Page 21 of Switchin' Lanes

10

Hollywood

I knewI shouldn’t have listened to what Tink wanted to say, but I miss her. I miss them both. Her admitting that she cares about us both just made it that much more difficult for me. I walk outside and damn near run into Kicks.

“Whoa, brother! What’s the hurry?” He chuckles.

“On my way to get a drink,” I tell him.

“I’ll come with. You can tell me whatever it is that’s bothering you.”

I groan internally. I love Kicks like a brother, but he doesn’t know when to let shit go. If someone close to him is dealing with something, he always manages to get them to talk. I was hoping he’d give up on me, but I’m not so lucky. We grab a couple of beers out of the coolers and go sit somewhere away from prying ears.

“Alright, spill,” he demands.

“Kicks, there’s nothin’ to spill. I’m fine,” I tell him.

“You’re fuckin’ lyin’, bro. Something is off with you since you stopped hangin’ out with Tink and Diesel.”

I shake my head. “I’m not talkin’ about this shit. Not now, not ever.”

“You will talk about it. We’ll sit here all night until you do,” he says.

“Fuck, you’re persistent.”

“Hell yeah, I am.” He laughs. “Now, let’s hear it. You know, whatever it is, I’m not gonna judge you. None of the brothers will.”

I let out a heavy sigh. “You already know I have a thing for Tink . . . “

“Yeah, and?”

“She’s not the only one I have a thing for,” I admit.

He mulls it over for a minute. It registers on his face the moment it clicks.

“You have feelings for Diesel?” he whispers.

I nod my head.

“So you’re what? Bisexual?”

“Yeah, but I’ve kept it hidden since middle school,” I tell him.

“Is that why you moved back here from Chicago? Did something happen while you were there?”

“Other than my parents disowning me? Yeah.” I spend the next five minutes explaining to him everything that happened in Chicago.

“Holy shit, H. You’ve kept that to yourself all these years?” he says when I’m done.

“Grandma knows, but she’s promised not to say anything. I didn’t want a repeat of what happened with my parents.”

“Dude, I have no words. I wish you would have told me way sooner, but I understand,” he says. “Wait, so do Diesel and Tink know how you feel?”

“What? No! And they’re not gonna.”

“Why the hell not,” he asks. “At least talk to Tink about it. She could probably tell you how Diesel feels.”

“I don’t know. What are the odds he would be into me?”