Page 30 of The Revenge Game

Drew’s entire body tenses and his hand freezes mid-pet, causing Tabitha to bump her head against his fingers in protest.

When he looks at me, there’s something almost defiant in his face.

“I’m gay.”

My throat suddenly goes tight. It’s like all the air in the room has disappeared, sucked out by the force of those two syllables hanging between us.

“Oh right. Well, that’s cool,” I manage.

Drew’s eyebrows shoot up. “It’s cool?” Somehow, there’s scorn in his voice, and my cheeks heat. Is that not the right thing to say? Or is his mockery coming from another source?

Does he know? Does he suspect about me?

My heart races.

“Yeah, I mean…just…it’s cool…” Yeah, it appears I have no advancements from that.

Drew’s expression twists.

“So, no boyfriend then?” my mouth asks.

“No, no boyfriend.” He puts his beer bottle on the coffee table with a small thud. “Listen, I better head off.”

“Wait, I was going to show you that comedy skit about the differences between Americans and Brits. You’ll love it, I promise.”

Drew’s eyebrows pull together. He stares at me for a few beats before he answers.

“Yeah, okay.”

The tension in his shoulders stays as I frantically find theYouTubeclip on my TV.

I press Play, and the comedian launches into his routine about how British people consider tea-making a sacred ritual while Americans think dropping a tea bag in cold water is acceptable behavior.

Drew’s laugh is barely audible at first, more of an exhale than an actual sound. But when the comedian starts mimicking a British person having an existential crisis over someone putting milk in Earl Grey, Drew’s shoulders begin to relax.

Tabitha takes advantage of his lowered defenses to claim his lap, kneading his thighs before settling down like she’s appointed herself Queen of Mount Drew. He absently strokes her fur as the comedian moves on to comparing American and British approaches to complaining in restaurants.

“Americans are like, ‘this food is terrible, I demand to speak to the manager,’” the comedian demonstrates in an exaggerated accent. “While British people are like ‘oh no, everything’s fine’ while secretly planning to leave a passive-aggressive TripAdvisor review.”

This time, Drew’s laugh is fuller, more genuine. His smile transforms his whole face again, softening the edges I didn’t even realize were there until they disappear.

Cassie, not wanting to miss out on the attention her sister is getting, headbutts Drew’s arm until he shifts to pet her too. The sight of him with a cat draped across his lap while another demands his attention does something strange to my insides.

A cute guy who is nice to my cats? Who is funny and smart and somehow manages to make glasses look criminally attractive?

He’s also gay and singlea voice inside my head reminds me.

We work together, and he lives just down the hallway from me.

I might not be playing with fire, but I’m definitely fiddling with the matches.

Chapter Nine

Andrew

Of all the places I ever expected to be, sitting on Justin Morris’s couch is not one of them.

And I just told him I’m gay.