‘Are those tears in your eyes?’ Oliver quipped, pulling back to look at his friend’s flushed face.
Will wiped a cheek with the back of his hand. ‘This is the longest we’ve been apart in ten years. I can have a cry about it – I’m secure enough in my masculinity.’ He lifted Oliver’s suitcase into the boot as Oliver slid into the familiar front seat.
Will spent several minutes jiggling the boot’s latch before it finally held, arriving to the driver’s seat with a triumphant smile. ‘Your place or mine, then?’
Oliver didn’t want to face his flat, but he knew the discomfort wouldn’t go away unless he acted on it. A plan was starting to form in his mind. ‘Mine. I have a few things I need to sort there.’
‘So… I know the full interrogation has to wait until the gang’s assembled,’ Will said, pulling out of the car park, ‘but I have a few urgent matters to clear up.’
‘What’s that?’
‘What happened at the end?’ Will asked intently. ‘You were doing great. Not just great, you were bloodyfantastic.’ He glanced at Oliver. ‘And then, what? You had a breakdown and quit the show. So, are you in love with Maeve?’
Oliver snorted. ‘Is that what’s going around?’
Will shrugged. ‘You were clearly losing the plot, telling Eavie you loved Maeve and then upping and leaving. What am I missing?’
‘Er—’ Oliver rubbed the back of his neck, apprehensive to jump right in. ‘All right. Please don’t freak out. I wanted to wait until you had a few pints in you.’
Will abandoned any pretence of watching the road, turning to look sharply at Oliver. ‘What is it?’
He could feel his face reddening. He didn’t know how to put it eloquently, so he went for direct. ‘I, er, kind of fell for a man.’
‘Declan King?!’ Will bellowed, and Oliver jumped as the car swerved into the next lane over.
‘Shall I take over the driving?’ Oliver asked, putting a hand on the wheel.
‘You can’t dropthaton me in the middle of the road. That’s your foul, not mine.’ Will was clearly trying hard to not turn fully towards Oliver. ‘Declan King?Who would have thought you’d go for the meatheads? Tell me everything, now.’
Oliver almost protested the meathead comment, but he didn’t want to act overly defensive. He was in the middle of a balancing act. ‘There’s not much to tell,’ he said slowly. ‘I mean, you’ve seen everything already, haven’t you?’
‘Bullshit,’ Will barked. ‘There’s a story here. How did I not see it? But… how could I have known? How didyouknow?’
‘Well, it definitely wasn’t an immediate realisation.’ He sighed, thinking of how to explain it properly without outing Declan. He could at least do that much for him. ‘Declan had thisidea that playing up a bromance would win us more screen time. And Paige – one of the producers – was on board with it.’
Will nodded. ‘Yeah, people thought you two were funny together. So, was that the first time you’d ever suspected…?’
‘I’m as confused as you are,’ Oliver said, frowning. ‘Practically all of my mates are gay. How did I never even consider the possibility?’
‘Because,’ Will said slowly, ‘let’s face it, you’ve only ever been attracted to one person in your life, and she happened to be a woman.’ The corner of his mouth twitched. ‘Speaking of Sophie, what does she have to say about all this?’
‘Er—’ Oliver glanced at his phone, which was sitting in his lap. Sophie: three missed calls, eight text messages, all unopened. ‘I haven’t spoken to her yet.’
Will gave him a long, sideways look. ‘Oh, youreallylike this guy, huh?’
‘What do you mean?’ Oliver asked, feeling his face redden.
‘You’ve talked to Sophie every day since the break-up.’ Oliver made to protest, and Will swatted his shoulder. ‘You may have lied to me about it, because you didn’t want to look pathetic, but I knew.’
‘Well, I’ve spent seven weeksnottalking to her,’ Oliver said defensively.
‘Exactly,’ Will said, tapping his nose. ‘And you didn’t call her as soon as you had your phone back.’
‘Um,’ Oliver muttered, unsure of how to respond. ‘I had other things on my mind.’
‘Will you listen to yourself? You had other things on your mind, besides your ex-girlfriend? That isnotthe bloke I said goodbye to two months ago.’
‘Oh,’ Oliver said. ‘You’re… right.’
