Page 27 of Code Word
“Nice of you to join me. It’s an exclusive club we’re in.”
He took out his phone and started scrolling.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Ordering you a pizza. You’re a cranky fucker when you’re hungry and hungover.”
I glared at him. “Oh look. You’re taking Luke’s place already.”
“Stop with the sarcastic asshole routine. I’m trying to help you. I shouldn’t have said anything already. I’m gonna get my ass kicked for telling you, and you’re being a dick to me.”
“Why can’t you tell me? Why am I the asshole here?”
“Because it’s not my secret to tell. It’s Luke’s.”
“He told Maddox all about it.”
“Because Maddox is gay, dumbass. He’d understand. And I’m telling you because I’ve been there too. I’ve stood where you are right now.”
“But I’m not gay. Or bisexual.”
“He knows that.”
“I don’t think of him like that.”
Jeremy sighed, deflating this time. He turned and walkedtoward the glass walls to watch the ocean, and he was quiet for a while. “Just give him some time and don’t hate him.”
“Hate him? I could never hate him. I love him. He’s?—”
Jeremy turned, his gaze cutting to mine. “He’s what?”
“My best friend. My ride or fucking die. He’s like a brother to me.”
“Is he? Is that all he is?”
“Is that all? Is that all? Christ, Jeremy, is that not enough?”
“Do me a favor. While you’re here by yourself, I want you to think back over the last ten years to every single time you and Luke were together. All the bus trips, the flights, the different countries, sharing hotel rooms. Think back to all the hype around the whole Bluke-shipping thing and ask yourself why every person on the planet thought you were a couple.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
“That was no more than a publicity stunt for fans. They ate that shit up. It doesn’t mean it was real. And Luke hated that bullshit. So don’t try and tell me that he was into it.”
Jeremy studied me for a long moment. “Okay.”
That dismissive bullshit pissed me off.
“Why am I the bad guy here?” I asked. “I’m being blamed for shit I had no clue about.”
Something flashed in Jeremy’s eyes that looked like an apology, but it was kinda hard to tell. “No one’s blaming you,” he said gently. “Least of all Luke. It’s why he needs time.”
“I thought you said you didn’t know what was wrong with him.”
“Nothing’s wrong with him,” he snapped. “There’s nothing wrong with being queer, Blake.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. You know I have zero problem with that. I just meant that something was wrong. He wouldn’t talk to me, couldn’t even look at me. Something was fucking wrong. How the hell was I supposed to know?”
Gawd, I still wasn’t sure I believed that’s what this was.
