I tighten my grip on Blake’s hand and give a slight shake of my head. “Wedidn’t do a good job explaining what he means tous,” Blake amends, and I nod. Then his jaw falls open.
“Say that again.” He puts the phone on speaker.
“Relationships with two people can be tough, I can’t imagine the confusion with three.” A soft, gentle voice echoes from the speaker as Blake’s hazel eyes meet mine, wide with surprise.
“You uh, seem to be taking this pretty well,” he stutters.
“That’s because it’s not a surprise. Well, the being gay part. I wasn’t expecting you to fall for two men at once, but fate makes its own rules.”
“You know I’m gay?” His brow furrows in a mixture of confusion and shock.
“I had my suspicions when your superhero phase was more about the actors playing the heroes than the powers they had. And your dad said you once saw a boy so pretty you about snapped your neck trying to get another look at him.”
“How come you never said anything?”
“The books I read recommended you let people come to you when they’re ready.”
“But…but,” he sputters. “You always talked about me settling down with a nice girl and giving you grandkids.”
“I said I had my suspicions, not that I’m all knowing. And since you never corrected me, I wondered if you might be bisexual. So, when do I get to meet these men?” she asks as if her nonchalance hasn’t just short circuited her son’s brain. Although hearing her talk, I’m pretty sure that’s a fair statement to make. She really had no idea how tortured he was by the simple act of giving him space to come out on his own terms.
Blake’s eyes look a little glassy as he blinks them in rapid succession, but the strength of his grip as he squeezes my hand tells me he’s going to be okay. “As soon as Jace and I get our guy back.”
Blake
I hang up the phone and give my head a shake to clear it. “I guess high school me wasn’t as good at pretending that I didn’t notice guys as I thought I was.”
“Captain America was your favorite, wasn’t he? I can see a little boy scout underneath the rugged bike guy thing you’ve got going on.” For the first time since Kane left, Jace almost smiles. “And you’ve got his square jaw underneath that stubble.”
“You think I look like Chris Evans?” That almost makes me smile myself.Almost. “I can’t complain about that. I don’t think I’ve got a boy scout quality, though. Not after the way I handled things.”
I love Jace for wanting to share the blame, but when it comes down to itI’mthe one who was reluctant to come out, soI’mthe one that may have just cost us our shot at happiness with Kane. Maybe even with the two of us.
Jace and I may have made promises to each other about staying together regardless of what happens with him, but that was before we got glimpses of how epic things could be with the three of us. I can’t unsee how perfect that future looked, so even if losing Kane doesn’t tear Jace and I apart, there will always be a void where Kane should be.
Please let us be able to fix this.
“Okay, first, we both screwed up, so stop insisting it’s all your fault. And second, we said from the beginning no matter what happens with Kane the two of us are in this. That hasn’t changed for me. I love you, and I’ll love you no matter where we go from here.” Jace’s gaze holds mine hostage, daring me to object. “Are you with me?”
“Yeah.” I try to smile, though I’m pretty sure it wobbles. “I’m with you.”
“Good. Now, instead of getting hung up on how we both fucked up, let's figure out how to fix it.” Jace chews on his lip for a momentbefore nudging me with an elbow. “Think your mom would have any ideas?”
That snaps me out of my funk. “MyMom? Why the hell do you think she’d have any ideas?”
“She made that comment about relationships being hard.” He lifts a shoulder like that explains everything.
“Would you ask your mom for advice about how you and your boyfriend could win back your other boyfriend?”
Jace runs a hand through his hair. “Yeah, okay. Bad idea. Think maybe one of the guys would know what to do? I mean, your friend Cade is married. He’s gotta have some good advice.”
Though Jace isn’t acting jittery, the fact that he’s tossing out random,ridiculousideas tells me his outer calm is an act, probably for my benefit.Shit. If he’s worried then…
The doorbell has us looking at each other expectantly for a split second before we launch off the couch and scramble for the door, our arms and legs a tangle of limbs as we claw over one another to get there with single-minded focus.Please let it be him.
I throw open the door to find Axel on the threshold, an uncharacteristic frown on his face. He looks over each of us head to toe before shoving his way inside. “Get dressed. We’ve gotta talk.”
Jace and I exchange a nervous glance before trailing him into the living room.
