“Yeah. I swear.”
His mouth twitches slightly, and he leans against the wall.
“You don’t have to swear,” Cree says. “You can’t tell a lie to save your life.”
I open my mouth, but I don’t really know how to respond, so I close it again. Casey had just said something similar to me, but I had no idea Cree thought the same thing. I wonder how many times I’ve out-and-out lied to him and can’t really think of any. Lying requires a lot of thought and wordplay, neither of which is my forte.
“You told her, didn’t you?” Cree says abruptly. “You told her about yourself, your past.”
“Yeah.”
“How much?”
“Everything.” I look down, shuffling my feet. “I mean, all the stuff that matters anyway.”
“Wow. I wasn’t expecting that.”
“I thought you wanted me to.”
“I thought it would be good for you,” Cree says. “I honestly didn’t think you’d be able to get through it. That’s fantastic, dude! I’m proud of ya!”
He reaches out and gives me a light punch on the shoulder.
“You are?”
“Yes, I am. It took you months of knowing me. Once you decided to tell me, it was days before you got the whole story out. You managed to do the same thing in one night with Casey. It’s isolating to keep that all to yourself, and I’m thrilled to hear you told her about it. You live in such a small bubble, Roc. Maybe this is just what you need to get yourself out of it.”
“Maybe.” I glance toward the bathroom, imagining Casey’s look right before she pressed her lips to mine.
“Will you look at that grin!” Cree laughs.
“Stop it.” I didn’t realize I was smiling, but now I can’t seem to stop.
“I have to say, I wasn’t sure how everything was going to play out with you and Casey,” Cree says with a grin of his own. “I’m about to fall asleep on my feet, but I wasn’t going to leave without making sure everything was okay—just in case, you know?”
“In case of what?”
“In case something went wrong and you needed a ride home.”
“Really?” I feel a little torn by Cree’s comment. I’m glad he considered making sure I got home all right but wondering why he thought things wouldn’t work out or that Casey would have left me here if they didn’t. “I think...I think we’re okay.”
“Seems like more than okay.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I smile again. I can’t help it. “I don’t think she would have just left me here though.”
“Maybe not. I wasn’t sure and didn’t want to take the chance.” He places his hand on my shoulder and leans in a bit. “You’re my friend, Roc. I know sometimes you think I just like you because you’re an interesting subject for my research, but that’s not all it is.”
“Thanks.” I look up, trying to keep eye contact with him. “I know it’s not just about research. You’ve told me that before.”
“Sometimes I think you forget.”
“I don’t.”
“Okay.” Cree pats my shoulder a couple of times before leaning back against the wall. “Good. Maybe next weekend, we can grab a drink to celebrate.”
“Celebrate?”
“Losing your virginity.” Cree laughs. “Actually, I bet you’re going to be busy next weekend, aren’t you?”