“Why’s Asher tellin’ you about his dick?” Michael griped.
“He’s not,” Jamie said. “He’s tellin’ me someone else likes his dick.”
“He don’t need to be fillin’ you in on anyone’s dick.”
“Tell him to shut the fuck up,” I barked.
“He heard you,” Jamie said at the same time Michael snapped, “I heard that, bitch.”
I swallowed the tinge of fear that always slithered down my spine when Michael got angry. “Uh, anyway, it was my idea to do the Ashley thing. It was like a kink, like callin’ him daddy or somethin’.”
“You call him daddy?” Jamie asked.
“He does what?” Michael added.
“Who am I talkin’ to?” I asked Jamie. “You or him.”
“Mikey, would you leave me alone so I can talk with Asher in peace?”
“Nope,” Michael said simply.
“Whatever.” I leaned my shoulder against the glass and sighed. “I like Luke. A lot. I want to ask him to come home with me before classes start up.”
“And? What’s stoppin’ you?”
“Is it too soon?”
“No. You met his parents.”
“Not really, though. They met Ashley’s bitch ass.”
“Yeah, right. Personally, I don’t think you should take him home. Your momma’d have a fit if she knew how you bent over backwards for this fuck and he’d done nothin’ for you.”
I flinched as if he’d hit me. “It’s not—”
“Ash, this dude lets you dress like a girl so he can hide the fact he’s gay, sits there dickless while his parents insult you, and you think he’s gonna just up and decide to come out to your family?”
“He could—”
“No, he won’t.”
I straightened, hating the truth in his words, hating to hear anyone talk bad about Luke, and hating even more that I agreed with some of what Jamie said.
“You may know about being in the closet, but you don’t know Luke. Okay, Jamie? So until you find the balls to come out yourself, don’t talk shit about other people’s struggles with it.”
Tears of anger burned my eyes while I took several slow breaths to get myself under control. Jamie didn’t comment. Michael didn’t bitch in the background. Silence spanned so long I had to check the call was still going.
I shouldn’t have gone off like that. Especially not with Michael nearby. Jamie was deluding himself to think Michael wasn’t well aware of his brother’s sexuality, but if he wanted to keep lying to himself, that wasn’t my business. Still, I shouldn’t have barked at him.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered. “Sorry, Jamie.”
He sniffled. Worse than him yelling back at me were his tears. Jamie’s struggles were rough too. I should’ve thought of that before I snapped.
“Jamie—”
“You’re right. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t judge.”
“Did Michael …”
