The girls had promptly moved, screaming with laughter, but Bas was hobbled by his stupid ankle, and couldn’t move a muscle as Drew retaliated, red paint splattering on Bas’s chin and t-shirt. “Very Jackson Pollock,” he’dannounced.
“You will pay,” Bas had growled, grabbing a fistful of paint in one hand, and Drew’s head in the other, before smashing them together, smearing sunny yellow all over Drew’s cheeks andmouth.
Drew had pretended to sputter, waiting for Bas to smirk at the girls before grabbing his best friend by the chin, and dragging their cheekstogether.
Laughing, giggling, smushing paint all over each other’s hair and faces like the little kids they used to be, they hadn’t noticed when the rest of the guys came back from thelake.
“Jesus Christ! Seaver’s having a homo moment!” Parker had exclaimed. “McCann got to you?Told you that shit’scontagious!”
Sebastian had jumped away from Drew instantly, flinching like Parker’s words were acid and standing so fast he’d had to catch himself on the edge of the table when his injured ankle wanted to giveout.
A homo moment? So many things had clicked into place then - a million stupid jokes and side-eyes from over the summer, a thousand curious glances shot his way, and most painful of all, the way Bas had completely shut down their friendship because he didn’t want anyone to think he and Drew were…together.
He’d been dimly aware that Ella had come over to stand next to him, heedless of the paint, glaring daggers at Parker until he’d wised up andshutup. But Drew hadn’t been able to turn his eyes away from Bas, who was frozen with shock and regret, his eyes pleading with Drew while making no move to come nearhim.
Jesus. Like Drew was a plaguevictim.
Drew had managed to get to his feet, to shrug off Ella’s offer of help, to get back to the bunkhouse and shower, then plead a headache so he could stay in the infirmary overnight. And the whole time, as he’d mechanically gone about those tasks, as he laid in bed that night, he’d asked himself…Is it true? Am Igay?
There were some girls at school he knew were hot - a couple he’d kissed, and he’d definitely enjoyed it. And guys - the ones at school, the idiots like Parker - held zero attraction for him. And Bas… was Bas. Essential parts of each other’s lives since birth. So maybe he felt a little proprietary, but Drew didn’t, like, imagine him naked oranyth—.
Oh.
A hot pulse had shot down his spine as his mind fixed on the image. Sebastian, tall and lean, his chest covered with fine droplets of water, like when he emerged from the lake… Drew’s dick had given an encouraging throb before he could shove the picture out of hismind.
So, so stupid. Stupid andweirdand vaguelywrong. The very idea of Bas ever realizing Drew had thought that way about him made him queasy, especially after the way Bas had run from the very idea of associating withhim.
Drew snorted. Even if he was gay, he refused to do anything as epically silly as falling forBas.
The dock creaked and Drew’s head spun around as a dark figure stepped out of the woods and onto the wornplanks.
“Hey,” Bas said hesitantly. He paused, as though unsure of hiswelcome.
Drew turned back toward the lake. For the first time he could recall, he wasn’t sure if Bas was welcome either. He didn’t knowhowhe felt, exceptconfused.
With hardly a sound, Bas walked forward and took a seat beside Drew, mirroring his position. They sat in silence for a while, Drew focused on his breathing and categorically refusing to think about liking guys, and especially not likingBas.In his peripheral vision, he could see Bas glancing at him from time to time, like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t, and it made Drew perversely glad. Drew was the one who’d always talked for both ofthem.
Finally, Bas had broken the silence with a sigh that lingered in the air like abreeze.
“You didn’t stay at the bonfire.” His voice was deeper than usual, not a tone Drew was usedto.
He was stating the obvious, so Drew didn’treply.
A minute later, Bas tried again, “I told him to shut the fuck up. Parker, I mean. I told him… I told him not to say that shitanymore.”
Drew, you fuckingfag.
And suddenly Drew knew exactly how he felt. He waspissed.And more than that, he washurt.
“I sincerely hope you didn’t do that for my sake,” Drew said, the impact of his frigid tone muted by the leftover tears clogging his throat. “I hope you did that because Parker is a homophobic asshole, and no one should talk thatway.”
“You’re right. I know you’re right.” Bas nodded. “But I mostly did it for yoursake.”
Yeah, right. After nearly a whole summer ignoring him, trying to impress Parker, pretending to be an entirely different person? Fuck that. But when Drew opened his mouth, all that emerged was a single syllable. “Why?”
“Because you’re my best friend, Drew. My… mybrother.”
That was not a compliment, as far as Drew could see. “You alreadyhavea brother, and he drives you crazy.” Camden’s favorite pastimes included playing video games and following Bas around like a puppy. This was still one step up from Drew’s own younger sister, Amy, a moody, superficial pain in the ass who’d looked at Drew with nothing but disdain since she’d turned eleven earlier thisyear.
