Page 57 of The Revenge Game

“I stayed in the same place for high school though. My mom had remarried by then, and my stepfather had a job at the local steel mill.”

I don’t like to think too much about high school and the person I was then. I’ve gotten pretty good at keeping those memories locked away, but sometimes, they ambush me whenI least expect it. Last month, I saw this kid at the grocery store getting hassled by his friends, and suddenly, I was back in that cafeteria, watching Connor dump milk over our classmate’s backpack while I just stood there. I had to abandon my shopping cart and leave. Couldn’t even look the cashier in the eye.

I take a deep breath before I continue. “Sometimes, I think I got too good at it, you know? At being whatever version of myself would fit in fastest.”

Drew’s quiet for a moment, then says, “Do you still feel like that now?”

My heart pounds against my ribs as I lift my gaze to his.

Up here, suspended in this ancient space where whispers carry across centuries, it feels possible to finally let out the truth I’ve been carrying for so long. If Dave could accept Drew so easily, maybe it wouldn’t be a big deal if I told the truth about my sexuality?

And out of anyone in my life, Drew is the person I want to tell the most.

But before I can find the words, a tour group emerges from the stairwell, their chatter shattering our bubble of privacy. Drew steps back slightly, and something complicated passes across his face before his expression smooths out.

“We should check out the Stone Gallery next,” he says. “The view of London is supposed to be amazing.”

“Yeah, good idea.”

As we climb the next set of stairs, I can’t help wondering what would have happened if that tour group hadn’t arrived. If I would have found the courage to be honest with Drew about who I really am.

I’m aware my motivation for telling him isn’t totally about authenticity.

Because I can’t help thinking that if I came out to him, it could mean that Drew and I could one day be more than friends.

The more time I spend with Drew, the more I wonder what it would be like to kiss him. What would it be like to finally be completely real with someone?

With him.

Chapter Sixteen

Andrew

The rest of summer flies by and fall begins. Or autumn, as they call it here, because, apparently, a season that paints the world in oranges and reds needs a fancier name than just fall.

Xander continues his one-person show ofWorld’s Most Dedicated Employeewhile Adam alternates between patronizingly dispensing wisdom about NovaCore like he’s sharing the secrets of the universe and berating me when he suspects I’ve not followed his instructions. “It’s outside your skillset to run a system diagnostic, Drew. You need to understand your limitations.”

Meanwhile, I quietly optimize the code to make everything run thirty percent faster without anyone noticing.

The IT tickets keep flowing in. Apparently, teaching people that rebooting fixes most problems is like trying to convince Marleen from Accounting that others should be allowed to use her mug.

“But if you trained us to fix the problems ourselves, you’d be out of a job,” Sarah from Accounting says when I complain about how Pete from Sales still can’t grasp the concept of “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” even after I made him a flowchart with stickers.

“This morning, I had to explain to the CEO that his monitor’s broken screen was actually just his screensaver. I’m not particularly feeling like my job is threatened,” I say, and Sarah laughs.

This has been another nice aspect of my job. It turns out IT tickets are great opportunities for connection. After I helped Sarah recover her wedding photos, she insisted on shouting me lunch, which somehow turned into us having lunch on a weekly basis. I enjoy her updates about the latest company gossip, which include a rundown on the great office plant war between Marketing and Accounting, where both departments claim ownership of a fern that neither actually bought.

I never realized how isolating being the CEO was until the experience of sharing terrible coffee with Sarah while she dramatically reenacts the latest episode ofWho Stole My Lunch From The Communal Fridge?

But even though I really enjoy my job, for the first time in my life, I find myself counting the hours until the weekend.

Back when I was CEO of NovaCore, weekends were just extensions of the work week. I just saw them as more time to work with fewer distractions.

But now my weekends are filled with Justin dragging me to different tourist attractions, arguing he’s doing his duty as a colleague and fellow American to ensure I don’t miss out on all of London’s cultural experiences.

And it’s been…fun.

At the Tower of London, Justin insisted on making up increasingly ridiculous stories about what the crown jewels were originally designed for. “That scepter?” he whispered, nodding toward the golden staff. “Medieval back scratcher. Royalty had very specific itches that needed expert attention.”