Oh, we’re jumping right in. Okay, then.
“But I haven’t totally come out, you know? I never talked about it with my mom.” He takes a long sip of his water while we patiently wait. “I’m sure she suspected… I dunno, maybe not. She was so sick at the end.” Kane lowers his head and picks at a fleck of dust on the tabletop. “Probably too drugged up.”
Millie and I instinctively squeeze his shoulders, but neither of us speaks.
“I definitely didn’t feel comfortable telling Rob. Mano and Ihaven’t labeled our relationship or anything, but he’s been out for a while, and I guess we weren’t being as careful as we should have been.”
Millie frowns, her face a mask of confusion, so I quickly fill her in on the confrontation with my dad.
“Kane.” Though her jaw is tense and her breaths are harsh, her voice is controlled. “You shouldn’t have to be careful, and you shouldn’t have to hide who you are. But I understand being sort of in and sort of out of the closet.”
My brother blinks rapidly. “You do?”
“Yeah. I’m bi.” She straightens, her shoulders pulled back. “Married to a guy.”
“Who, me?” I scan the room in faux innocence.
With a genuine smile, she squeezes Kane’s arm. “My parents never gave me any reason to believe they wouldn’t be supportive, but it was still a confusing time. If I had a girlfriend, people assumed I was a lesbian, and if I was dating a guy, then they’d say, ‘Oh, it must have been a phase.’”
Kane huffs. “Yeah, bi erasure is real.”
“Totally.” Millie takes a bite of her taco, then, through a mouthful of food, asks, “Are you using condoms?”
“Amelia.” Heart lurching, I look at Kane, who’s covering his face.
“What? Don’t you remember being a teenager?”
“Yes, but?—”
“But what? Safe sex is important. Oh, and clean fingernails.” She grabs Kane’s hand and inspects his nails with a hum. “Nice and trimmed too. Good job.” She rises and refills her water at the sink as if she didn’t just hand out sex advice like popcorn to my younger brother, whom we’ve both known for a whopping twenty-four hours. She really has no filter sometimes.
Why am I into it?
Not long after we clean up, Kane stands and heads to the top of the stairs, phone in his hand. “So, uh, thanks for dinner, but Mano’s here. His mom says I can stay with them for a little while.”
“Wait,” I call. “What about—I mean, I thought you’d stay here.”
He scans the living space, pausing on the small sofa. “Nah, man. I don’t want to get in the way of allthe sex.” He puts up air quotes, accompanied by a smirk.
Millie snorts beside me.
“But—”
She rests a hand on my forearm. “If that’s what makes you the most comfortable. We’re here for you.”
He gives her a sincere smile in return.
“I meant what I said.” I take a step forward and pull him into a hug. If Millie can do it, then so can I. “I’ll figure it out.We’llfigure it out. I promise.”
After he leaves, Millie slumps onto the sofa. “What are you going to do?”
“Fuck if I know.” My stomach twists into a tight knot as I sink onto the cushion next to her. “But I’ve gotta do something. He can’t go back there.”
“And your dad?” she asks, worrying her lip.
“What about him? I never want to see him again.”
“Seriously?”
