Page 13 of This I Promise You
“Nothing!” I throw my hands up, then shove my face in my palms. “It just…seems weird playing matchmaker with our parents. Plus, isn’t your mom like thirty or something? My dad’s forty-two!”
“She’s thirty-six…I think.” Aidan doesn’t look convincing. “But we’d be brothers!”
“Stepbrothers,” I correct him.
“Same thing.”
I roll my eyes and laugh. This isn’t the first time he’s come up with the idea. Not sure why he acts like it’s this exciting new thing every time. Guess that’s just A. It would give me a mom though, like a real one. Not the bitch that couldn’t stand looking at me after I came out.
“But…” I stop, bagel almost touching my lips before I put it down. Maybe there’s a positive in there somewhere. “If we were stepbrothers, maybe my dad would stop trying to set us up with each other.”
“See! Win-win!” Aidan laughs.
“Still weird,” I tell him and down the rest of my bagel before getting up. We came to have a little brunch-like snack and play pool in the Union’s game room.
“Such a prude.” Aidan tags along.
“You know, it’s not fair,” I blurt.
“That’s what I’ve been saying. They should totally hook up.” Aidan glances at me.
Oh my God, that’s so not what I meant.
“Not that, just that, uh…” Think, Easton. Ah! I take it in a similar yet better direction. “Just that I swear you managed to pull the only non-total-asshole gay dude that exists. Like, what are the rest of us supposed to do?”
It’s not a lie. I’ve thought about it a few times. Just never really said it.
“You saying you want my boyfriend?” Aidan’s eyes become slits, and he crinkles his nose.
“I mean…” I drag it out with a big smile. “Nah. Just, I swear all the rest are assholes.”
“Who’ve you been talking toagain?” He shakes his head.
“No one. That’s the problem. They’re allugh,” I remind him as we enter the game room.
“Sure, no one.” The skew of his mouth says it all. He’s not buying it. “Spill the tea. What asshole have you been messaging on Grindr?”
“I’m not spilling no tea,” I say back. “Plus, it’s nothing. No Grindr shit. Just a general thing.”
“Uh-huh.” He doesn’t believe me, but I guess he decides to give me this one while he takes a pool stick from the wall. “Most guys are trash.”
“Right?” I sigh.
“And who said Ty wasn’t a whore?” Aidan laughs.
“Excuse-a-me? What?” My words are garbled. It’s not at all what I expected.
“Just with me of course, but if you only knew.”
“Oh my God, did I tell you what happened this morning with—” I start.
Aidan’s eyes widen. “Don’t look now, but Douchebag is approaching.”
“Douchebag?” I question.
“Huxley, donotmake me do this,” an annoyingly husky voice whispers from behind me.
I slouch. Dammit.
