Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Byron was right. I just wasn’t very good at the patient part. Especially after losing my friend for roughly twenty years. I had him back and didn’t want to let him go. “And if he wants to deny it all and pretend that he’s not attracted to men?”
Sebastian and Byron shared a look, and my heart squeezed. I wanted that. The way they so easily communicated without saying a single word. It didn’t come from dating for the past six months. They’d known each other for three years. Saw each other five days a week. Traveled together. It also didn’t hurt that Byron seemed to understand intuitively what Sebastian was thinking.
“You have to respect his decision. It’s his life, and he has to live it how he sees fit,” Sebastian answered, and I immediately thought it was a bullshit response, even if he was probably right.
“However, I have some pamphlets from work that might be helpful.” Byron was the COO for an LGBT charity organization that Sebastian’s mother had started. Their focus was on children and young adults, but they also assisted parents trying to figure out how to be supportive of their LGBT children.
“Pamphlets?” I asked, wrinkling my nose.
“Stop.” Byron pointed his fork at me, his expression stern. “You have been queer all your life. I bet you barely even remember all the questions in your head from those early days. In comparison, Liam has been queer for five minutes and is an adult. Adults have completely different worries. Not to mention, those pamphlets are grounded heavily in science. Liam is a scientist. He might appreciate the science behind everything rather than coming at it from a cultural or philosophical angle.”
Oh, that sounded good. Really good. Liam loved science and logic.
Leaning toward Sebastian sitting across the table from me, I flashed him a wicked grin. “He’s smart. You should marry him.”
Sebastian looked as if he were going to rip out my throat. The man wanted to marry Byron so badly he was practically choking on it, but he was trying to give Declan his special moment to shine with Parker. And, of course, I enjoyed driving him crazy.
“Don’t be an idiot,” Byron chided. He put his fork aside and wiped his mouth with his linen napkin. “It is frightening to think Liam might decide to deny that part of himself, but you have to remain supportive of him. It might take him a long time to come around to embracing all of himself. However…” Byron’s voice drifted off, and a lead weight settled in the pit of my stomach. It felt as if he were about to drop some new and horrible information on my head.
“Oh God, what?” I whined.
“Have you considered the other end of things?”
I stabbed a bit of sausage but hesitated to lift it to my mouth. “What do you mean?”
Sebastian hummed and nodded. “Yeah, he’s right. What if Liam doesn’t deny it? What if he embraces it?”
“That’s a good thing!”
“And what if, as part of embracing it, he wants to experiment?” Sebastian continued.
“Still a good thing. I’m happy to be his guinea pig.” I shrugged and shoved the sausage into my mouth. The flavor was maybe a little better with images of all the naughty things I wanted to do to Liam. All the things to make him moan and cry out my name.
“Mind out of the gutter for a moment, please,” Byron said drolly. “What I mean is that Liam might do those things with you and have no romantic feelings toward you. It’s only casual sex. And yet, you’ve said that you have feelings for him. Can you detach yourself enough that you won’t get hurt?”
The sausage instantly became a rock in my stomach. I put my fork aside and slouched in my chair, frowning at my nearly empty plate. Even Carol’s wonderful cooking couldn’t save me.
“I can answer that question—no,” Sebastian interjected. “Rome is like me. He wears his heart on his sleeve. We can do casual sex—”
“Not fucking anymore,” Byron growled under his breath.
Sebastian chuckled and leaned over, brushing a kiss across Byron’s cheek. “Not anymore,” he reassured in a whisper, only to continue a second later with what he was saying. “But once our emotions are engaged, there’s no turning them off. You can have fun experimenting with Liam and introducing him to so many things, but eventually, he’s going to find someone he has romantic feelings for and leave you behind. What’s worse, you’re both going to feel betrayed and destroy the friendship you just got back.”
“Be up-front with him, Rome. Tell him that your emotions are engaged. Romantically. Tell him you’re happy to experiment with him, but that all those kisses and touches mean something more to you. If he’s a genuine friend, he will respect and appreciate your honesty. I’m sure he doesn’t want to hurt you.”