“Yeah and your best friend, and I never even got the chance to be fucking ecstatic about my two favorite people being in love,” Justin complains. “Because you’re both too stupid to tell each other how you feel.”
“What do you want me to do?” I ask because to hell if I know how to fix this.
“Do what will make you happy, Luke,” Justin advises as he stares at me. “Because this, here, ain’t it.”
“I’m just bummed about the loss, Justin. I just got knocked out of the Stanley Cup playoffs,” I reply and his eyes get very cold and very hard very fast.
“Fuck you for lying to me. Again.”
I tip my head back and look up into the black night. Everything inside me aches, and I’m not talking hockey injuries. “He’s new… at this. He doesn’t need to be tied down to the first guy he… I mean, did you end up with your first? No. You didn’t.”
“I picked my first because she told me she hated Justin Bieber,” Justin explains and I smile at the memory of him drunkenly explaining to me years ago that the Canadian pop singer was a douche who ruined the name Justin. “And she also because said yes. I wasn’t exactly discerning because I was fifteen. Noah isn’t fifteen. He’s not experimenting. He’s discovering. There’s a difference. He’s discovered his sexuality and he’s discovered he’s in love with you. Stop punishing him, and yourself.”
“Justin…” I turn and look at my best friend and all my arguments disappear. I can’t lie to him anymore and more importantly I can’t lie to myself. Whether I deserve him or not, I want Noah Prince. “I don’t know how to make him give me another chance.”
Justin smiles. “Start by asking for one.”
Is it really that simple? I doubt it, but I reach for my phone anyway.
EPILOGUE - NOAH
"Dude, are you getting out of the car or what? I have other fares to pick up."
I should just tell this guy to drive me back home. I don't know what possessed me to read the text, let alone respond to it, and actually do what he asked. Showing up to his home in the middle of the night… I mean, fuck, am I a masochist or what? He broke my fucking heart. He dumped me. I mean, as much as you can dump a guy you don't admit to dating.
“I think I need you to take me b—” My voice fails when his front door opens and he steps out onto the flagstone path.
He’s shirtless, with joggers slung low on his narrow hips. His hair is all over the damn place. His feet are bare and even with the purple bruising spotting his side he is perfectly gorgeous, My heart swells painfully. And then my brother steps out of the house beside him. He grabs the back of Luke’s neck and hauls him into a hug. I reach for the door handle. “I’m getting out.”
“Cool Have a good night,” the Uber driver says tersely.
The pavement feels weird under my feet. It might be from the booze I’ve consumed or the mild concussion I’m pretty sure I sustained in the first period tonight. I was cleared after sitting out five minutes but… I don’t know. Maybe the surrealness of being summoned to Luke’s with a pleading text that said ‘Can you come over? We need to talk.’ and then finding my brother there is what’s making the world feel upside down.
I shut the door and the Uber starts to drive away. Justin whistles. Loudly. “Fuck, I have neighbors, buddy!”
“Sorry,” Justin says to Luke as he starts down the path toward the Uber that stopped at his command. My brother catches my eye. “Love you, Noah. Give him a chance. He’s rough around the edges for a reason.”
“How did you know that it was him?”
“Because I’m a fucking genius,” Justin winks and smirks before ruffing up my hair with his hand, which I swat away. “And I’d fuck him too if I was bi…. And into train wrecks”
“I heard that, asshole!” Luke barks.
Justin ignores him and trots over to the Uber, slipping into the backseat. We both watch the car until it disappears from sight. Only then do I turn and face Luke. “Thanks for coming.”
“I shouldn’t have,” I reply flatly.
“You told your family you’re bi,” he states, ignoring my comment.
I nod and shrug. “I didn’t tell them about you. Not by name.”
“I know. I didn’t ask you here in the middle of the night to accuse you of outing me, Noah.” Luke replies. “I’m glad your family knows about us.”
"There is no us," I snap and storm across the lawn until I'm in his face because if I don't I'll be screaming and I don't want the world to hear this. "You said it's time the experiment ended remember? You didn't want there to be an us."
His dark eyes widen and he steps away from me abruptly like I shoved him. "I was getting attached. And you were… experimenting. It was self-preservation."
I stare at him. “You were getting attached? To me?”
