Page 75 of Theoretically Straight

“And Theo isn’t my boyfriend,” I add. “So, I don’t think any of that is going to apply to me anytime soon.”

Freddy and Wren share a look between them.

“What?” I ask, even though I’m pretty sure I know their reasoning.

“Do you think he’ll want to be?” Freddy asks. “Your boyfriend, I mean.”

I want to say, “Hell yes, of course he does!” but I end up admitting, “I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about it yet. But he’s still figuring a ton of stuff out, so it’s not like the most important thing right now. All I know is that he likes me, and I like him, so we’re just going to see what happens.”

“We’re just worried about you,” Wren explains. “Not that Theo isn’t a nice guy, but if the worst should happen, and he has to make a choice between, say, his faith or you, we don’t want you to have to be in the middle of that kind of situation.”

“That’s not going to happen,” I say, frustration stabbing through my words. “And even if it did, I know that Theo wouldn’t do something that would hurt me. At least, not on purpose.”

Freddy frowns. “Unintentional heartbreak still sucks. Trust me.”

I wave my hands, signaling the level of “done” I’ve reached in this conversation. “Guys, it’s fine. We’re all getting a little ahead of ourselves. But everything is going to be fine.”

“Okay,” they both answer, and we finish the rest of lunch in a tense silence.

I practically bolt from my seat when the teacher dismisses us from last period. Sprinting outside, I scan the parking lot for Eileen’s familiar red tone. Finding her, I do my best to act cool as I approach. Theo isn’t in the car, of course, because I’m a weirdo who ran like he was literally on fire all the way out here. So, I lean against Eileen’s passenger side and convince myself to calm the fuck down.

Theo shows up just a few minutes later, looking a bit surprised that I’m waiting for him. He wraps me up in a hug but keeps it brief. He looks over his shoulder after he lets me go, then says, “Sorry, did I keep you waiting long?”

I can’t stop the smile that commandeers my face. “No, I just got here.”

He unlocks the doors, and we both climb in. Theo starts the engine, and he’s backing up before I can get my buckle on. I haven’t even given him Wren’s address yet, but he seems to be in a hurry to get somewhere. Once we’re out of the school lot, he takes the next street, pulling into a strip mall and circling around to a spot on the backside of the building.

“Are we going shopping?” I joke as he shifts the car into park.

“Nah,” he replies, unfastening his seatbelt. “I just couldn’t wait any longer to do this.”

Theo hooks his fingers through the space between my shirt’s buttons, pulling me closer. He kisses me—a little too eagerly as his nose collides with mine—and we adjust quickly. The sudden rush of blood leaving my head leaves me dizzy.

“I missed you too,” I say through my heavy breathing after he pulls away.

So that’s what this is. He doesn’t want to risk someone seeing us at school. I try to keep my feelings in check. I knew this would probably be the case, at least for a little bit while Theo figures his stuff out. But I didn’t expect it to make me feel like this. Like I’m a secret waiting to detonate. Suddenly, Wren and Freddy’s concern for me is making a little more sense.

Theo leans his shoulder into his seat, reaching over to turn the music down. “Sorry, I know we’re supposed to be heading over to Wren’s, but I just wanted you to myself for a few minutes first.”

“It’s fine,” I say, popping off my seatbelt and mirroring Theo. “They won’t miss us for a bit. Tell me about last night with your sister.”

He nods, looking down at his hands. “Grace couldn’t have been more chill. At least, about the ‘me not being straight’ thing. She kinda started to rant about the church, but she reigned it in before it got too bad.”

“Oh, does she not go to church anymore?”

Theo shakes his head. “No. And it’s been this whole big deal with our parents, but Grace really sticks to her guns. I don't know how she does it. The thought of having to trudge through that conversation with my parents every week—it’s honestly exhausting.”

“Do you–” I stop myself. “Never mind.”

“What?”

“Forget it. It was something really personal, and I shouldn’t be asking it.”

“How personal?” Theo asks with a crooked smile. “It’s okay. Really. You can ask me anything.”

I shouldn’t. It could erode all the groundwork we’ve been laying. But now he’s looking at me, and I selfishly want to know the answer.

“Do you think liking me is wrong?”

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