“Eh… No?” The bassist raised a brow. “I mean, things happened there, but we didn’t start seeing each other, like consistently, until three weeks ago.”
A collective groan reverberated throughout the room.
“The fuck?” Chris clipped.
“Who said three weeks?” Eugene wondered, pointing at their friends one after another.
“Me.” Leah grinned proudly. “Empty your pockets and gimme all your fucking money.”
“Eh, she shouldn’t even participate,” Noah protested. “She’s got an advantage living from living with the Golden Boy.”
“Shut up.”
Chris laughed. “I can’t believe you were betting.”
“Told you…” Søren murmured on his right side.
“What was the bet?” Marc asked.
“On when you two started humping,” Luca said.
“So you had already assumed this”—Chris flicked a finger between him and Marc—“was happening?”
“You’ve been suspiciously sneaky this last year with all those sexy group activities… It was bound to happen.” He shrugged.
Chris snorted. “When have I shown any fucking interest in dudes?”
While he loved that none of their friends gave a flying fuck, he couldn’t help it. There was still a knot in his stomach, more so since the drummer hadn’t said a word yet. However, Marc was there all unbothered, as if this weren’t that big of a deal. And maybe it really wasn’t.
“Listen, you might have never been interested in or screwed another dude before,” Luca started, “but you and Marc have always had something. There’s some strange chemistry there. Call it black magic if you wish.”
The bassist let out a full-chested laugh, tossing his head back and all.The fucker.
“You’re kidding,” Chris said.
Erik shook his head, smiling. “Nope.”
Erik. Smiled. And it seemed like a truly honest grin. There was a faint glow of concern in his grey irises, but still. Was he okay with all this? Since when?
The fuck have I missed?
Before Chris could continue analyzing the absurd situation because his friends kept asking the most bizarre and inappropriate things, Leah made Søren switch seats with her. Without warning, she flung her arms around the guitarist.
“So fucking proud of you.”
“How the hell did you all know?” he wondered, returning her hug.
“Remember we had a talk where you admitted you liked him?” she said in her signature sarcastic tone, still holding him tight. “And also,” she added when she let go, her eyes glowing with bliss, “you’ve been spending a lot of time at his house, but then you forcefully keep a distance and act weird when we’re all together. Simple math.”
“I don’t do that.”
“You do.” Her smile widened. “I’m so thrilled for you two.”
Chris’s heart twisted with guilt, but he still took in her words.
It was nice having his friends accept this part of himself that had left him feeling so broken for a while. But above all, it felt great to have proven to himself once again that no matter what, they would always have his back.
21. White Hot
