Page 49 of The Sun
None of the lights were on upstairs, and the noise from the party somehow seemed far away. Laurel flipped the switch and then staggered down the hall to one of the last rooms on the left. Smiling, she placed her hand on the knob and pushed open the door. Just enough light spilled in from the hallway that I could make out two people on the bed.
Brandon’s perfectly-styled brown hair and broad, bare shoulders were hard to miss. However, the girl pinned underneath him was completely blocked from my view.
My heart clanged. My ears smoldered. Even though I wasn’t emotionally invested in Brandon, betrayal stung. Fast and deep. He, after all, was a good guy, and I was a good girl, and yet, here we were.
Did I shout at him? Leave without muttering a word? I had no idea what the appropriate protocol was. As for Laurel? Drunk Girl didn’t even see the cheating asshole. She made a beeline to the bathroom connected to the room, not even inviting me inside before she slammed the door behind her.
That’s when Brandon shoved away from the girl so fast, he nearly toppled off the bed. “Sunny!” he panted, snatching his shirt up and tugging it over his head as though that would make it all better. “Fuck. I.”
I held up my hands and slowly backed toward the door. “It’s fine. I mean, we weren’t even. You know—”
“Don’t. Hey!” he started.
I tried to slip into the hall, but he snagged hold of my arm and snatched me back into the dark room. “Don’t say anything. Okay? Please?”
“Are you kidding me! You’re in here. . .” I waved my free hand around in a frenzy. “In a bed with—” I looked at the bed just as a guy. Stop. Pause. A guy? Climbed to his feet.
My mouth dropped, my heart skipped vital beats as it all sank in. Then I closed my eyes and took a long, hard breath while the same guy who earlier had been staring at Brandon from the doorway slid past me without so much as a word.
When I glanced back at Brandon, his hands were plastered to his face, and he repeated “shit” over and over.
Each pound of my heart seemed harder than the last, and my mind was a complete fog of confusion. I kept thinking maybe I missed something. “I. . .” Whatever I was trying to say stuck in my throat.
The toilet flushed, and Laurel came stumbling into the bedroom, the bathroom light blaring from the now open doorway. She ran into the dresser and then the bedpost before ramming into the door frame.
“Where’d he come from?” She pointed at Brandon. “Is he your boyfriend?”
I glanced at a panicked Brandon, then at her. Even though I still wasn’t one-hundred percent sure about what the hell was going on, I just needed her out of the room.
“Yep.” I bobbed my head. “Yep. And we’re just gonna, you know—hookup in here. Boyfriend-girlfriend kind of hookup. Like sex and stuff. So if you could just. . .” I grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her out into the hall. “Thanks.”
I closed the door, locked it, and turned back around. Brandon’s gaze was glued to the floor, and his arms were wrapped around his body like he was trying to keep warm during a blizzard.That was definitely a guy. In the bed with him. His shirt was off. They were absolutely lip to lip. Shit!
“Hey.” I made my voice soft. “Look. It’s, uh. It’s okay.”
“It’s not.”
“I mean. . .” I thumbed toward the crumpled bedsheets. “Was that like, I don’t know, curiosity or. . .” I immediately felt awful for the words pouring from my mouth like vomit, but I had never heard of a guy at our school being gay. Guys at Lockhart, sure. Two or three rumors had flown around about a theatre guy, but not a star athlete from Robertsdale. Not guys like Brandon McClure, all suave and muscular and swoon-worthy.
“Crap. I didn’t mean it like. I don’t know. I’m just. Confused? Mainly because we were kinda sorta dating or something and then. I don’t know. I mean, it’s fine and all, but I’m just.”
Another hard breath. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry. I like you. Fuck. I like you, Sunny. You’re this great, pretty girl, and you’re sweet, and you’re. . . God, I’m so fucked. If the guys at school find out.” He shook his head.
“No one’s finding out.” I touched his arm.
“It’s not like I enjoy lying. You know? I just figured, maybe if I tried hard enough that I’d like girls. And you’re pretty and sweet. Something’s wrong with me, but I can’t—.” He choked on his words before his brows pinched together like he refused to give in. Like maybe if he just didn’t admit it, it would all go away.
“Nothing’s wrong with you. Don’t say that.”
“You don’t understand. Football scouts won’t look at me if they know. My parents. God, my parents would disown me.” His voice nearly folded in on itself, and my heart sank in my chest swift and hard. “I’m sorry. I do like you. I just. I just. Please don’t hate me.” Filled with panic and shame, his eyes met mine.
I grabbed his face, placing my nose inches from his. “It’sokay, Brandon.” I didn’t care. Not that we were supposedly dating and I had found him in a room with a guy, not that he was gay. I only cared that he was obviously torn up over it and terrified.
“Please, Sunny. Please, God, don’t say anything. Not to Daisy or Ben.”
“I wouldn’t.” I swept my fingers over his cheek. “I’m not mad at you. And I most certainly don’t hate you.”
“You’re the first person to know.”
