Out in Winter (Out in College 8) - Page 6

This one was…confusing.

“Oh. Who’s this?”

Liam returned to my side, dangling his tee from one finger. “Jade and—oh. Where’d you find that?”

“It fell. It must have been behind this photo.” I tapped a finger over the other person in the picture: the gorgeous blond man with his hand holding Liam’s chin as he kissed his cheek. It was a lover’s kiss in selfie form with tangled arms and adoring expressions. I supposed I could have been wrong, but it looked like— “Is he your boyfriend?”

Liam froze for a moment, then shook his head. “No. We, um…that was a long time ago.”

Not that long ago. Liam might be slightly more muscular now, but otherwise, he looked the same. And the other guy was definitely in his twenties.

Let it go. Let it go. Not your business.

I couldn’t do it.

“Does he play water polo?” I asked softly.

“He did…yeah.” He furrowed his brow as he picked the photo from my fingers. “I don’t know why I kept this.”

“Maybe it’s important?”

Liam tossed the photo on the desk and grinned. “You’d make a terrible detective, Drew.”

I held my hands up in surrender. “I come in peace. I’m just…curious.”

“Why? Do I look gay in that pic?” he taunted.

“What does gay look like?” I countered sharply.

“Sorry. I’m…I don’t know what I’m talking about. You’re gay, right?”

“I am. And you are…?”

I perched on the corner of his desk, crossed my arms defensively, and waited for his jock-style apology.

Liam didn’t reply right away. He held my gaze evenly, but I could practically see the wheels turning in this head. After what felt like twenty minutes, he yanked his tee over his head, then gave me a cocky grin that didn’t quite meet his eyes.

“Bi. Surprised?”

Shocked was more like it.

I played it cool, though. I gave a nonchalant shrug, careful to keep my expression neutral. “A little. So, the guy in the photo was your boyfriend?”

He moved to his closet, grabbed a pair of jeans from a shelf, and pulled them on. “I think the proper description is ‘fuck-buddy.’ Boyfriend sounds like something I wanted more than he did. Pathetic. Ready to roll?”

“Uh, where are your shoes?” I asked, gesturing toward his bare feet.

“I can put them on in the car. Or you can…go on. I can wait till tomorrow and—”

“Whoa. You’re freaking out.”

“I’m not. I just…don’t talk about it.” He sat heavily on the edge of his mattress and dragged his socks over his feet.

“Fair enough. I don’t talk about being gay either. But I am. And to be honest, it’s one of my favorite things about myself.”

“Why?”

“ ’Cause it took me a lot of personal mental wrangling to accept what I couldn’t change and once I did, I realized I wouldn’t change a thing. I like men. Period.”

Liam bit back a smile. “I see. What do you like best about men?”

“Dick.”

“Good to know. Same, but I like ass too.”

I chuckled. Okay, I knew it wasn’t my business, but of course, I asked anyway. “So…you’re not out?”

“Yes and no.” He inclined his head toward the corkboard. “My close friends and family know, but being bi still seems like something people don’t understand. Like my mom. I’ve never introduced her to a man, so in her mind, ‘bisexual’ is a label I’m trying on like a sweater I’ll eventually outgrow. I have friends who think that way too. It’s not worth arguing about. They’re the ones who won’t get it until I show up with a boyfriend.”

“Hmm. I understand. My ex is bi. Sometimes I think grappling with his bisexuality was harder for me than it was for him,” I admitted.

“Why? Were you afraid he’d get tired of your ass and want pussy again?”

I leveled him with a death glare. “Rude. But yeah…I guess I was. Elliot was quick to accept his bi-ness and tell everyone he cared about that I was his person. It made me nervous.”

“You didn’t like his enthusiasm?”

“I was wary of it.”

Liam frowned. “Did you dump him because of it?”

“I didn’t think so at the time. I thought there was an age disconnect. He was much younger and—”

“How much younger?”

“Your age.” I held up my hand before he could defend the measly five-year difference. “I know. It was stupid. And by the time I clued in that I was wrong, he’d found someone new.”

“Braden, right?”

I winced. “I forgot you know all those guys.”

Liam nodded. “I don’t know them well. I met Elliot and Braden when Gabe recruited a few water polo players to help with demo and odd jobs when the café was under construction. They’re good guys. And hot, too.”

I chuckled at his mischievous lopsided grin. “They are.”

“I had the opposite problem. I’m not even sure I can call Pete my ex. He was a fuck-buddy who felt like something more. To me, anyway. But he wasn’t out. And that wasn’t fun.”

Tags: Lane Hayes Out in College Romance
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