Page 36 of Catch Me
“Shirtless pics?” someone shouted.
“Ah, fucking god damnit,” Kai groaned. “West, we’re busy.”
West appeared over their shoulders and grinned at the camera. “Nobody told me we were having a sexy rendezvous with Trav.”
Linc came up beside him with a frown. “Ugh. Why didn’t you tell me this is a LIVE? I don’t want my face on it.”
People were losing their shit in the comments, and I was simultaneously horrified and amused.
“Do you want to share your coming out experience?” I asked.
West shoved Kai out of the way, then yanked Linc forward. It looked like he was ready to throw a punch, but he was too levelheaded to do it on camera.
“This is my boo thang,” West said before he kissed Linc—with tongue. “He’s my arch nemesis. We were rival quarterbacks, fighting for dominance. Obviously, I won.”
“I moved on to grad school,” Linc corrected. “You were always going to take my spot when I left.”
“Whatever, cream pie.”
“Oh my god, kill me.”
“Long story short, he invited me for a sleepover after I almost got killed by a ninja roach. He fell in love with me after seeing my abs, then he kissed me at a frat party and turned me gay.”
“Missing a few details,” Linc muttered.
“Well,” I said, “everyone has been given insight into what I deal with. I’ll probably have Sen back on here at some point. West is banned.”
“Hold on,” West interrupted. “In all seriousness, I’ve always been of the mindset that if I ever liked a guy, I’d be cool with it. I guess I was fluid, even though I’d only been with women before Linc. I think that no matter who you are, how you were born, or what you identify as, you deserve to live loudly and openly, no matter your past. I’ve taken some punches for Sen, and I will come in swinging for anyone and everyone. All of us will. We’re lucky because we have so much support around us. I think I speak for all of my friends when I say that we’re all a part of this with you, not just Trav. Right?”
Everyone in the room agreed, and it made me smile. Even though I could only do so much right now, they would come through if I asked. Nothing was stopping them.
“Thank you,” I said. “This has really made a shitty day a lot better. I have a friend coming soon, so I have to go, but I’ll come back when I can. Love you all.”
My eyes watered as I stared at the horizon. The sun would set soon, and it made me think of the picture Roman sent me. I’d been so pissed off lately that I’d forgotten to cherish the little things.
Tessa raced past me, and I turned around. I caught a glimpse of Roman as he disappeared into the kitchen. Had he just gotten here or was he standing there for a while?
Chapter 12
Roman
Once the bedroom door closed behind me, I dropped my bag. Travis told me to just come in when I got here, so that’s what I did. He was in the middle of a LIVE, and I didn’t want to interrupt. Then, I was frozen.
“I think that no matter who you are, how you were born, or what you identify as, you deserve to live loudly and openly, no matter your past.”
Why did that statement make me panic? Sen said that he knew he was gay; he was just trying to pretend that he wasn’t. His dad was an asshole who wouldn’t accept him. I could see how Kai would make him brave. I didn’t really know any of them, but my mom always filled me in on things, even if I didn’t ask. She loved all of Til’s friends.
Deciding I should shower after that long drive, maybe more to clear my head than anything, I took off my sweatshirt and tossed it onto the bed. There was a knock on the door, which made my heart immediately speed up. After I opened it, I remembered that I was shirtless, but it was too late to do anything about it now.
“Hey,” Travis said. “You just get in?”
“Yup. About to shower.”
“Sorry, I was on a video before.”
I shrugged. “I just came straight to the room.”
“Well, I saw that you were at the back door, so I thought I’d mention it.”
