My palms are sweaty, and I keep rubbing them against my jeans to no avail. The perspiration is constant; it’s leaking from every pore… which is probably the least attractive thing about me, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
“What’s got you lookin’ so pale?” Brianne, Collin’s girlfriend, asks when I step into the kitchen around eleven in the morning.
I startle at the sound of her voice. “Oh!”
“Sorry.” She holds up her hands. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“No, you’re okay. Just a bit tired today.”
“You look sick,” she says bluntly, and I almost laugh, but it comes out as more of a choking cough.
“Y-yeah.”
I walk past her at the table to pull the apple juice out of the fridge. I pour myself some, and when I put it back, I notice we’re no longer alone.
“Mornin, Mads,” Collin says.
“Good morning.”
“You all right, buddy? You’re looking a little peaky.”
“That’s what I said!” Brianne adds, and I purse my lips.
What is up with everyone analyzing me today, of all days?
“Yes, I’m fine. Just tired.”
“Okay…”
I want to be irritated with the inquisition, but it’s actually nice to know that people care about me and my well-being, despite it being a bit of an inconvenience at the moment.
I’ve never had that before.
“So, what are you gonna do on this fine Sunday?” Collin asks, and I shift on my feet. I don’t want to lie, but I can’t exactly tell them I’m going back to Mayhem either.
“Just going to go visit a friend.” It’s not a lie, anyway.
Brianne and Collin exchange a look as I lean against the counter sipping my apple juice. I look between them, brows furrowed, before they look back at me with matching grins.
“A friend, huh?” Brianne asks, her voice raising a few octaves, and I flush from head to toe.
I didn’t realize that sounded so suggestive, but now that I think about it…
Shit.
“Oh. Uh, um… It-it’s not like that.”
“Sure, it isn’t,” Collin teases me, and I flush even hotter.
“It’s not. He’s just a friend?—”
“He!”
My jaw snaps shut.
Did I justmess up by saying that? Are they… They’re not homophobic, are they?
Oh, God.
