Page 110 of Notice Me, Jameson Hart

“Things?” My voice cracks.

“Yeah, things. Like…” He runs a hand through his damp hair, suddenly as uncomfortable as I am. “Like being safe. And responsible. And…God, how do I even do this?”

“Adam, please don’t?—”

“No, we’re having this conversation.” He takes a deep breath. “When a boy and a girl…or in this case, when two guys…”

I bury my face in the towel. “I’m begging you to stop.”

“It’s important!” His voice goes up an octave. “Do you know about…protection? And consent? And—Jesus, I don’t even know what gay guys do exactly. I mean, I have ideas, but?—”

“Adam.”

“What? I’m trying to be a responsible big brother here!” His face is now the color of a tomato. “Like, with girls, there’s the whole pregnancy thing to worry about, but with guys…I guess that’s not an issue? But there are still diseases and?—”

“We’ve only kissed!” I practically shriek.

“Yeah, but kissing leads to other things! At least, that’s what Dad told me when he gavemethe talk. Though his version was about, you know, straight stuff. Birds and bees. But what about gay birds and gay bees? Do gay bees even exist?”

“Are you seriously asking me about gay bees right now?”

“I don’t know! I’m out of my depth here!” He stands up and paces. “Should I be telling you about lube? Is that a thing? It’s probably a thing. Oh God, I just said lube to my little brother.”

“You’re only older by ten minutes!”

“Still counts!” He stops pacing and faces me, his expression deadly serious. “Kevin, all I know is that you need to be careful.Go slow. Make sure you’re both comfortable with whatever happens. And maybe Google some stuff? But use incognito mode. And for the love of God, don’t do anything because you think you’re supposed to.”

Despite the absolute mortification of this conversation, there’s something sweet about how hard he’s trying. “Adam?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for caring. Even if this is the most embarrassing moment of my entire life.”

He grins sheepishly. “Including the time you forgot you were wearing your mic, and we heard you complaining that some guy gave you a wedgie?”

“Including that.”

We both laugh, the tension breaking. Adam tosses me a clean shirt, and I head to the bathroom to change. When I come back, he’s already in bed, scrolling through his phone.

“Hey, Adam?” I climb into the sleeping bag. We’ve decided to take turns, or well, I decided. I felt too guilty sleeping in his bed and making him sleep on the floor. He said he didn’t mind, but I did. “Jameson’s respectful. And we’re taking things slow.”

“Good.” He reaches over to turn off the lamp. “But if he ever pressures you or makes you uncomfortable, you tell me. I’ll kick his ass, teammate or not.”

“My hero,” I say half-sarcastically.

The room falls into darkness. I lie there, replaying the night—the jump, the kiss, the way Jameson held me as though I was something precious. My wrist feels strange, and I reach out to touch the bracelet. My fingers find only skin.

I bolt upright, my heart instantly racing. “Adam!”

“What?” He flicks the lamp back on, squinting at me.

“The bracelet. The bracelet Jameson gave me. It’s gone!” I’m checking both wrists now, as if it might have migrated.

“Are you sure you?—”

“Yes, I’m sure! He put it on me right before we jumped. It was there in the water. But now…” I’m already on my feet, shaking out the sleeping bag, checking the damp clothes I left in the corner.

“Okay, okay, calm down.” Adam sits up, fully awake now. “Where could it have fallen off?”