"More mature by how much? Aren't you like a year and a half older than me? Don't make me laugh, pretty boy," Jeremy teased, bumping his shoulder against mine.
"You see me like this, but I have the mentality of a twenty-eight-year-old."
"Honey, you couldn't even look at Lily's face without blushing a few days ago. Do you even know how to hold her hand?" Jeremy shot back with a grin.
I punched his arm playfully, and we both laughed. "No, but seriously, I'm your friend, or I try to be. Please let me help you."
"Stop begging for my friendship, Kyle, or I'm going to start believing that I have a millionaire uncle that only you know about." Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, you earned my trust with how you handled everything today. And you've been by my side all these weeks. I'll tell you what's worrying me."
Finally,I thought.
He didn’t know it, but his words meant so much to me. Knowing I could make someone trust me felt like a luxury in my present. And he might not tell me everything that was on his mind right now, but it was enough for me that he knew I was here for him. That when things got hard, he had someone to turn to instead of drowning alone.
"My piano teacher is pretty hot. Like really, really hot. And ever since he started teaching me, I've had a crush on him. He is the most perfect man I've ever seen. He's mature, charming, funny."
"Your piano teacher? Damn, what a plot twist."
"Stop the teasing, please. I'm trying to be deep and romantic here," he reproached me. "So, I always thought it was impossible because he's older than me."
"How old?"
"Twenty-five."
"Yeah, he's too old."
"You're not helping."
"Believe me, I'm helping you more than you think by making sure you understand this wouldn't have been a healthy relationship," I replied. "So what happened today?"
"Well, I went out with the music school group, and the teacher brought his boyfriend. His boyfriend, Kyle. Can you believe it? I always knew he was gay, but now, even if I thought I had a chance, I wouldn't approach him. My whole world fell apart."
I laughed out loud. I couldn't help it. Teenagers sometimes make you believe their problems are bigger than they really are.
"Why are you laughing? I'm being really vulnerable here."
"I'm sorry, it's just that I know you'll be fine. He wasn't the man for you, and I think you knew it deep down." I put a hand on his shoulder. "Sometimes we fall for people not because they're right for us, but because they represent something we think we want. Real love doesn't make you feel small or unworthy. It makes you feel like the best version of yourself."
"I think that's the smartest thing you've said to me. I'm going to start believing you really are a twenty-eight-year-old man."
"Good, then I don't have to pretend with you anymore."
We both laughed. Then I got serious. I needed to know about something important. Something that could cost everything.
"And what about Leo? What does he have to do with all this?"
Jeremy took an extremely long sigh and then stared at the sky for a moment in silence. I let him process it all, but my anxiety and curiosity were killing me inside.
Finally, Jeremy began to speak. "Leo was my first love when we were little, but he was the straightest man I ever met in my life."
"More than me?" I teased him.
"Don't make me insult you, please."
"Sorry, sorry," I said with a smile. "Continue."
"I convinced myself that we would never be something more, so I got over him and tried to be the best and most supportive friend in the world, even though I don't like his girlfriend. But when he kissed me today, I?—"
"HE WHAT?" I said, jumping up from the bench.
