Page 78 of The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad

“Seriously?” Kyle said again.

“Ah, Kyle, no need to be jealous.” Zayne smiled, nudging my best friend’s shoulder. “You know I prefer the preppy version.”

I’d had enough. “For real, Zayne. Why are you in my house? For that matter, why are you and Kyle here together?” Eyes shifting to Kyle, whose cheeks were suspiciously pink, I frowned. “I thought you said you had something after school.”

Kyle looked away, and that was when it hit me. They were here.Together.And Kyle had blown me off so he could spend time with the guy he was crushing on. Good Lord, did that mean…?

“Oh,” I said my gaze flitting from one boy to the other. “But…I thought you guys hated each other.”

“Hate’s a strong word,” Kyle muttered.

“Yeah,” Zayne said, eyes roaming over Kyle. “All the insults, the teasing, that was more like foreplay.”

“Oh,” I said again, not knowing who to look at. “So, Zayne is the guy?”

“Yep,” Kyle said. For his part, my best friend’s gaze had settled on Colton, waiting for his brother’s reaction. “Zayne is the guy. I’ve actually liked him for a long time. I was shocked to find out the feeling was mutual, but after working together on that project, we just kind of hit it off.”

“Wow, I never would’ve guessed.” Looking to Zayne, I said, “So, you’re gay, too?”

“Oh honey,” Zayne said, “aren’t you sweet with that this or that mentality. I appreciate and welcome all types. No, I’m not gay. I’m Bi.”

To say I was stunned would’ve been an understatement. I could only imagine what Colton was feeling. My eyes went to him, and his face was unreadable. He didn’t look angry or upset or even surprised really. But I knew this was a big moment for him and especially for Kyle.

Colton stood up, walked over to stand in front of the two guys, while I held my breath. Placing a hand on Kyle’s shoulder, he said, “About time. I was wondering when you were finally going to tell me.”

“Finally?” Kyle said, sounding surprised and a little choked. “You mean, you knew? All this time?”

“Of course, I knew,” Colton said. “You’re my twin.”

“And…you don’t care? That I’m gay?”

“Kyle,” Colton sighed and pulled his brother in for a hug. “What kind of dumbass question is that? I love you. I accept you. I would love and accept you no matter what.”

Kyle hugged him back, and I felt tears well-up in my eyes.

“Even if the guy you like is a complete ass,” Colton added, making Kyle laugh.

As they broke their embrace, Colton turned to look at Zayne.

“And you,” he said. “Gay, straight or bi, if you hurt my brother, I’ll make you regret it every day of your life. Understand?”

Zayne lifted his hands up. “Hey, stand down big brother. I’m not planning to hurt anybody, so no need to get all hostile. Though it was kind of hot.”

We all groaned, and that was the exact moment Mom chose to come home.

“Hey,” she said, walking into the living room. “I didn’t know you were going to have company, Sadie. Want me to go back out and pick you guys up some food?”

“No but thanks, Mom,” I said. “I actually needed to talk to Kyle and Colton about something.”

Zayne rubbed his hands together. “And I’ll take that as my cue to leave. Sadie, Colton, it’s been fun. See you later, Kyle.”

“Yeah,” Kyle said, smiling, “you will.”

Zayne waved to my mother as he left, and afterward, I hustled the boys up to my room. Mom might’ve had a problem with me having Zayne in my room, but since the twins had been coming over for years, she thought nothing of it. Though, I realized after shutting the three of us in, it was the first time in a while that Colton had been here. In my bedroom. The way he was looking around, eyes never missing a thing, made me nervous. Kyle, on the other hand, grabbed Mr. Teddy Wiggles and plopped down onto my bed, looking right at home.

“So, what’s the deal with this kissing thing?” he said. “You didn’t think you guys were going to get off that easy. Did you?”

I shrugged, took a seat at my desk. “What more is there to say? Colton’s been helping me with my list. You’ve known this all along.”

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