I nod, and we walk out of the mall. “Did you walk here?” I ask.
“Yeah, it’s not too far. Did you?”
“Juliet dropped me off,” I say. “I told her about us. I don’t think she was that surprised but she was happy for us.”
“That’s good,” Kieran murmurs. “I still need to tell my dad and my friends. Have you thought about telling your parents?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I bet they’ll be indifferent to it. They’d probably say, cool and then ask me if I’ve been studying enough.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Kieran says as we leave the commercial area and start down a residential street filled with small cottages.
“Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. I don’t know. I’m more worried about Senior,” I admit.
“Senior?” Kieran’s brows jump up.
When I thought about telling people, I worried about the worst possible scenario. I didn’t think Juliet would care if I was dating a boy, butwhat if?
I imagined telling my friends, and Curtis would be happy for me, and Aiden would be nice, and Hudson might be weird, but he wouldn’t be cruel.
Then I wondered how Senior would react.
“I’m probably overthinking it,” I say, “but what if he’s secretly homophobic? I realised I don’t know what he thinks about gay people. Heisold. You know how people from older generations can sometimes have outdated views…”
Kieran nods.
“Also, I’m pretty sure he votes conservatively, but maybe that’ because he wants low tax rates.” Like every other old white rich guy, I think. “I don’t know. I’m sure he’s pleasant to gay people in public, and I’ve never heard him say anything bad, but what if it’s a different story when it’s his grandson who’s dating a boy? And you’re living with him…”
What if he gets furious and sends Kieran back to Sydney?
A thought occurs to me. “Does Senior know that you’re bi?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Not unless my dad told him when he explained why I got expelled. But Senior’s never brought it up.” He brings our linked hands to his mouth, and presses a kiss against the back of my hand. “Let’s tell him together. I’m sure it’ll be okay.”
“Yeah,” I say, nodding quickly. “You’re right. Yeah.”
Ten minutes later, we arrive at the front of Senior’s house. The windows are dark.
We linger on the footpath. “How are you getting home?” Kieran asks. There are no streetlights here, but the silvery moonlight allows me to make out his face.
“I’ll walk, it’s not far,” I say. I don’t want to let go of his hand.
He nods, shifting his weight from his heels to the balls of his feet.
“What?” I ask, knowing there’s something on his mind.
“Do you want to come in?”
I stop myself from saying yes automatically. “I want to, but…is that a good idea?”
“Senior would be asleep by now,” Kieran says. “He’s an early sleeper, remember?”
“What if we wake him up?”
“And how would we do that?” Kieran smiles like he already knows the answer.
I ignore him. “It’s not as if we can have sex, anyway, because we don’t have stuff at yours…” I trail off at the look on Kieran’s face. “What is it?”
“I bought condoms and lube, just in case.”
