Page 9 of One is Never Enough

I will after you talk to Payton.

Damn it. He knows I’ll do anything to make this better with us, including admitting my biggest shame. I message Payton, and she says she’ll be here in ten minutes.

I’m lying in bed when she comes in. “Oliver!”

“In here!” I call out. She walks around the corner, smiling. She has the same curly brown hair as me, but hers is almost down to her hips, and the same green eyes. She crawls onto the bed beside me.

“What’s going on, Oli?” Tears start forming in my eyes, and she looks panicked. “Please talk to me. I know something’s wrong, but Leland won’t tell me either.”

“I’m sorry.” I slide from the bed and pace beside it. “Give me a minute, and I’ll tell you.” How do you tell your sister you fucked her ex? I guess the brutal, honest truth. “A couple of months ago, I spent the night with three guys.” I peek at her, and she perks up at that. “It was supposed to be a one-time thing, but I started seeing two of them.”

“Oli! That’s amazing!”

“I’m not done yet.” I take a deep breath and sit on the side of the bed with my back to her. “The first night, they were anonymous but knew who I was. The two I was seeing were unmasked, but the third wasn’t yet.”

“Oh. I’m loving this story already. Three hot, masked strangers? Sign me the fuck up.”

“Payton,” I say in exasperation. “Let me finish.”

She giggles. “Sorry. Go on.”

I drop my head and fight to finish this because I know she’s going to walk out on me. “The third masked man was Aiden. As in your ex. I’m so damn sorry.” It’s so quiet in the room, and I’m just waiting for her to run out of the room when she starts laughing. What the hell? I turn around, and she’s laughing so hard she has tears rolling down her face. “What the fuck, Payton?” Is this some kind of trauma response?

“I’m sorry,” she gasps. “It’s not funny.”

“Then why are you laughing?!”

She holds up a finger, gets herself under control, and sits up on the bed. “I was always just a cover for Aiden.”

My mouth drops open. “What?”

“I always knew Aiden was gay, Oli.”

My world starts spinning, and I feel like I’m going to pass out. “What?” I croak.

“You know Aiden and I were best friends before we started dating, right?” I nod. “Well, his dad found his stash of gay porn magazines under his bed and flipped his shit. He said really awful things to Aiden, but I already knew Aiden was gay. We came up with the plan that I would be his cover until he went to college to get his dad off his back.”

I collapse backward on the bed. “So, you guys never…?

“Ew. No. One, he’s my best friend. Two, I don’t have the right equipment.” She starts running her fingers through my hair just like she always does when I’m upset. “What else is going on, Oli?”

“He set me up. He knew it was me before I ever walked into that club.”

“That doesn’t sound like the Aiden we know.” I turn to look at her. “Don’t give me that pissy look. No, he shouldn’t have done it that way. Have you talked to him?”

I shake my head. “No. I haven’t talked to any of them since I found out one of them was Aiden.”

“And what did he say when you found out?”

“He said he finally got his chance.”

She laughs and covers it up with a cough. “I see his crush is still intact.”

I jump to my feet and whirl around. “His what?”

She rolls over, lies on her back, and tucks her arms behind her head. “Aiden always had a thing for you but would never do anything about it. Even with me urging him to.” She shrugs. “If anyone would treat you right, it would be him.”

“I can’t believe you’re taking his side.”

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