Avery’s gaze slipped away, and he gnawed on his lip. The movie on his face started playing over again. Embarrassment, disappointment. Now Linc was responsible, and that made it all so much worse.
“I’m sorry,” Avery said slowly. “That was the wrong thing to say, wasn’t it?”
“No. No, I—” The need to run before Avery asked too many uncomfortable questions was at war with the need to fix the hurt look on Avery’s face. But he had secrets. Things he couldn’t say, no matter how much Avery’s disappointment made him uncomfortable. Avery might not care, but other people would, and Avery seemed sweet, but also like the kind of guy who didn’t keep secrets well. And that train of thought just made it clear Linc was definitely better off keeping Abe a secret for the time being. At least if Linc had to leave town, he’d still have Avery to talk to online.
“It was. You’re straight. I knew you were straight. I just—and then you—” Avery was shifting his hands back and forth like the scales of justice, and the wrinkles in his forehead were getting deeper all the time.
Say it. Say it.A new chant. Not about the game and Abe, but about something bigger and so much scarier. “I meant we could—” Linc scrambled for the words that would make this better and keep himself safe. “We could hang out sometime.”
The wrinkles smoothed out, the blush appeared, and Avery’s happy smile came back. “Like friends?”
For the first time in a very long time—maybe ever—Linc thought he’d missed an opportunity, and the realization made his eyes sting. He should say no, he didn’t want to be friends. Not because he didn’t want to hang out with Avery again. Shit, they both could pretty obviously both use a buddy, but...
His skin. His cheeks. The soft way Avery’s lips parted as he waited for Linc to say something. If Linc were being honest with himself—and he was hardly ever honest with himself—he wanted so much more than a few video games and some bar snacks. He didn’t even know this guy, but you didn’t have to know someone to want to kiss them and suck on their bottom lip until they moaned.
Linc clenched his jaw and forced a grin. “Yeah. Exactly that. Friends. My roommate’s having a birthday party next week. You could come.”
Avery’s delighted smile sealed Linc’s fate.
