m not sure.” I throw the pillow back at her to divert some of her attention from the fact that I got all protective of something I don’t fully comprehend myself. “Let’s not discuss him, okay?”

“Alright? Could we discuss the fact that you’re gay?” She leans forward and rests both elbows on her knees. “You are gay?”

“It appears so, yes.”

Leigh makes a small unintelligible sound.

I reach for an unfinished beer can on the coffee table and take a swig, thinking that even after the earlier disaster, nothing changed. The world didn’t end. Leigh is still my best friend who keeps giving me shit and Kai kissed me on the lips before leaving and whispered something about missing me.

“You know”–Leigh’s voice grows serious–“I feel like deep down I always knew. I wondered a bit after that night at Tilly’s.”

“When you dragged me out to meet Paul, who turned out to be a total jerk?”

“You were the only guy who didn’t ogle topless Diana Straub dancing on the table. You were eyeing Axel and his boyfriend.”

Cold hits my stomach. “Was I that obvious?”

“No, but you’re forgetting something. I’ve known you forever. I mean, you had a girlfriend in high school, which is fine. It’s normal for some people to try things to understand what they like. And then Ava died, and you weren’t seeing anyone. Also normal. I would probably set dating aside too.”

“I’m still figuring it out,” I confess.Mainly what Kai and I are at this point.“So it’s a secret.”

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m as silent as the grave.”

“Thanks. I appreciate your support.”

“You’re still getting me a new sofa 'cause I can never look at this one without remembering miles of male skin I didn’t need to see.”

“Deal.”

* * *

The next morning, I wake up to a bunch of Google alerts.

Apparently, I was so drunk on beer that I slept through them all.

Iodine is about to head to Nashville to record their upcoming single with the music industry veteran Bryan Rexler.

There’s also a text from Kai.

K: your roommate is cool

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