"Mhm." I took a sip, having a pretty good idea how their fights went.
"Ash said something, and Cy was about to storm out, and then he stopped." He licked his lips and his eyes jumped up to mine. "And then he kissed me."
"Huh." I nodded, letting him know I heard. "He said he was feeling it, but we both assumed you weren't."
"Yeah." Luke shoved to his feet and paced toward the window, pausing to look at the pool out back. "I didn't think I was. Um, I left. Ash told me to come over today because we had to talk. And then we talked, but it didn't really go anywhere."
"That's vague," I pointed out.
"I kissed Cy back," Luke said. "I've never kissed a man before last night, and I..."
"Didn't hate it," I finished for him. "And then began to obsess over it. And Ash tried to talk you down?"
"More like say it was ok," he admitted. "Fuck, I feel like an idiot."
"Not my first time to have this chat," I assured him. "So how'd you end up lip-locked with him?"
His answer was almost too mumbled to make out. "I asked for it."
"How?" I wanted to know.
He refused to look at me, his eyes locked on the yard. "He was trying to tell me that it's ok, and that it wasn't cheating, and I pointed out that he was getting ahead of himself because Cy kissed me, and I just reacted. I don't even know what happened, and then Ash started throwing punches. So, I said I didn't know if I even liked kissing a man, and so Ash... Well, he kissed me."
"Didn't really look like you minded," I pointed out, not even worrying about the timeline that I couldn't quite follow. Cy or Ash would clear that up later, and this was hard enough for Luke.
"I can't be gay," he breathed.
Yeah, I wasn't going to let him go down that road. "So, not into me anymore?"
"Of course I am." He finally turned around. "And I can't tell if you're about to kick my ass off the property or say it's ok to be with them. That's the thing, I don't want that. Violet, I'm into you, and that just happened. It was a mistake."
I lifted a hand before he could dig that hole too deep. "I'm going to guess that you've never been around an openly bisexual man before, right?"
"Right."
I kept going. "And I'm willing to bet that the stigma of it is driving you crazy?"
He ducked his head. "Yeah."
"You're probably waiting for me to become insanely jealous, or maybe disgusted?"
"Both," he agreed.
I took another sip of the scotch and then set it aside. "I'm not disgusted. I've been in the same room when those two made out. I'm talking sucking each other off type of making out. To me, this is normal. This is fine. This is what happens when you stop caring about what those idiots out there," and I waved in the general direction of the town, "and think about what happens in here. I didn't come to Cats Peak to make friends. I came here to be me and live like I wanted in my home."
"I know," he mumbled.
"Luke." I caught his hand and stepped closer, looking up so he had to see me. "It's ok." Then I reached up to press my lips against his, but he did nothing. "It's really ok," I promised. "Just like when you wanted to see me kiss Cy. It's sexy. It's allowed. I've never been jealous of who loves whom. If you want to figure it out, then do. If you want to do that with them, that's fine. They have their own shit, but I don't think either one would turn you down - and Ash doesn't like a lot of men."
He actually chuckled at that, but it was weak. "I didn't want this to change anything between us."
"It actually makes me feel a little more comfortable around you," I admitted. "You were so perfect, and I couldn't figure out what dirt was in your closet. Everyone has secrets, Luke. The difference is that we protect each other’s - we don't hide them from each other."
"Ash said about the same thing." His fingers curled around mine. "I didn't mean for this to happen."
"It's ok," I told him again. "Figure it out. No, I'm not saying to go away and figure it out. I'm saying that if you and Cy end up making out in the barn, I don't care. Just don't try to hide it from me, and I'm fine."
"Why?" he asked. "I'm - " And he stopped.
