“Twice, actually. We—”
“I don’t want to hear it!” Noah yelped, cutting me off, then cursed. “Fuck. This is so like Jet to lie to me.”
I sat there a second, feeling my heart beat against my chest. My old friend wanted nothing more than a peaceful, calm life, and I was throwing some serious firecrackers into his world. But I couldn’t let him blame this on Jet.
“He was being respectful,” I objected. “He knew that I hadn’t come out to anyone in my life yet, and he didn’t want to force me to tell you. I swear, he’s not to blame for this.”
It surprised me, how much I wanted to push on that. But the frustration and pain of Noah’s face told me to shut my mouth for now.
He frowned. “You know I’m cool with you being bi, right? You’re not confused like Jet was, and you think I’m an asshole?”
“Of course. We’ve had gay friends for years. And you love Russell, Casey, and Blake. I know that, Noah. I wouldn’t be your friend if you were ignorant like that.”
He released a breath. “Good. And, uh, I’m happy for you, that you’re figuring that out, Peyton.”
I smiled. This was another thing I appreciated about Noah. Even in the hard times, he always kept his head on straight enough that he could remember the good, too.
My friend narrowed his eyes. “I mean it, though. I don’t want to hear about whatever you do with Jet.” When I started to object that nothing more was going to happen, he kept talking, cutting me off. “I can tell that he’s changed and grown over the years. My parents weren’t truthful about my brother, I see that. But that doesn’t mean you should trust him, Peyton.”
I adjusted my glasses. “Noah, I don’t think… I mean, it’s not like that.”
He held his hands up again. “Jet is fun, I get it. And you’re both adult men. If you’re going to have a thing with him, I’m not going to try to tell you what to do. But that doesn’t mean I want to hear about it.” He winced, something tearing at his expression. “And I mean it—you better watch yourself. Don’t think you can count on him.”
I stood there, my mouth hanging slightly open. He was wrong about Jet. Somehow, I was sure about that. Jet would show up in a heartbeat if Noah ever needed him, and he would probably do the same for me, too. But now wasn’t the time to argue with him about that.
And I was incredibly distracted by the fact that he was basically giving us permission to keep hooking up.
Shit. I was not prepared for that. But after a second of shock, I pulled myself together enough to remember what I did want to say, what I’d prepared as I thought about this conversation.
“For whatever ways this makes things harder between you and your brother, I’m sorry about that, Noah.”
Noah stood. “Just get it out of your system,” he grumbled. “It won’t make anything harder if I don’t have to think about it.”
It wasn’t the best response, but I had prepared for far worse possibilities. So I just stood, then raised an arm, offering Noah the half-hug that we always exchanged.
He sighed and stepped forward, slapping my back a couple of times before we parted. “What a fucking night,” he said.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I’d say.”
