He had a point. But still. “This is going to complicate everything.”
“Everything’s already complicated,” Kent said, his hand moving from my hip to cup my face, mirroring the way I was still holding his. “At least this way it’s complicated in a way that feels good.”
I couldn’t argue with that logic, mainly because he was looking at me like I was something precious and my brain had turned to static. So instead of arguing, I kissed him again.
This time it was slower, less desperate but somehow more intense. I mapped the shape of his mouth with mine, learned the taste of him, memorized the small sounds he made when I bit gently at his lower lip. His hands roamed my back, my sides, like he couldn’t decide where he wanted to touch me most.
When we broke apart again, I was the one who pulled away, needing to put some distance between us before this went further than I was ready for tonight. I was already painfully hard, throbbing in my jeans. And judging by the tent in Kent’s sweatpants, he wasn’t much better off.
“We should probably talk about this,” I said, even though talking was the last thing I wanted to do. “Figure out what we’re going to do.”
Kent nodded, though he looked reluctant to let me go. His hands slid down to catch mine, threading our fingers together hesitantly. “Okay. Let’s talk.”
We moved to the couch, sitting close enough that our thighs pressed together. Kent kept hold of one of my hands, his thumb tracing patterns across my knuckles in the same way Trevor had done at the movies. But this time, it was downright distracting.
“So,” I started, then realized I had no idea what to say. How did you navigate this? There wasn’t exactly a handbook for falling for your stepbrother. “Are… you gay now?”
Kent pulled his hand away, his body language getting suddenly more closed off. “I… I don’t know.”
I watched him retreat into himself, saw the familiar walls going back up, and I knew I had to tread carefully here. This was new territory for him in a way it wasn’t for me. I’d had years to come to terms with my sexuality, to work through the fear and shame and confusion. Kent was just starting that journey.
“That’s okay,” I said gently, resisting the urge to reach for his hand again. “You don’t have to have it all figured out right now.”
“But you need to know, don’t you? You need to know if this is just some... some experiment for me. If I’m going to wake up tomorrow and decide I made a mistake.” His voice was strained, and he still wouldn’t look at me.
“Is that what you think this is?”
“I don’t know what this is.” He finally met my eyes, and the vulnerability there made my chest ache. “All I know is that when I’m around you, I feel things I’ve never felt before. And yeah, maybe that means I’m gay, or bi, or whatever. But putting a label on it feels like too much right now.”
I nodded, understanding more than he probably realized. “Okay. So we don’t label it. We just... see what happens.”
“Just like that?” Kent looked skeptical.
“Just like that.” I shifted closer to him again, emboldened by the fact that he’d kissed me back, that he’d admitted to wanting this. “Look, I’m not going to pretend this isn’t complicated. It is. But I can’t keep pretending I don’t feel whatever this is between us.”
Kent was quiet for a long moment, his jaw working like he was trying to figure out what to say. “I need this to stay between us,” he finally said. “At least for now. I can’t have anyone knowing about this. If it got back to my dad, or my friends from work, or my boss?—”
“Kent.” I cut him off before he could spiral. “I’m not going to tell anyone. This is between you and me. Nobody else.”
“Promise?”
The desperation in his voice caught me off guard. This wasn’t just about being closeted. This was about fear. A real, bone-deep fear of what would happen if people found out.
“I promise,” I said firmly. “Whatever this is, however far it goes, it stays private until you’re ready. If you’re ever ready.”
Some of the tension left his shoulders. “Thank you.”
We sat there in silence for a moment, the weight of what we’d just agreed to settling over us. This was risky. This could blow up in our faces in so many ways. But as I sat there next to Kent, feeling the warmth of his body against mine, I couldn’t bring myself to care about the risks.
“So, what now?” Kent asked quietly.
“Now?” I shifted so I was facing him more fully. “Now we take this one day at a time. No pressure, no expectations. We just... see where it goes.”
“And if it doesn’t go anywhere? If I wake up and realize I can’t do this?”
“Then we deal with that when it happens.” I reached out slowly, giving him time to pull away if he wanted to. When he didn’t, I placed my hand on his knee. “But I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Why not?”
