Page 34 of Worth the Risk

Landon and Verity had established a small, close circle of friends when they were in school. It was always the two of them, Jack, Bowie, and Joseph. They separated a bit after graduation, but had still tried to get together at least once a month. Then Verity and Landon moved to Los Angeles. The monthly meetings had gone on without them, but Jack tried to keep them in the loop with Skype calls whenever he could find time.

“It doesn’t feel like that long,” Landon mused.

“Well, it has been, and today you missed out on something glorious!” Jack clapped his hands and grinned.

“Don’t keep us in suspense,” Verity teased.

“Right. We were at brunch today, and Bowie was in town; remember he moved to Kentucky or some middle America place for work. Anyway, he was visiting and we were laughing and talking, and then the food came, and Joseph said, ‘this tastes just like that place you took me to in Louisville’.”

“Oh, shit!” Landon’s eyes widened and he let out a hoot so loud it scared Ed right off the couch.

“You’re kidding me.”

“I’m dead serious.” Jack crossed his heart. “The whole table goes quiet and Bowie is just staring at Joseph like, what the hell did you just admit to, and then Joseph realizes that he said and he turned bright red! Like, so fucking red. Then Bowie goes, ‘well, I guess you should tell him now’.”

“Oh, my God, how long have they been fucking for?” Landon asked excitedly. “I swear it’s been since college, but they’d never admit to it.”

“Well, Joseph swears it’s only been going on since Bowie moved to Kentucky, but I find it hard to believe you’d fly to Ken-fucking-tucky for someone you weren’t already fucking.”

“I agree,” Verity said with a nod.

“I hope you gave them the appropriate amount of shit,” Landon said.

On the screen, Jack nodded his head vigorously. “Oh, you know I did. I’ve never seen Bowie speechless, but there he was. It was amazing. I wish you’d been there.”

“I am convinced they’ve been fooling around since at least our senior year, but ten years is a ridiculously long time to keep a relationship secret.”

“It really is. Maybe they’ve been on again-off again,” Verity suggested.

“Well, they’re very on now. They kissed goodbye!” Jack laughed and threw his hands up. “Like, now that the cat is out of the bag, they can just shove their tongues in each other’s mouths whenever they want. Honestly, it’s sort of gross. Like my brothers fucking or something.”

“There is a market for that, you know.” Verity smiled.

Jack shoved his fingers in his ears. “There’s things I don’t need to know, Ver.” He pulled his hands away. “So, when are you coming back to visit?”

Landon and Verity looked at each other. Verity shrugged.

“We can’t leave Rapture in the summer. It’s too busy.”

“Maybe the fall.”

“November?” Jack asked.

“God, no.”

“No, like October, maybe, at the latest. Our blood is re-acclimated to California. November is way too close to winter.”

“October, then. I’ll tell the guys.” Jack smiled broadly.

“Don’t say anything yet,” Landon said.

“October! The guys are gonna be stoked. Gotta go. Miss you two!” Jack waved his hands in front of the screen then it went black.

“October,” Verity parroted.

Landon dropped his head back against the couch. “It’s still cold as fuck out there in October.”

“But not as bad as November.”