Page 26 of Uncharted

I’d teased him ever since that he couldn’t help falling for me the first time we met. At first, it made him blush, but eventually he realized I wasn’t making fun of him. Or at least, I wasn’t mocking him, a bit of teasing because, in all fairness, it had been hilarious how much Xander had bitched about the smell in the hallway for weeks. I hadn’t told him it was because Reno had accidentally spilled his body wash on the carpet and we’d had to scrub it out as best we could.

“So,” Reno began, bringing me out of my memories. “Were you, like…asking because you’ve…never mind.”

I glanced at him, frowning. It wasn’t like him to back down from saying something to me. “Because I what?”

“Forget it.”

“Reno?”

“Nah, it’s stupid. Forget it.”

“I’m not gonna forget it.”

He sighed heavily. “I don’t know, it just…what we were talking about and then you brought up Xander turning out to be gay or like…gay enough to be happily dating a guy for the first time in his life, I should say. And I…was wondering where your head was at is…all.”

I turned to face him, and he was staring so resolutely up at the sky you’d think he was finding the mysteries of life up there. “Like…are you askin’ me if I was thinkin’ about tryin’ to be with a guy because Xander did it?”

“I don’t know, I guess. It just…usually I can see where your thoughts are at, but⁠—”

I eyed him. “Do you want me to try bein’ with a guy?”

“I didn’t say that,” he protested, but again refused to look at me, making me think he was thinking exactly that. But I didn’t know if pushing him to admit it was… “Do you?”

“I never thought about tryin’ before,” I said slowly. “But I guess…when ya say it like that, it does kinda sound like I’ve been thinkin’ about it.”

“So you haven’t.”

“Dunno.”

“Seriously?”

I laughed. “Come on, you know me. I don’t always think about things, I just say ’em. But…I guess I’m kinda thinkin’ about it now you brought it up. This your way of sayin’ I should try kissin’ you?”

His eyes widened, and he turned to face me. “Jake, don’t be an ass.”

I laughed, reaching out to pat his hip. “I’m messin’ with ya, you’re wound so tight about it, I had to poke a little.”

He sighed. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Although,” I started and watched him thoughtfully. “I guess there are worse things to think about.”

Reno frowned. “Huh?”

I shrugged. “I mean, I never really thought about it much or considered doin’ it, but…it’s not somethin’ I’d be against, I suppose. Shit, what if it worked out for me?”

“You want to be into guys?”

“Not that that’s a bad thing.”

“Well, no, but⁠—”

“But what?”

Reno’s brow furrowed, and I fought to keep my mouth shut because it felt important to let him sort through whatever was going through his head and let him speak. It wasn’t unusual for him to take his time to say something, but I would give him that time.

“Jesus,” Reno muttered, though his tone made it sound like he was talking to himself. “I guess you’ve got a point.”

I was confused, and then it clicked. “You, uh…sayin’ ya want to try it?”