“Whatever.” He’s trying so hard to sound unbothered.
“You sure you’re cool with this?” I ask, more than happy to continue the farse that this was all his idea.
“Sure. A little loyalty would have been nice, but I don’t blame Reeze. He wasn’t the one already in a relationship. And I had been pulling away.”
“So it’s true then?”
I hear Eden sigh deeply on the other end of the phone. There’s a lot of shuffling and I swear he whispers something, but it’s too quiet for me to make out. “So you’ve spoken to Shawn then?”
“Yeah.” I press my lips together, deciding to hold back the fact that she showed me the picture of him and the mystery guy.
“Do you care?”
“What? No!”I’m fucking your brother. I’m not the one to judge whether or not you’re into guys.“It’s a little surprising. But you can be with whoever you want to be with.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Do I?”
“Shut up,” I chuckle. “So I guess I have the usual questions.”
“If you can’t be specific, then I won’t be either.”
Touché.“Shawn’s convinced you knew them before you and her split.”
“And?” My god, it’s like pulling teeth with this man.
“Did you?”
“Yeah.” One word answers. Great.
“But you didn’t cheat on her?”
“Is that relevant?” He can’t be fucking serious.
“After the giant tantrum you threw the day you ran away, fuck yeah, it’s relevant.”
After another pause, Eden answers, more softly. “I knew him. But we hadn’t spoken.” I grit my teeth because why is he making it like a fucking Dan Brown novel? I don’t want to hunt for clues, I just want him to tell me what the fuck is going on. Because the more I know about his situation, the better equipped I’ll be when I tell him about mine.
“Like, ever?”
Eden sighs likeI’mthe problem. “Not for months.”
Give me strength.“So how did you—”
“Through a friend.”
“Okay.” Now we’re getting somewhere. “I thought maybe at a club.”
“Is that your way of asking me if I go to gay bars?”
“What? No…” I act coy. “But, maybe.”
“Other than with you and Reeze after the convention in Portland. No, I’ve never been to a gay bar.”
“Cool.” I nod to myself, remembering that night. “Not that I’d care if you did go to them.”
