Page 114 of Pride High 3: Yellow
“That’s right.”
Ricky perked up. “Wanna spend the night?”
“Hell yeah! I bet we can blow through most of this game if we try. And if not, we’ve got all of spring break to beat it. That’s gotta be the best present of all, huh?”
“It is nice,” Ricky confirmed with a smile as he watched the screen. “Wow! The graphics are amazing!”
“Wait until you see the shadows in the forest,” Omar replied. “Let’s start over, like you wanted. I didn’t make it that far anyway.”
He barely paid attention as Ricky worked his way through the intro level, except to share a tip here and there. Otherwise his mind returned to the same subject it had been stuck on for the past week: Silvia. Her name used to make his heart go pitter-patter, and it still did, but with anxiety instead of adoration. He’d felt weird ever since the day out on the raft. Her being bisexual wasn’t a big deal. That she had kissed Keisha didn’t trouble himtoomuch. But it all added up to a big problem. Especially when he thought about her final confession.
Omar glanced over at Ricky, who was smiling as he played, his eyebrows perpetually raised like he was thrilled by everything he saw. As great as the graphics were, most of that joy came from inside. Ricky was a great guy. Omar hated the idea of him being alone at the urgent care center, just because Silvia was so damn secretive. He had asked her about that while they fished; why she had chosen to remain anonymous. She’d explained that she didn’t want to be in the newspaper in case it brought unwanted attention to her family and their legal status. All of that made sense…
But it’s not like reporters were still searching for her. She could’ve told Ricky the truth by now. He’d be thrilled to learn that one of his friends had saved him. Especially considering that Ricky had stuck his neck out to help rescue her dad from the hospital. And she sure as hell could have told Omar the truth ages ago. What the fuck was wrong with her? And him, for that matter, because he’d never sworn to keep quiet. Not about that.
“I have another present for you,” Omar said. “Remember the mystery woman that drove you to the urgent care center? I know who she is.”
He expected Ricky to toss the controller aside and demand answers. Instead he went still for a moment and said, “Oh.”
“I thought you’d be more excited.”
Ricky swallowed. Then he paused the game. “I already know.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. It was Silvia.”
“Dude! Why haven’t we talked about this? How long have you known?”
Ricky shrugged. “I guess it just never came up.”
“That my girlfriend was the mystery woman? How could it not?”
Ricky licked his lips nervously. “I don’t think she wants me to talk to anyone about it.”
“It’s cool,” Omar assured him. “She told me everything.”
Ricky’s head whipped toward him. “All of it?”
“Yup.”
“Even about Keisha?”
“Yeah,” Omar said after skipping a beat, because… “How do you know about that?”
“About what?” Ricky said, his eyes widening in panic.
Omar studied him a moment. “About the kiss,” he said.
Ricky’s shoulders slumped. “I hate that I couldn’t tell you myself. I really wanted to! We argued about it even, because I thought you had a right to know, but then Silvia told me that she was the mystery woman, and that I owed her. But I still regret it becauseyou’remy friend, not her. I’m really sorry!”
Omar’s head was spinning. “Wait, wait, wait,” he said. “How did you know about Keisha?”
“Because I saw them,” Ricky said. “I was there when it happened.”
Omar’s stomach sank. “Where?”
Ricky’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I thought you knew.”
