Page 54 of Strictly Curious
“When it calms down, we’ll look.” It should have been self explanatory, but Garrett said it anyway.
All together, it probably took about ten minutes before both of our phones stopped pinging with new notifications. Why so many people seemed so invested in our love life was beyond me. Sure, Garrett had been far more popular than I had in school, but this was extreme.
I gnawed at my bottom lip as I picked up my phone again with shaking fingers. I didn’t want to look at the messages, certain that there would be more hate there than support.
What the hell?
Who the fuck does that to someone?
Are you two okay?
I knew it! This isn’t new right?
This is disgusting.
Aren’t they brothers?
OMG! So cute. They’re perfect for each other.
Scrolling through, the messages were all so mixed, but letting out a shaky breath, I was relieved to see more positive than negative. And maybe I was perceiving confusion for negativity.
The hand on my knee made me turn my gaze to Garrett. He was still clutching his phone with his other hand, face staring intently at whatever messages he was looking at. I needed to know his thoughts, because I hoped he realized I wasn’t freaking out right now. That I was doing okay.
When his warm brown eyes met mine, I just knew we were going to figure this out.
“Well?”
“Come on, Ava.” Lucy nudged her girlfriend again.
“What. They’ve been silent since they started staring at their screens. Are we preparing for a meltdown? What’s going on out there?”
A smile spread across my face as I turned to look at Ava and Lucy. “The good news, it’s not all bad. Sure, there’s some people who are shocked…”
“Yeah, shocked doesn’t even begin to cover it,” Garrett cut me off. “But, overall it’s not as bad as we thought.”
“That’s good. That’s really good,” Ava said, scooting to the edge of the couch in her excitement of the good news.
“And I think we need to make our first public appearance.”
I instantly froze at Garrett’s announcement. Sure, finally looking at what was going on outside our home was one big step, but going out and living it?
I swallowed the lump in my throat, slouching in my seat. That might be a bit too much to ask right now. “What do you mean we need to make an appearance?”
Garrett handed over his phone, and I grabbed it, staring at the screen. There was a text message from Cassie. I stared at it for a full minute before the words processed. It had been sent earlier today, so it was a good thing that we’d turned our phones on now.
Party tonight at my place. You should bring that cute boyfriend of yours.
Boyfriend.
The word was right there on the screen. It had come from one of Garrett’s friends. One of his hook-up buddies and she didn’t seem judgmental in the slightest. She’d also known us since we first became brothers.
Garrett leaned into me, nudging me with his shoulder. “So what do you say? Party at Cassie’s?”
My face heated when I thought about the last party at Cassie’s that ended with me leaving with a mess in my pants.
“Yes! I am all for a party at Cassie’s!” Ava cheered.
“The invitation wasn’t for you,” Lucy reminded her.
