Page 53 of It Starts With Summer

“Okay.How do I get into this summer camp?And are the other girls there hot?”

I smirked at her.“Oddly enough, as a gay adult man, I didn’t find myself assessing the attractiveness of the twelve-year-old girls.”But her words made me think about camp.“But Camp Eagle Ridge is a very accepting place.I think you’d fit right in.Well, if you work on your personality, anyway.”

“What’s wrong with my personality?”she gasped, then turned and her eyes widened.“Oh, hey, Rav.”

Ravi was standing there, looking handsome enough to kiss, so I stood and kissed him.It was tender and sweet, and it went on for a bit too long, if the gagging noises Jiya was making were any kind of signal.

“What is going on?”he asked.

“Your sister is having a crisis.”

“I’m gay, okay?”Jiya yelled.“You can say it!”

A loud gasp came from down the hall, and we all turned to see Arjun, Ravi’s father, standing there, eyes wide.I glanced back towards Jiya, who was sinking down in her chair, her hands over her mouth.“That was not the plan,” she squeaked.

“It’s just a phase, Appa,” Ravi and Jiya’s oldest sister said, coming up behind her father.“You know Jiya, she always follows the fads.She doesn’t know herself.”

Jiya looked heartbroken.“Esha, what?”

I frowned, turning towards Esha and crossing my arms over my chest.“Did you call being gay a trendy phase?”I stepped forward.“This is who Jiya is saying she is — you’d better damn well learn to accept that and take her seriously if you want to maintain your relationship with your sister.And Mr.Chandra, Mrs.Chandra, I’m sure you both love her, no matter who she loves.Right?”

They all stared at me, their mouths agape, and I blinked, processing what I’d just said.

“Potato?”I yelped, then grabbed Jiya’s hand and ran from the hotel.

Behind me, I heard Ravi say.“Remember, potato means you can’t judge him for what he just said.Though I think it was fine.”

twenty-four

Ravi

“Ican’tbelieveyouchewed Esha out like that.”From the volume of her voice, I guessed that Jiya was thrilled with Parker, who had taken her with him when he’d stormed out of the hotel after the confrontation.Parker blinked up at the bright sun as if being outside startled him, then turned to me, eyes wide.

“I yelled at your parents.”His skin looked a little pale, and I wondered if it was shock, or the lack of waffles.“Shit.This is a disaster.”

“It was more of a stern lecture.And I agreed with everything you said.”I reached out and rubbed Parker’s back, trying to encourage him to slow his breathing before he hyperventilated.“Plus, you said potato.”

“They’re not part of the potato pact,” Parker groaned.“Why did I even say it?That’s your thing.”

I grinned.“I prefer to think of it as our thing.”

“He was kind of yelling, though.”Jiya’s input was not very helpful.I leaned towards her, elbowing her firmly.

“Shh.He’s panicking about the family not liking him.Try to be encouraging,” I whispered to Jiya.

“Well, I like him, so he doesn’t need to worry.The rest of them don’t count,” Jiya whispered back.She was still holding Parker’s hand, and she tugged on it.“Can we go shopping?We could buy me a pride shirt.I want to show Esha that you were right.Who I am is no fad!Also, I think I want bangs.”

“We forgot to eat.”Parker suddenly looked even more worried.He glanced longingly toward the hotel.“That breakfast looked so good.What are the chances we can casually walk back in there and steal some pastries?”

Jiya let go of Parker’s hand and jumped up and down, clapping.“Oh!I know this!We need to feed him.Golden retrievers need to be fed to be kept happy and cheerful.”Jiya ruffled Parker’s hair like he was a dog.

Parker blinked up at her.“What?”

“It is canon.You can’t argue with it,” she said.“Golden retrievers are the type of boy that is fun, adorable, and a little dumb —”

“Hey!”Parker protested.“I go to Stanford.”

“And I don’t think that’s what canon means.”I wondered if maybe I was missing some kind of subtext here.

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