Page 11 of Test Me
“Wow. Right in the hot seat. Yeah, umm…” Josh rubbed his hands together briskly. “Sorry, Teach, I didn’t prepare my list of questions beforehand. So, uhhhh, let’s start with… Did Jared make it in time for the feast?”
A smile twitched at the corners of my mouth. Our families had come up in our tutoring sessions. I’d latched onto every morsel he’d fed me about his dog, two sisters, his mom and dad, and the hardware store they’d started when he was a kid, antics he’d shared about high school and playing lacrosse. But I didn’t expect him to remember the stuff I’d shared in return.
I’d told him my older brother had originally said he couldn’t make it for Thanksgiving. He was a hedge fund manager in NewYork and had a big meeting a couple of days before the holiday. My mom had given him a huge guilt trip about it. “He did, yeah. And it was really nice to see my folks. Did you end up finding an acceptable Christmas present for Aly?” Josh had bitched about how impossible a sixteen-year-old girl was to shop for during our last session, so he planned on trying to subtly figure out what she wanted over the break.
“Yeah, sort of. She wants a little COACH clutch. But I think I got the wrong color, which I guess is blasphemy. I’ll have to exchange it before Christmas or suffer the consequences.” He rolled his eyes with an easy laugh. “But same. It was good to be back home. Got to see some old friends, hang out.” He bit his lower lip. “I told my family I was bi.”
If I’d had any cider left, I’d have choked on it. As it was, I almost dropped my empty cup. “You what?”
It was the first time I’d ever seen him look almost shy.
“Yup.” He shrugged. “I figured it was time. I mean, I’ve known for a while. Just…” He ran a hand through his hair. “It was time, yeah,” he repeated, then cleared his throat, and I wasn’t sure what reaction I was supposed to have because internally I was screaming, “Joshua Pickett likes guys, too. There’s a chance!”
Except there wasn’t really a chance, the painfully logical part of my brain chimed in. Just because Josh liked guys didn’t mean he automatically likedme. I tried to play it cool with a nod and a mild hum of acknowledgment that didn’t sound remotely as cool as I meant it to. It was more like a reedy warble—the sound of my libido soaring on the wings of hope for all of two seconds before reality slammed it back into the ground. “Good for you. I’m sure they didn’t bat a lash, considering what you’ve told me about them.”
“Nope, not at all. They’re great. It was kind of a relief to say it out loud, though.” He nudged my arm. “Were yours laid-back when you came out?”
I considered for a moment. “I never really came out formally. I’m pretty sure they always knew. When senior prom came around, I told them I was going with a guy named Ben and they told me to be safe and have fun. Then they took a million pictures.”
“What was Ben like?” Josh eyed me sidelong.
“He was all right. I knew him from chess team and debate club. We were more acquaintances than friends. Awful kisser, though,” I added, then immediately regretted it. Was that too much?
Josh’s expression was thoughtful rather than horrified that I’d overshared, though. We slowed at the edge of the bonfire and I glanced at my watch before looking around.
“Who are you looking for?”
God, I wished he hadn’t asked, but I didn’t want to lie to him. “A friend. Sort of.”
A small smile hooked his mouth. “Oh, like afriendfriend?”
“A blind date, sort of.”
“Then how do you know who you’re looking for?”
I laughed. “Smartass. We’ve been chatting on an app, but we’ve never met in person before. I know what he looks like, though. He’s gonna be in a red button-down. Dark hair.”
“Is he cute?”
I eyed Josh skeptically, then decided he was just being friendly. “He’s pretty cute, sure.” Despite my half-hearted attempts to muster some enthusiasm, my interest in this date had divebombed.
“Oh. Good.” Josh nodded a couple of times. “That’s good. Do you see him yet?”
We both scanned the crowd. On the fringes of the bonfire, I spotted a wisp of red that resolved into a lanky, dark-haired guy. Chet. My gaze did a wild ping pong thing back and forth between Josh and Chet, all of me wishing I could spend the rest of the night hanging out by the bonfire with Josh.
Josh nudged me again. “Is that him?” He canted his head in Chet’s direction.
“That’s him,” I reluctantly confirmed.
“Oh wow, he’s definitely good-looking.” Josh said it so assessingly that I almost took offense. I mean, I might be a bit nerdy and socially awkward and grumpy at times, but I wasn’t awful to look at. Before I could say anything more, he bumped my shoulder gently. “Go get him.” He hesitated, before adding, “I hope you have a nice time. See you at our next session.”
Then, with a quick wave, he turned around and walked off, just like that.
I trudged toward the bonfire, my head still spinning from Josh’s revelation.Bi. Josh was bi. The words kept echoing in my brain, along with the way he’d just walked away when I mentioned meeting someone.
“Logan?” Chet lifted his hand in a wave as I approached. He was standing near the edge of the bonfire, exactly where he said he’d be. Dark hair, red button-down, attractive smile. A week ago, when we’d matched on the app, his pics and easy charm had seemed like exactly what I needed to get over my pesky crush on the straight guy. Except Josh wasn’t straight, and now I couldn’t focus on anything except the way he’d looked at me as he’d told me about coming out to his parents, how vulnerable and real it had felt.
I came to a stop before Chet, pasting a smile on my face and trying to push Josh and his bisexuality from my mind. “Hey. Sorry if I kept you waiting.”