Page 99 of Necessary Time

“I feel like dudes do that, right?” The look he gave me was so honest and imploring, I didn’t even know how to correct him.

“Do they, though?” I asked instead.

He shrugged. “In the porn I saw they did.”

“The porn,” I deadpanned, rolling my eyes. “Speaking of, do you have any idea what poppers are?”

David reached into his pocket and fished out an amber-colored bottle with a yellow and red label. He held it out to me in his palm, but I waved him off. Apparently I really was the last to know about things. The darkness hid the flush that burned my cheeks, and I exhaled loudly, not sure of what to do or say next.

“It was wrong for me to have kissed you,” David said softly. “Not because I didn’t want to, but because, like…we’re friends. Wewerefriends.”

“We are friends.”

His shoulders sagged, and he put his cap back on with a small nod.

“I met someone after you left,” David said. “He’s a little bit older than us, not as old as your boyfriend, but…”

“What’s his name?” I asked.

“Trent.”

“I don’t remember any Trents.” The curse of growing up in a small town was not just knowing everyone, but also knowing everyone’s business.

“He’s new to town. I’d met him before things happened with you, in one of my classes. He’s originally from California, but also lived in Florida for a bit.”

“What on earth made him move to Brixton?” I asked.

“A job, kind of,” David said. “He’s working at the school now. The graduate program.”

“Is he your professor?”

If David had tried to insinuate I was wrong to get involved with a man like Colin because of his age, I was ready to give it back to him tenfold for sleeping with a teacher.

“Not mine.”

“That’s scandalous.” I slapped his arm, and he laughed, adjusting the brim of his hat to hide his eyes. I reached over and tipped it up, studying the face of my oldest and best friend.

“It’s nothing.” David shook his head. “At least, not yet. I don’t know. He’s nice.”

“Make sure you ask permission before you kiss him,” I said.

David chuckled and smiled. “I will. Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

“Henny didn’t know about you and Colin, did he?”

My heart skittered around my chest, David’s question a heavy reminder of what waited for me back inside my party.

“He didn’t even know that I was bi.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Yeah. No kidding.”

“How did you meet Colin?” David asked, brushing some sand off the tops of his legs.

“Through my brother,” I muttered, pushing myself off my ass and back onto my feet. David laughed again, louder this time, and I’d forgotten how much I missed the sound of his voice.