I think back. "Maybe... around when you two got together? Seeing you so happy made me pay attention differently. Does that make sense?"
"Makes total sense. And now there's Seb, who's not just pretty like the sky?—"
"Now there's Seb," I confirm, then the rest spills out. "I can't stop thinking about him, Ty. His stupid messy hair and how he gets this little crease between his eyebrows when he'sconcentrating, and his hands are so fucking small, but he threw that axe like—" I catch myself. "Shit."
"Why did you take him axe-throwing for your first date?”
"It wasn't a date."
"Sure sounds like a date."
"It was tutoring!"
Tyler's eyebrows climb toward his hairline. "You're tutoring him?"
"Don't sound so shocked."Defensive much?"We made a deal to trade … skills. I'm tutoring him, and he's… He's teaching me about... stuff. "
I feel my face scrunch together as I cringe.It sounds crazy out loud.
"Stuff."
"Umm… Gay stuff."
Tyler starts laughing. Actually laughing, the asshole. "Wait, wait. Let me get this straight, pun intended. You're questioning your sexuality, so instead of talking to your Bi best friend and his gay boyfriend, you made a deal with a hot pre-med student to teach you about being gay?"
"When you say it like that..."
"That's the most Gavin thing I've ever heard." He's wiping his eyes. "Turning sexual crisis into an academic project. Fuck, I love you."
"I didn't want to ask you!" The words burst out. "I didn't want to know... things. About you and Ethan. Because I wasn't… I didn't?—"
"You weren't attracted to me," Tyler finishes, still grinning. "Thank god. That would've been weird."
"So weird."
"My ego's not that fragile, G. I know I'm not your type."
"I don't have a type. I didn't even admit I liked guys until—" I stop.
"Until Sebastian," Tyler finishes. "Who is very much your type, apparently."
"He's..."How do I even describe him?"He's brilliant. Like, scary smart. And passionate about his work and secretly funny when he forgets to be anxious. And yeah, okay, he's fucking gorgeous."
"The geek group does attract a certain aesthetic," Tyler agrees.
"You've seen them?"
"Ethan pointed them out once. Computer and science guys, right? They're all pretty cute if you like the nerdy twink vibe."
"Is that what I like? The nerdy twink vibe?"
"You tell me." Tyler's smirking now. "How much time do you spend thinking about Sebastian's?—"
"All the fucking time!" I blurt out. "His ass, Ty. In these jeans he wears. I want to pick him up and—" I make a vague gesture.
"Carry him around?"
"YES. Is that weird? That's weird, right?"
