Page 49 of Wrap Around
"No."
"Liar. Look at you. I bet you've been sitting up all night waiting for me to get back and account for my whereabouts."
This jerk thinks he's hilarious.
"I'm only as worried as you would be if you were me," I say, shrugging. "You know, if I'd come back drunk off my ass after cruising every gay bar in town trying to hook up with strangers. So drunk I couldn't hold myself up, rambling on about some guy that looked like you trying to suck my?—"
"I was out with Franks and Brent," he says quickly. "They're throwing a New Year’s Eve party after the game Tuesday. They caught me in the lobby after I'd gotten off the phone with your wife's voicemail, again, because she's still not answering my calls."
"I know she's not answering you. She's okay, though. She texted me." I hold up my phone as proof, only letting him see the last string of texts between us.
Wifey: I'm scared, Silas. What if he hates me?
Me: He won't, I promise. He has something he needs to tell you, too.
Wifey: We can do it together, then? I need you there, Silas.
Me: Of course.
Wifey: I love you.
Me: I love you, too. I promise everything is going to be okay.
Gideon swallows and looks at me uncertainly.
"How can you say you love her like that?"
"Because I do love her," I say simply. "I love her the same way I've loved her since we were little kids. It's just… different than the way I've lovedyousince we were little kids."
I smirk, but Gideon doesn't look amused.
"Can't you just tell me?"
"It's not just my truth to tell. Just like your truth isn't for me to tell her."
"She's all I have left, Silas. I don't know what I would do if she didn't accept me." His voice sounds as small as it did the other night, and my heart squeezes.
"I know you're afraid. So is she. She's terrified that you're going to judge her or think less of her." I stand and walk to him, stopping when he takes a step back, giving him whatever space he needs for now. "You have some reassurance that she doesn't have, though. Because I can tell you with absolute certainty that she's going to love and accept you exactly as you are."
"How could you know that for sure?"
"Because she accepted me."
CHAPTER 20
GIDEON
"Because she accepted me."
No matter how many times I repeat his words over and over in my head, I can't make sense of them.
"Because she accepted me."
What does that mean?
"Because she accepted me."
Does he mean that she knows he likes men? Are they about to tell me they have an open marriage? Because, zero judgement, but that is absolutely not going to do anything to make me feel better about this situation. They can do whatever they want, but I'm not going to be in some kind of throuple situation with my sister and her husband. That crosses a line for me.
