“Yeah, how did you… know?” I’ve never said the words I love you to a partner. Family and friends, sure, but not to someone special.
“Know what?” Nathan asks.
“That you were… in love?” The words are hard to get out, but as soon as they are, I know the answer. It’s the kind ofquestion no one can answer for you. I’m sure, though. Frank’s it.
“You’re in love?” Tyler says.
At the same time, Aaron says, “About time you figured it out.”
“Woah! Where were these responses when I texted this to you?” I’d half expected them to blow up my phone earlier, but instead, I got nothing but silence.
“What are you talking about?” Aaron asks. “If you’d texted us that, we definitely would have said something.”
Now that I think about it, that’s true. I got nothing back from them, which should have set off alarm bells in my head.
I pull out my phone and check the group chat. Nothing. The last message is about them liking Frank.
If I didn’t text them, who’d I text?
FRANK
Matthias
I’m in love with him.
I didn’t take a single note in class. I thought about not going at all. I really didn’t want to. My mind went into free-fall mode the minute I got his message. I almost called him back, but I already interrupted his workday once. I didn’t need to do it a second time. Or get in the way of his friend time.
There are a lot of ways to interpret that text, and right now my brain is focused on all the worst ones. The text clearly wasn’t meant for me. Most likely scenarios: he’stalking about me to someone else or he’s talking about someone else.
Only one of those is a happy thought. Things have been going well between us, at least, I thought so. What exactly am I supposed to do with that information?
I don’t know, but what I’m currently doing is making laps around the couch in his living room. If he doesn’t get home soon, there will be a permanent indentation in the carpet. Should I even be here? If he’s about to come home and tell me that he’s in love with someone else, I’d rather not be.
Maybe I can move to Alaska? It’s probably cheaper there. Then I never have to see Matthias or make an idiot of myself in front of him again.
The garage door goes up. Fight or flight? In a complete betrayal, my body chooses to freeze. I stand there, staring at the door, waiting.
“Frank?” Matthias calls. My voice doesn’t work anymore. “Where are—” He stops in his tracks when he sees me. “Firecracker, come here.”
All the muscles in my body come online again, and I run toward him, throwing myself into his arms. I can tell by the look in his eye exactly what that text message was about. He loves me.
Matthias loves me.
“Frank, why didn’t you answer your phone? I’ve been worried.”
Oh, that. “I turned it off.” After re-reading his text message eleven million times, I figured it was better for my mental health to remove the option. “I?—”
“It doesn’t matter.” He peppers me with kisses, all the way from my forehead down my neck to the top of my shirt collar. Stupid clothes are always in the way. Really, thetwo of us should always be naked. Or maybe only while we’re at home. Going out naked doesn’t make much sense. And—ooh. He scrapes his teeth over my skin, and I nearly forget how we got here in the first place.
“Matthias.” He pauses, face still buried in my neck. “Um, I got a text, and I don’t think it was for me.”
“Firecracker, there are a couple of things you should know.”
So much for the best-case scenario. This is how all terrible conversations start. Well, at least half of them. The rest start withwe need to talk.
“Come on.” He leads me into the living room. If he notices that the rug has a clear track on it, he doesn’t mention it to me. I take a seat next to him, but he pulls me into his lap. This is becoming a common thing. I’ve never been the kind of guy who sat on laps. Even though I’m typically smaller, at least in same-sex relationships, it’s never really been a thing. Except, Matthias seems to prefer me here. That’s not a complaint, more of an observation.
“So first, I’m terrible at texting.” I let out a bit of a snort. “No, really. I can call a whole bunch of people who will tell you the same thing. It’s a common complaint in my group that I can’t keep text threads straight.” It sounds ridiculous, but I believe him. Mostly because he seems so earnest.“I’ll call any of them right now, on speakerphone, and let you verify.” The offer is unnecessary, if only because I’ve received random texts meant for Aaron or Tyler a few times.
