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“I didn’t do anything illegal.” Other than drinking.

“That’s not the point. The company you keep matters, so both your dad and I sincerely hope it’s the last that we’re seeing this Vex person around you.”

I roll my eyes. What they don’t know can’t hurt them. “I gotta go, Mom.”

“I implore you to think about your future. We shall talk about this on Sunday,” she adds, but her tone is softer now I’ve confirmed I’m fine.

“Sure, bye,” I say and disconnect.

For the first time, I’m actually happy and excited about life, so of course they don’t like what I’m doing. If my future didn’t hinge on that trust fund, I wouldn’t even be considering law as my next step.

Chapter 11

Aaron

I was dying to tell Matt everything, but when I reached out to him after the party, it turned out he and his boyfriend had just left on a weeklong hike. And since I knew how important secrecy was to Vex, I spent the next seven days stewing on the inside. I did get more popular, since the video spread like wildfire, which led to people in town wanting to see my scar or prod me about Vex, but that’s not the kind of attention I crave.

Fortunately, seeing Vex almost every day made the wait a bit more bearable, even if it added to the list of things I itched to tell my best friend.

But when the day came, Matt arrived at Rainbowology with his partner Cassian, which once again left my lips shut. I do love Cassian, but come on!

They embody the stereotype of some gay men having a taste in dudes who are their twin, since they are both outdoorsy and value comfort over fashion. But in terms of overall looks, they’re not alike at all, since Matt’s naturally paler, with freckles, dark blond hair, and blue eyes, while Cassian couldn’t have denied his Italian heritage if he tried.

While their trip to the Mammoth Cave national park is interesting to hear about, and I do get drawn into looking at the photos, the secret I carry remains at the back of my mind, niggling at me. For once, Matt isn’t the only one with a sex life. I have things of my own that I wanna tell him, some troubles I want to share, but I promised Vex to tell just one person, which means that Cassian’s presence is a no-go.

I’m getting so close to Vex so fast it’s a whirlwind of emotions stuffed into a very short time. I never thought he’d be so sweet, which I now see is stupid of me. I claim to search for deeper meanings, and I analyze people all the time, yet I’ve been so shallow in my judgment of him. I saw the tattoos, the muscles, the Instagram, and assumed I knew everything about him when I’d barely scratched the surface.

Turns out his interest in art isn’t superficial, and that he likes going to museums whenever there’s an opportunity for it. He cooked for me, listened to me talk about the book I’m reading, and doesn’t laugh at my penchant for gay smut. One evening, I was behind on an essay, but he told me to come over anyway, and we ended up just sitting together. I wrote, he was drawing in his sketchbook, and it was perfectly blissful.

W also fucked. Of course. Because I can’t keep my hands off him.

“Okay, I think it’s time for me. My babies need to be fed,” Cassian says, finishing his tea.

I value his company, and I think he is the perfect match for Matt, but this one time, I’m happy that he’s leaving. He works at a plant nursery specializing in carnivorous plants, and I can’t hold in the first thing that comes to my mind.

“Just don’t forget about Cleopatra.”

His dark gaze meets mine, and he laughs before shuffling like Morticia Addams, who in the original show fed meat to a sentient plant with that very name. “Oh I know, she is still growing!” he says in a high-pitched voice.

Matt shakes his head but presses a few kisses to his boyfriend’s forearm, Gomez Addams-style.

It’s sickeningly sweet.

I want that for myself.

I’ve been waiting so long, I might as well let them say their goodbyes, so I glance at my phone, smiling when I see a new message from Vex. It contains another private picture, of him pinching his nipple.

[Can’t wait to be under you,] I text him, already thinking about all the things I’d like him to do to me.

[I’d like to have you *over* me,] he answers, but before I get confused, he adds an explicit drawing of one guy riding another’s dick.

My lips go dry. Yes. I want that too.

He never posts these drawings anywhere. They’re secret, and just for me.

“Aaron? What’s that smirk about? Are you finally getting that tattoo?” Matt asks, pulling my mind out of the gutter. Cassian’s gone.

“Huh?”