Page 26 of Straight to You

RYDER

A fter a quick breakfast and a lingering kiss from Logan that left me flushed and grinning like an idiot, I’m in a great mood to work. I settle into the closet that doubles as my recording studio and skim through the chapter I’m about to record.

I’m onto a slow-burn romance now, one of my favorite tropes to narrate.

I’ve always loved the tension that builds between characters on the edge of something more.

This book’s about two best friends who’ve spent years tiptoeing around their feelings for each other—until one of them gets dared to kiss the other.

That’s the moment everything cracks wide open, and they realize their attraction for each other.

While no one dared Logan and me to do anything, it does feel like we’ve had an outside force pushing us together. Which is ironic, considering that same force wants me for himself, which is never going to happen.

I read the book out loud to myself first to warm up and get into the right mindset .

“You’ve always been more than a friend to me,” Bry admits, his voice trembling. “I just didn’t let myself see it until now.”

“And now?” Zach asks. “What do you see now?”

“Damn,” I laugh to myself. “Could this be any more on the nose?”

I’ve narrated dozens of bi-awakenings before, but this one hits differently.

The words in this novel feel like they were written for Logan and me.

I mean, how many times have I fallen in love with fictional best friends who find their happily ever after together, all while completely ignoring the fact that I’m living the same story?

I lean back in my chair, rubbing a hand over my scruff as a smile tugs at my lips. “I’m a goddamn cliché and I’m not even mad about it.” If someone had written this book about us and my bi-awakening, I’d roll my eyes at how obvious it all is. But living it is something else entirely.

I continue reading out loud, getting lost in the story and slipping into the right headspace to start recording.

“I see it so clearly now,” Bry whispers. “And it’s you. It’s always been you, Zach. No one gets me like you. No one has ever made me feel like you do. Even when we were ‘just friends,’ you were the one I always wanted. No one else has ever come close.”

“We should’ve known, Bry,” I mutter to myself. “The universe has been hinting at it for years, and I didn’t get it, either. Not until now, and I’m so glad I got the hint.”

A knock on the doorframe pulls me from my rambling. I turn to find Logan leaning against it, arms crossed, smirking at me.

“Talking to yourself again?” he teases .

“Can’t deny it when you’re caught red-handed,” I laugh. “What’s up?”

“Wanted to check in.” His gaze flicks between me and my mic setup. “Good story?”

I just shake my head, waving a hand at my tablet. “Yeah, turns out I’ve been narrating my own life story for years through different novels. Had a big realization.”

Logan raises an eyebrow, curiosity sparking in his eyes. “Oh?”

“Best friends, years of unspoken feelings, one moment that makes it all click—it’s basically us. Except, you know, minus the stalker. And they all get my sexy voice to bring it all to life.”

He chuckles and steps closer. “So,” he says, tilting his head, “what’s the big realization?”

“That the narrator should’ve seen it coming a mile away.” I meet his eyes. “Because while I’ve been reading bi-awakenings and best-friends-to-lovers stories for years, I didn’t realize that’d be us some day. My own story.”

Something flickers across Logan’s face, and he reaches out, brushing his fingers against mine where they rest on the desk.

“Guess it’s a good thing you finally caught up,” he murmurs.

I push up from my chair and press my lips to his. “Guess so, babe.”

“You’re completely okay with this? With us? No freak outs? I know we’ve talked about us a little, but I want to make sure you’re good with this,” Logan checks.

I’m glad we’re finally having this conversation so we can lay it all out there because the truth is, I’m not panicking.

At all. Because it’s him, and Logan has always felt like mine.

The pieces were always there, scattered across the years we’ve spent side by side—I just hadn’t put them together until now.

I think back to how everyone we’ve ever dated always seemed like they were getting in the way of our time together.

It’s not like I didn’t care about them or didn’t want to spend time with them, but they weren’t Logan.

Logan always came first because none of them understood me like he does.

They didn’t challenge me or make me laugh the way he does.

They didn’t show up for me the way he always has.

“Yeah, Logan. I’m completely okay with this. More than okay, actually. It’s always been you. I just didn’t see it clearly until now. Until he pushed me straight to you.”

I shake my head, overwhelmed by how surreal it all feels.

It’s wild that something so dark and fucked up is what cracked everything open.

I hate what we’ve gone through. I hate that someone’s obsession forced us into survival mode and stole our freedom and safety, but I also can’t ignore the clarity it brought.

“It’s crazy, right?” I continue, “I’ve probably narrated a hundred scenes where the best friends fall for each other, and read a hundred more. You’d think I would’ve figured it out sooner, but I somehow didn’t see it before.”

“I did have platonic feelings for you all these years, except maybe right when we met. But the second you said you were straight, I buried those feelings so deep I almost forgot they were there. Then, when he showed up that first night and you kept looking at him before I knew what was happening, I hated it. I felt so fucking jealous you were looking at a man who wasn’t me.

Then you walked in on me in the shower and didn’t immediately bolt…

and yeah, all those boundaries I set? They started to blur real fast.”

My entire body burns hotter than the sun. “Seeing you in the shower was my moment, too. Good thing I was on time for once, huh?” I mutter, burying my face in my hands as I laugh.

He chuckles, prying my hands away, forcing me to look at him. His fingers slide between mine, and his voice drops to something softer. “Best timing you’ve ever had,” I agree.

“I just can’t believe that after narrating all these stories, it took you jerking off in the shower to make me realize I wasn’t as straight as I thought.

Then laying next to you, horny out of my mind from feeling you on top of me, to the point of telling you I needed to jerk off—that sealed the deal on my bi-awakening.

Actually, no,” I laugh. “It was you running out of lube and offering to share . That finally sent the message loud and clear.”

He laughs at the memory. “You looked like you were about to combust. I had to offer a helping hand. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?”

“Yeah, well, can you blame me?” I shoot back, glancing at him over my shoulder. “You were lying there, all smug and calm, acting like it was normal for grown best friends to jerk off next to each other in bed. We’re not in college anymore.”

“It is normal,” he says with a shrug. “But usually it ends up right where we did. And don’t think I didn’t notice you running mental laps trying to convince yourself it didn’t mean anything before you touched me.”

I groan, covering my face again. “I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to do it but had, like, eight conflicting emotions happening at once. How was that only a couple of weeks ago? And how was it just last night that I finally got to kiss you? ”

“You were figuring things out,” he validates. “It’s not supposed to be neat and tidy.” Then he leans forward over me, his smile teasing, his tone soft. “And now you get to kiss me anytime you want.”

I don’t hesitate. I pull him into me and kiss him with everything I’ve got, and when we break apart, I whisper, “This still feels surreal. I should’ve known it was always you.”

“Just because it took us a little longer to get here doesn’t mean what we have is any less real,” he says, and I kiss him again because I can’t help myself.

“Hey,” Logan says, nudging my shoulder with his. “At least we know the story has a happy ending. And that means we’ll get ours too, baby. I know it.”

I glance up at him, and the look in his eyes makes my breath catch.

“Yeah,” I say softly, my chest tightening in the best way. “I can’t wait until we can just be. Go out into the world without looking over our shoulders. Just exist.”

“That day’s coming,” he sighs. “We’ll get there. And when we do, I’m taking you on the cheesiest date you’ve ever been on. Think candles, roses, some overpriced restaurant where the portions are tiny but they charge you double for ‘ambiance’.”

I laugh, and it feels so good. “That sounds ridiculous, and I’m so in.”

“Yeah, well,” Logan says, grinning as he leans in until his forehead bumps gently against mine.

“You deserve ridiculous. All the good, ridiculous things, and I can’t wait to be the one to give them to you.

” He looks at me and swallows hard. “So…are we doing this? Like, for real? Because I’d like to call you my boyfriend. If that’s something you want, too. ”

My heart stutters, and I grin so hard it hurts. “Yeah, Logan. I want that. I want you, boyfriend .”

His grin is immediate, and when he pulls me into a hug, I sink into it without hesitation. “You’re such a sap,” I murmur, as I tuck my face into his neck, still smiling.

“You like it,” he says, and I nod against him, because I really, really do.