Page 44 of Unscripted Love
“Start with your friendship with Josh and Mere. I’ve always admired how the three of you seamlessly mesh. Normally, three is a crowd, but it seems to work for the three of you,” Kyle remarked.
“Well, Josh and I have been best friends since preschool, and it was just the two of us until Mere moved to town our freshman year of high school,” I told Kyle. “I have to confess that I resented Mere’s presence at first. I had always been Josh’s go-to person, but he was captivated by her feisty nature right from the start. Suddenly, I didn’t know where I fit in his life anymore, and it shook me hard. They were two peas in a pod, and I felt like the unwanted carrot. I was awkward and shy to their bold and beautiful, so you can imagine how isolated I felt all of a sudden.”
“Wow, I never would’ve guessed that from looking at the three of you now. What changed?” Kyle asked.
“Well, my insecurities caused some petty fights between Josh and me that were always followed by awkward silences. One day at lunch, Mere slapped her hand on the table and said, ‘I’ve had enough out of you two idiots! Charles Hamilton, get your head out of your ass. Don’t you have any idea how much Josh loves you? Josh, quit being selfish and insensitive to the fact that your best friend in the whole world is feeling left out.’ Josh and I stared at each other for a few minutes before smiles slowly spread across our faces.” I laughed at the memory. “Josh looked at Mere and told her not to be so damn bossy, and I asked her not to bust our balls so hard. We’ve been right as rain ever since.”
“That’s really sweet,” Kyle said.
“Who were your childhood friends?” I asked him.
“I only had one,” Kyle said. “Not many classmates wanted to associate with the fat kid.” I listened to Kyle tell me about his friendship with Holly and how they even went to prom together. “You probably think that’s weird, huh?” he asked me.
“I went to prom with Josh one year and Mere the next, so I don’t think it’s weird at all,” I answered him.
Kyle didn’t respond right away, and I wondered if he’d fallen asleep suddenly or something. I raised my head and looked at him. He wasn’t asleep. Instead, he appeared lost in speculation. I was curious where his mind had taken him but didn’t interrupt him. I lay my head back against his chest and waited for him to tell me. It didn’t take long for drowsiness to kick in after the emotionally draining few weeks I’d had. I was just about to doze off when Kyle finally spoke. What he asked took me completely by surprise.
“Were you and Josh ever more than friends?”
“Are you asking if I’ve ever had sex with Josh or are you asking if my feelings ever ran deeper than friendship?” I asked for clarification.
“Both,” Kyle said hesitantly. “Is that okay that I asked?”
“You can ask me anything,” I replied, and I meant it. I would never keep another secret from Kyle. “Honestly, I did have a crush on Josh in third grade. I think I even told him I was going to marry him someday.”
“It never developed beyond a crush? Josh never so much as tried to kiss you?” Kyle sounded skeptical. “Your lips beg to be kissed.”
“Nope, no kisses,” I told him. “There were plenty of closeted or curious boys though so don’t worry that I wasn’t getting any action.”
Kyle growled a little in his throat. “We need to move onto another topic now.”
“I agree,” I told him. “It’s time you told me about your childhood.”
“We better get comfy because it’s a long story,” Kyle said. We shifted our bodies so that we lay facing each other on the couch. His bed would’ve been more comfortable, but we needed to work up to that again.
My heart broke listening to Kyle talk about his painful childhood memories. I wanted to transport back in time and kick the asses of anyone who hurt his feelings. “Who was your biggest bully?” I asked. I’d kill that fucker off in my next book.
“Jack Jones,” Kyle sneered.
“Jack Jones?” I asked. Granted, Kyle and his classmates were at least eight years older than me, so I had no idea what Jack looked like as a kid. I knew what Jack Jones had grown into as an adult, and I had to think that karma paid that dickhead back in a big way. “Wow, I bet he’s not laughing at you anymore.”
“He apologized to me at our last reunion, and I accepted it. I had stopped caring about what he thought about me a long time ago, but it was a nice gesture.”
“Tell me about your transformation years.” I was completely enthralled by his story.
“Well, one day I just decided that I wanted to change for me and I did. I read as many magazine articles as I could get my hands on at the library and started exercising. Once I saw a little bit of progress, it spurred me on to do more,” Kyle said. “I knew that only I could make the changes to have the life I wanted.”
We talked on for hours about everything and anything. I wasn’t foolish to think that one night of talking repaired the damage I caused, but I knew it was a good start. Even better, was Kyle holding me to him as we drifted off to sleep on the couch like he was afraid I would disappear again.
When I woke the next morning, Kyle was sitting in the club chair next to the couch reading my book on his Kindle while drinking coffee. He looked over at me when he heard me sit up. “Chaz Bailey!” I smiled because only the Matrons and Mere ever used my first and middle names to address me. Usually, I was in trouble when they did; I hoped that wasn’t the case with Kyle. “ This is an incredible fucking book. I can’t put it down.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “I can see that your research into the gaming community paid off well and I love the damn dialogue. That snarky as fuck character reminds me of Josh a little bit.” I nodded because I put a little bit of Josh in that character. “You know what my favorite part is?” Kyle asked.
“Page one hundred and seventy-five?” I asked, referring to a particularly hot sex scene frequently mentioned in reviews.
“I’m not there yet,” Kyle told me. I could tell he was tempted to skip forward to that page.