“He still in California?”
Eli shook his head. “Nah. Had to move back home to Colorado which is probably for the best. His brother’s going through some shit right now. Health stuff. They don’t know what the problem is though.”
I felt a pinch in my gut. Even though I strongly disliked the guy, I hated to hear about anyone going through a health scare. I remembered hearing about his brother, Jackson, enough to know they were close. Cooper had stayed with us during some of the school breaks at UW since he hadn’t had a car to drive home. I remembered being annoyed by his constant chatter and never-ending perky energy.
After one of his visits, I’d asked Eli how the hell he’d ended up friends with a drama major in the first place, and Eli had told me Cooper was more than he appeared. I’d never understood what that had meant, and honestly I hadn’t cared enough to ask. As far as I was concerned, Cooper was all buckle and no belt.
But now I wondered if he’d be willing to let me ask him some questions about gay stuff on social media so I could help the Stallion guys out. Although, I wasn’t sure what exactly that could be. Maybe Cooper knew a guy who did YouTube videos with tools who might want the sponsorship opportunity. If I could help Stallion find an LGBT vlogger, maybe then they’d keep me in mind when they had other sponsorship opportunities come up.
My brother Tip smirked at me from across the table. “Why you asking? You got a crush on him or something?” Tip always made a big fucking deal about Cooper being gay, so any discussion of him invariably led to a bunch of bullshit.
“Hell no, Francis,” I said, calling him by his real name because I knew he hated it. “I just…” I blinked at everyone staring at me from around the table. “There’s this sponsorship at Stallion Tools, and—”
My dad’s attention perked up from his spot at the head of the table. “Stallion? They looking to do more at Walt’s?”
I shook my head. “No, this is for my YouTube stuff, not the store. They—”
Dad’s forehead creased in confusion. “Why would a tool company care about some how-to videos?”
My sister Dee rolled her eyes. “Dad, they care because it’s a way of advertising. Lots of companies run ads on YouTube now. Maybe they want to sponsor Nine’s show.”
Dad was suddenly interested. I could practically see the dollar signs in his eyes. “They fixing to give you money, son?”
I fidgeted in my seat. “No, no. At least I don’t think so. I got a call today from a guy there who—”
More interruptions. This time it was Eli. “What’s this have to do with Cooper?”
I felt my face heat. I hated being the center of everyone’s attention. “Um, well, they said that they’re doing a big sponsorship or something to reach out to the LGBT community about using tools.”
My nephew snickered, but I ignored him and continued. “And I just thought if I knew anyone who…”
Dee rolled her eyes again. It was her favorite expression. “Jesus. Is Cooper Heath the only gay person you know or something?”
I looked around the table. “Uh, yeah?”
And this was where it all went downhill. It started with Nolan. “My Spanish teacher at the high school is gay. Señor Hopkins wears bright pink running shoes. I saw him one time at the park jogging.”
Suddenly I was no longer the target of Dee’s annoyance. “Pink shoes don’t make the man gay, Colby. Christ.”
Mom shot her a look. “Language.”
“Sorry,” Dee muttered. “Surely you all know Linda Wieler. She’s gay.”
Mom tsked. “Just because a woman raises chickens, doesn’t mean she’s gay, Cassandra.”
More eye rolling. “Mom, she and her partner Pam have been together for years.”
My dad’s brows furrowed. “Linda down at the bank? I thought Pam was her sister.”
My niece Twyla grinned at me with a big mouth of neon green braces, “You should do it, Uncle Nine. That sounds cool.”
Me? Hadn’t she heard the part about needing to be gay? “No, I—”
Eli’s eyes widened comically. “You totally should! How much money they offering?”
“I have no idea since I’m not gay.” I pushed my plate back from the edge of the table and crumpled up my napkin.
My parents studied me for a beat before my dad went ahead and said it. “But you could pretend.”
Were they insane? “No. No way. That’s fraud.”
“Pfft.” Eli looked like the cat with the canary. “It’s hardly fraud. Haven’t you ever heard of ‘gay for pay’?”
“Eli!” My mother gasped as if this was all some kind of blasphemy.
My sister Beth patted my hand. “Are you sure you’re not gay? Or maybe bi?”
“Emily!” Mom’s shock reflex was getting a workout.
Beth turned to my mother with her typical serene demeanor. “Mother, it’s not the end of the world if Nine is gay or bisexual. I’m only asking because he’s never really dated anyone. Maybe—”