“Are we about to have a problem, here?” Dylan asked. He sounded… defensive.
Which was weird, because he was usually the happiest, easiest-going guy Scott had ever met.
Eventually, Scott’s brain managed to join all the dots together. He couldn’t believe it had taken him this long, but then, he apparently had a hard time figuring stuff like this out.
“You’re gay,” he said, almost the moment he formed the thought.
First Charlie, and now Dylan. Being able to tell the difference between a straight guy and a gay one clearly wasn’t one of Scott’s skills.
Or maybe there just wasn’t all that much of a difference, and he was trying to mentally shove people into boxes that didn’t actually exist. Dylan wasdefinitelyone of the guys, he got along with everyone, and as it turned out, he liked dick.
And that was okay.
“And?” Dylan raised an eyebrow.
“Uh,” Scott said, grasping for something more intelligent to say. “It’s fine. Totally fine. Good, even.”
Dylan’s eyebrow rose higher, forming an impressively dramatic arch.
“I’m screwing this up,” Scott said. “What I mean is: I didn’t realize, but no, we’re not gonna have a problem.”
“Good.” Dylan nodded, looking down at his shoes. “So, uh. I guess you’re not, then?”
“No,” Scott said. “I try not to be that guy who keeps announcing how straight I am every ten seconds, y’know?”
Dylan smiled at that. “Must be why I like you. You’re one of the good ones.”
“Thanks.”
Scott liked the idea of being one of the good ones. He didn’t want anyone to hate him.
“Hey, uh, forgive me if this is insulting, but have you been flirting with me?”
Dylan burst into laughter, leaning against the doorway he’d come through to get into the room. “Seriously?Seriously?Only the whole time.”
“Oh.” The tips of Scott’s ears burned. He wasn’t that clueless, was he?
He could tell when girls were flirting with him. It had just never entered his head that another man might be attracted to him.
“It’s okay. If you weren’t looking for it, I guess it just seemed like I was being friendly. And I was, I guess. That’s my whole flirting style. We weren’t at the complimenting your butt stage yet.”
“I can’t apologize enough,” Scott said. He felt like an idiot now.
Why couldn’t he see that?
Did this mean that when he’d been talking to Charlie, he reallyhadbeen flirting with him?
That seemed so unlikely. Charlie could do way better.
“Would you have complimented my butt?” Scott asked, suddenly desperate to know.
“It’s a good butt.” Dylan shrugged. “Before you start worrying, I’m not, like, secretly in love with you or anything. Just constantly looking for my next hookup.”
Scott snorted. That was a relief. He would have hated to reject someone he worked with. “Sorry to disappoint you. But I probably would’ve disappointed you anyway, since I have no idea what I’m doing with guys.”
“Hey, virgins can be fun. Communication is the key to great sex.”
“You sound like one of those grocery store magazines,” Scott pointed out.
