Page 17 of Necessary Time

“Why did you decide to come out to California? Did you have a fight?”

“Not quite.”

“Something happened?” Colin guessed.

The truth lodged in my throat and I screwed my eyes closed, answering him with a nod.

“That’s hard,” Colin said quietly. “Have you talked to him since you got here?”

“No.” It was the longest David and I had gone without speaking since we met. There were a lot of things I wanted to tell him and so much I wanted to show him. He would love the huge windows in the apartment Grayson had rented, but I knew he’d be jealous. That was weird because he’d never been a jealous kind of friend before. But he’d kissed me and I knew he’d wonder about things with Grayson and me. It didn’t matter how ridiculous of an idea it was, because I wasn’t gay.

I didn’t think I was gay.

I wasn’t sure…

“It’s okay if you’re not ready,” Colin said.

If I wasn’t ready to what? I snorted a laugh in the back of my throat.

If I wasn’t ready to come out?

“What’s funny?” he asked.

“Nothing.” I untangled my fingers and reached for the seat adjuster, quickly flinging myself back into the upright position. “I need to go.”

“Wesley.” Colin put his seat up and turned toward me, but I already had my seat belt off and the door open.

“It’s fine,” I said quickly. “I’m fine. I just ate too much ice cream and my stomach hurts.”

Colin looked at me like he knew I was lying, but he didn’t press the issue.

“Thank you for dinner,” I told him, and I meant it. “My birthday is next month and you’ll have to let me buy you a meal for it to pay you back.”

“You don’t have to pay me back.”

I climbed out of the car and closed the door, but leaned in through the open window to make sure he heard me. “I want to and it’s my birthday, so you can’t tell me no.”

“Is that how it works?”

“I don’t know how they did things when you were my age—”

“Another millennia,” Colin agreed with a somber nod.

“But that’s how we do things now.”

“Howwedo things or howyoudo things?” he asked.

“I’d meant we as in the royal we, like everyone my age.” I scratched the fattest part of my cheek. “But it can be we as in you and me.”

It would be nice to have a friend again. Because it was really lonely not having David, and Colin didn’t have anyone. I didn’t think I was a prize, but I had to be better than nothing.

“You and me as friends?”

I nodded, biting my tongue until it hurt. I stepped back from the car and shoved my hands into my pockets, not sure if he was going to answer or laugh me off. When he turned the question around like that, the idea sounded absurd. I’d rather just walk away from him than be made fun of. I braced myself to do just that, the ball of my foot already starting the rotation toward the corner when I heard him speak again.

“That would be nice, Wesley. I think I’d like to have you as a friend.”

CHAPTERSIX