Page 17 of Loving Lies (Granton University 3)

Sean screwed up his mouth thoughtfully. “Fifteen, technically. We didn’t meet until kindergarten.”

“You know what I mean, asshole!”

Finally beginning to look unsettled, Sean grumbled something under his breath and shifted in his seat. Jonah noticed it then: the fear in his friend’s eyes.

“Look. You’re not exactly the most accepting person when it comes to someone who’s not…you know…like you. I didn’t want you to drop me flat when you found out. So, I’ve been keeping it under wraps for the past couple of years.”

“The past couple of—Christ, Thompson! You’re the only fucking friend I have. Did you honestly think I was just going to write you off because you decided you prefer cock over pussy?”

Ditching all pretenses of casual, Sean stared dead into Jonah’s eyes, and Jonah could see just how much it was taking his buddy to drop this bomb on him.

“Yeah, actually, I kind of did.”

Hissing another curse under his breath, Jonah wiped a hand over his face. “Well, fuck you, then. Your faith in me is astounding, you know. Holy shit.”

“Look, I…I’m sorry. I just thought—”

“Oh, shut up.” Scowling, Jonah waved him silent. “You are like a brother to me. The only family I have. I woul

d stand beside you no matter what. And if anyone gives you shit about this, I’ll be the first person in line to ninja kick them in the face. Got it? Nothing is going to make me drop you. You idiot.”

When Sean nodded and blinked as if he was about to start bawling, Jonah sighed and rolled his eyes. Time to scale the drama down a notch.

“But seriously,” he grumped. “Did you have to go and make your big reveal here, today, in this frozen-ass weather?”

Shoulders loosening, Sean grinned and leaned back in his chair to recapture his cool, collected front. “Sorry, bud. But I met someone, and I don’t want to hide my relationship with him. Besides, I thought bloating you full of your favorite food first would help ease the shock. I know how food calms you down.”

Jonah made a face of understanding. The man had a point. With cheeseburgers in his belly, he really couldn’t stay pissed. But then something about Sean’s explanation struck him. Mouth flapping open, he gawked. Sean had been spending all his time lately helping the drama department get ready for their big end-of-the-year play.

“Wait, you met someone? Oh, God.” He moaned out his biggest fear. “You met someone recently? Please don’t tell me he’s some artsy-fartsy douchebag from the drama department.”

Sean let out a loud belly laugh. “Why, yes. Yes, he is. He’s an actor.” When his guffaws tempered to a snicker, he taunted, “You’re going to totally hate him.”

Oh, hell. Jonah moaned, unable to stop frowning. “Thanks, dick-breath. Thanks a lot. If you’re going to turn gay, couldn’t you have at least fallen for someone I could actually get along with? Like another athlete, maybe. I’ve heard gay baseball players are pretty bad-ass.”

He didn’t want to have to play nice with some freaking actor who probably dramatized every wordy sentence he spoke. Good Lord, the agony of that very thought made him shudder. For Sean, he’d gag his way through it and play nice with an actor, but he’d hate every second.

“Too late,” Sean announced, looking entirely too pleased with himself, his chest all puffed up with pride. “I’m already in love with this one. Aubrey is…amazing.”

Jonah lifted a non-impressed eyebrow. “Aubrey?” Geez-uz, the guy even had a freaking actor’s name.

Could his day get any worse?

Apparently, it could.

“Hey, Abbott,” a voice called from across the street, interrupting his coming-out-of-the-closet conversation with his best friend.

Jonah glanced over to see a familiar figure marching his way. Einstein, the kid genius—a.k.a. the bane of his existence—waved once before dropping that hand and lifting his other to show off what he held. “Thanks for letting me borrow your gun.”

Mouth falling open, Jonah looked wide-eyed at the rifle Einstein bandied about as if it were a water pistol.

Surging to his feet, he roared, “What the hell?” How had that little pissant gotten his gun? He’d had it locked in its case under the backseat of his locked truck. Taking a step toward Einstein to snatch his property from the idiot’s careless clutches, he skidded to a halt when the end of the barrel swung his way without warning, aiming at the center of his chest.

“Eins—” He started to yell the warning, but the sixteen-year-old college student had already pulled the trigger, and surprisingly, the kid had found bullets and loaded it too, because it fired.

At first, he had no idea he’d been hit. Something slammed into his leg, and he felt like he was in one of those dreams where he wanted to move but couldn’t. Then a sharp needle dug its way into his gut.

Confused, he glanced toward Sean to see if he found everything to be all wonky, slow motion, and dreamlike too. But he no sooner looked at Sean than Sean’s head exploded like a melon.

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