“So, I might not have been gay last week, but I could be gay today?” he asked, and Riley decided to busy himself with making waffles. Cole was a teacher, after all.
Sometimes, Riley found it horrifying to think of Cole molding the minds of teenagers at Cherrywood High, but when he got in teacher mode, Riley could see how effective he was. It was kind of wild that Cole and Elena were both teachers, considering how different they were.
“It’s more like you may not have realized you had feelings for the same sex last week, not that you’re suddenly gay,” Cole said, and Josh nodded. “What’s important is that you talk about it with Riley and you make sure he’s comfortable with what you share with others and when. A person’s sexuality is an intimate and personal thing, and not everyone is comfortable with everyone knowing every aspect of their journey.”
Riley couldn’t hide his thankful smile. Cole may have been a jackass most of the time, but he could be serious and supportive when the situation called for it. Cole understood how important this was, and how life-altering it could be. It wasn’t something he was going to mess around with. Riley had never been so appreciative of his friendship.
“Ohhh, okay, and that’s why Riley didn’t want me to blurt it out in front of Hailey and Abby, because they don’t know.”
“What don’t I know?” Hailey asked as she breezed into the kitchen with Avery at her side.
Josh resembled a fish as his mouth opened and closed, trying to figure out what to say.
“You don’t know about the waffle maker!” Cole said awkwardly. “Check out this awesome feast!”
“Damn, you guys went all out,” Avery said, arm wrapped around Hailey’s shoulders. “Thanks for cooking.”
Hailey looked like she wanted to ask another question, but she shook it off and dove into the food now covering the kitchen island.
Food was always a useful distraction, but it didn’t work forever.
“Uhh, Elena, why are you covered in coffee?” Hailey asked as she made her way around the island.
Elena sighed before answering, “Cole is still working on his gag reflex,” which caused Avery to choke on the first sip of his own coffee. “Looks like Avery needs the practice too.”
They all laughed, and Riley was thankful that the conversation was over…for now.
10
RILEY WAS AVOIDING JOSH.
It wasn't like he walked out of the room whenever Josh entered, but he bent over backward to avoid being alone with him.
After years of friendship, he knew Riley wasn’t doing it to be mean. He usually acted like this when he was nervous about something.
But what could he have to be nervous about?
It hurt a bit when Riley went out of his way to avoid sitting alone with him on the ski lifts that day, which was why Josh sat next to Elena on their way up the mountain.
He liked Elena, but he was also a little bit afraid of her, so being alone with her while hanging fifty feet above a snow-covered mountain was a bit unsettling.
Josh fidgeted in his seat, and Elena released a sigh that made it look like she was smoking thanks to thefreezing air.
“Stop squirming,” she muttered. “You’re shaking the whole gondola.”
Time to do his best imitation of a statue.
“Josh, you can still breathe. Just stop moving around so much.”
“Sorry, I’m nervous.”
“About what’s going to happen with you and Riley?” she asked.
Josh spun in his seat as much as he could to face Elena, making the whole structure shake and forcing Elena to grab onto her handrail. “What do you mean? What’s going to happen with Riley and me?”
“Because you hooked up last night. Are you worried about doing it again?”
“You think he’d want to do it again?” Josh shouted, his voice carrying over the mountain.
