Page 62 of Storm in a Teacup
The mug I’m holding slips from my hand, shattering on the floor. “Bollocks,” I swear.
I quickly pivot away, Isla calling after me, “Ben!”
“I have to fetch a broom!” I call back. I retrieve the broom and then begin to sweep up the broken ceramic.
“Ben,” Isla says again, softer.
I keep my focus on the broom, crouching over as I sweep the remnants of the mug into the dustpan. Isla crouches down with me, grabbing my wrist and saying one more time, “Ben.”
I look up at her, panic alighting my eyes.
“Oh my god,” she whispers, the realization dawning on her. “You’re in love with him.”
I shake my head and say, “I’m with Linny,” like that removes David from the equation. Like that was even a true statement.
“Talk to me. Please.”
I sigh, pushing the broom and the dustpan full of broken mug to the side, dropping fully onto the floor. I bring my knees up, resting my arms on them. Without looking at her, I say, “Seven months ago, I told him I was in love with him. He does not feel the same. If his heart was broken, mine was shattered.” I glimpse up to see her shoulders sag.
“Shite.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Are you still…?”
“I’m trying to get past it.”
“Any luck?”
“Hard to say.” I offer a small smile that feels more like a grimace. “I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you I’m bi.”
She stretches forward, pushing my legs to the side to wrap her arms around me. “I love you and I accept you,” she says into my shoulder.
“Don’t make this a thing,” I groan, tolerating the hug.
She pulls away and meets my eye. “I love you and I accept you.” Then she shoves me and says, “Also, I knew. I’ve seen the way you look at Orlando Bloom.”
I throw my head back in a laugh that almost immediately dissolves into tears. When she came out to me back when she was a teenager, I told her I knew because I’d seen the way she looked at Keira Knightley. Goddamn her. “Orlando BloomandKeira Knightley,” I sob.
“Of course. The classic bisexual awakening.”
“You’re the first person I’ve told,” I say through the tears.
She cocks her head to the side. “What about David?”
“I didn’t come out really. I just told him about the love bit. You’re the first person I’ve said the word to. Bisexual.” I sniff loudly, so she snatches a stack of napkins from off the counter, chucking them at me. “Rachel knows too-ish. She saw me snogging some bloke behind a club.”
She scoffs. “Are you taking the piss? Rachel knows?”
“I asked her not to tell you. Don’t be cross.”
She points an aggressive finger at me. “Stop telling my girlfriend to keep your secrets from me. She’s too nice to betray your trust.”
“Fine. Linny knows as well, I guess, but again, I never said the word.”
She falls back to her arse on the ground, mirroring my position with her knees brought up and forearms resting on them. “Well, even though it sounds like I’m actually the last to know, thank you for saying the word to me. So, what about Linny? Are you sure you should be seeing her while you’re trying to get over someone else?”
I exhale heavily. “I shouldn’t be. Which is why I’m not.”
