Page 51 of Hidden Plays
“You fell in love.” His grin returned with a vengeance. “That’s so sweet.”
“I’m not in love. Not yet.” I slid my finger along a crack in the table. Or was I? I was damn sure getting close. If we have more dates like the last one, I could be.
He leaned in, resting his forearms on the table. “JJ says great things about you. I mean, Harry.” He narrowed his eyes. “Damn, dude, now I’m not sure I want to hear any more. You’re supposed to be our trainer.” He shook his head and chuckled. “It’s hard to look at you now.”
“Sorry, I’ve told JJ to stop telling you guys stuff.” I scratched my brow. Had he embellished some things? This was awkward now. I had to redirect the conversation. “Not everything he’s told you is true. He was trying to make the fake boyfriend thing more than it was.”
“Were those texts from you?” He watched me.
“Yes, but in the beginning, it was fake.” I sighed. “Can I talk to you, Eli? I need information about being queer and what to expect.”
“Sure, but why don’t you ask JJ?” He crossed his arms on the table.
“Because I want to hear from someone else. Someone who I’m not in a relationship with.” I bit the corner of my lip. “I don’t have any queer friends to talk to.”
“Go ahead, ask away. You know I’m a psychology major, right?” He gave me a warm smile. “I love assisting people like this. Plus, as part of my major, I help on the LGBTQ student helpline. It’s called the Q-line, actually.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.” Maybe that was why I picked himto talk to. I had an innate sense about him, and boy, had I gotten lucky. Focusing on him, I said, “I want to come out, but what should I expect?”
He wrinkled his forehead, nodding. “It’ll be different for everyone. Some people will be assholes to your face, while others will offer false support and disappear.”
“Oh…” A knot formed in my gut. That wasn’t very reassuring.
As a smile swept across his mouth, he said, “But most people will be accepting and won’t behave differently toward you at all.”
My heart lifted. “Yeah?” What would Arden be like? He’d been confirming my straightness throughout this situation. Would he move out on me?
“You’ll definitely find out who your true friends are.” He pursed his lips. “But you don’t need fake friends in your life anyway, right?” His smile returned.
“Right.” How would my parents react? I chewed the side of my lip. “What about parents?”
“I found most to be supportive. You grew up in Scottsdale, didn’t you?” He tilted his head, eyeing me.
“I did. My mom is pretty liberal, but I don’t know about my dad. He’s a finance guy and votes independent.” Dad would be a wild card.
“Consider coming out to your mom first and getting her opinion about your dad. She might help you with him.” Eli’s gaze softened. “My parents were both cool with it in the end, but they were pretty shocked when I told them.”
“Shocked?” I wrinkled my brows. Dad was careful about everything. I’d never seen him shocked.
“Yeah, they weren’t expecting it from me. Don’t know why.” He huffed a chuckle. “Maybe because I always played football?” He smirked. “But I’ve heard some parents already know and are simply waiting for their kids to confide in them.”
“My parents will be shocked.” I hung my head. “They won’tsee this coming. I’ve always had girlfriends.” Would Dad even believe me?
“There’s an organization called PFLAG where parents can get support from other parents of LGBTQ kids. Mention it to them if they have a hard time with it.” Eli watched me. “It’ll be easier, the more people you tell. So if talking to your parents is difficult, maybe save them for last.”
Nodding, I rubbed my finger along the table surface. “Yeah, okay.” A plan formed in my mind. I’d talk to JJ, and we’d come clean with his friends first. Then I’d talk to Arden and hope I’d still have a roommate after this. Last, I’d talk to Mom and get her take on Dad.
“What are you thinking about?” Eli shifted in his chair.
“I’m planning the order of people I need to come out to.” My heart about stopped. What about Noel? He’d be a dick, but he was a dick about everything. My gaze swung to Eli’s. “Listen, I haven’t spoken to JJ about this, so can you keep our conversation between us?”
“Of course.” His smile grew wide, and he shook his head. “Fucking JJ, man. I can’t believe he fabricated a fake-boyfriend scheme to get out of being teased about Myles.”
“Do you know Myles?” I wrinkled my nose. How close had they been? JJ hadn’t told me much about that relationship. But then, I’d never asked.
“I do. I’ve hung out with him and Cooper.” Eli arched a brow. “Myles is a good guy, but JJ wasn’t the one for him.” He dropped his arms into his lap. “They never, uh, you know.”
“They never what?” I knitted my brows. Had sex? Did I want to know?
