“Who are you staring at?”
Baz flinched at a low voice suddenly next to him.“Jesus, Collin!”He clutched his chest, begged his heart to slow down.
“Since when are you so skittish?”Collin snickered.
“It’s called thinking.You should try it.”
“You’re funny, bro.Hey, are you heading back to the firm?”
“No.”
And yet, Collin still followed him down the stairs as if they were walking together.At least he was silent.Baz just needed to make it out of the building and—
“So.Who was that kid?”And notthat.
“He’s not a kid.He’s two years younger than us.”
“Cute how you defend him.”
Baz frowned.“Is stating a fact defending him?”
The automatic doors opened for them.A gentle breeze went through Baz’s cotton suit.The sun was in his eyes.
“Just saying, you looked good together.I bet he’s the guy who keeps making you smile all loved up at your phone.”
Baz’s head snapped toward him.A piercing heat shot up his neck.“What?No!He’s part of the opposition’s legal team on the Captain Green case, that’s all.”
“Ooh.An affair with the opposition.Not bad, bro.Didn’t think you had in you.”Collin’s fist bumped his arm.
“That’s not…” God, Baz didn’t have the words to fix this.Why couldn’t he have a simple conversation with someone without Collin assuming they were hooking up?What had happened to his conviction that Baz was a heterosexual player that he so loved spreading around?
“Oh, come on, dude.I’ve known you for, like, ten years, and I’ve never seen you look at anyone the way you just looked at him, and your closet has been made of glass since the beginning.”
…Huh?
Baz was vaguely aware his mouth hung open, but by god, he couldn’t remember how to close it.
“I don’t know what you’re—”
“I saw you get awkward around Katie at Sullivan’s party, bro.And you turned down Bernila Bautista on graduation night!No straight guy would have done that.She was a smoke show.”
That, Baz knew the answer to.“She was drunk.”
“She had one drink.She was a crying mess because she’d had a crush on you for years, finally had the guts to act on it, and realized you didn’t like her.Did you not know that?”
“I… No?”What was happening right now?
“Plus, I saw how you looked at her brother instead.Made even me blush.”
That… Since when was Collin insightful?And how had Baz managed to be so wrong about so many things?Sami, his parents’ relationship (allegedly—the jury on Jack’s trustworthiness was still out), how Collin perceived him.
Actually, for that last one, he wouldn’t accept the blame.
“If you’ve known I’m gay all along, why have I suffered through years of you telling everyone I’m this big womanizer?”
Collin shrugged.“I just wanted to see how long it would take for you to put an end to it.Figured I might as well help you keep up the charade until you’re ready to come out.”
Yeah, truly the ally of the year here, constantly putting Baz in awkward situations and now dragging him out of the closet.“Collin—”
