Page 88 of Theoretically Straight

I almost slam on the brakes. My leg actually twitches, and I almost get whiplash snapping my neck to look at him. “What?”

“Look, Theo,” he says, hesitating. “I kind of…saw you and Caleb kissing in the car last week.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.“When? Where?”

Nathaniel shrugs. “In the driveway? I don’t remember exactly when. It was after school one day.”

My head is spinning. I should probably pull over. It’s not safe to drive when I feel like I’m about to puke.

“Dude, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Yeah, it is. Dante is gay, too, actually. I get it, it’s fine.”

I exhale a shaky breath, trying to calm myself down.

“I’m not gonna tell Mom or Dad or Grace. I won’t tell anyone if you’re still keeping it a secret. Dante wanted to keep it a secret for a while, so I know what it’s like. I just wanted to let you know in case that’s why you didn’t want me to ride with you to the fair today. You don’t have to hide it from me because I already know, and I don’t care. You can kiss or hug or hold hands or whatever. It doesn’t bother me. And I won’t tell anyone.”

I take a minute to let all of that sink in, and then I glance at him again. He’s looking straight ahead, relaxed and nonchalant. “You…you really don’t care?”

Nathaniel shrugs. “I really don’t. I see gay people at school, on TV, and in movies all the time. I know at church, they act like it’s wrong, but I think that’s dumb. You can’t help who you like. Why should people be weird about it?”

The knot in my stomach begins to loosen, and the tension in my shoulders eases. “Yeah.”

Nathaniel leans back in the seat. “So yeah, don’t worry, you guys are safe with me. That’s all.”

By this point, we’re already pulling up to Caleb’s house, and I’m completely unprepared. I put the car in park, and Nathaniel immediately unbuckles to move to the backseat.

“Nate?”

“Yeah?”

“I–” my voice falters in my throat. “I really appreciate…you.”

Nathaniel rolls his eyes. “Gross. Don’t get sappy on me. Save it for Caleb.” He gives me a grin before relocating to the backseat.

Caleb appears at the passenger door with a worried look as he glances from Nathaniel to me. “Hey,” he says, a silent question in his voice.

I smile at him. “Hey.”

As he buckles his seat belt, I lean over and kiss him on the cheek. His eyes fly wide open in panic.

“Nate knows,” I say, nodding back to my brother in the backseat.

“Oh,” Caleb replies, still sounding shaky.

“Hi, Caleb,” Nathaniel says from the backseat.

“Hi, Nate.”

Once I’ve reversed out of Caleb’s driveway, I reach for his hand over the console. Caleb takes it, but I still see some flush in his cheeks. “Is this okay?” I ask, my voice just barely over a whisper.

Caleb smiles, giving my hand a little squeeze. “Yeah. Definitely okay.”

* * *

As promised, Nathaniel disappears as soon as he sees his friends Dante and Ian, and it’s just me and Caleb. And a couple of hundred Specter residents, of course. I try not to think about the crowd. At least everything is outside.

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