“Should I be getting jealous?”Jem asked as he opened a dresser drawer.
“It’s on the ceiling,” Tean said.
“So he can spank his monkey to it,” Jem said.
Tean raised his eyebrows.
“Uh, why else would you put a hot dude where you can stare at him in bed?”
“Maybe he wanted to be a cowboy.”
Jem actually laughed out loud at that.
Tean drifted over to the desk, but his gaze moved back to the poster again.“Do you think Kai is gay?”
“Duh.”But then Jem grinned in Tean’s direction.“I mean, all signs point to yes.”
“Because he was so involved in theater.”
“And because he hates gay guys.That’s your classic closeted gay guy—taking it out on a guy who’s even gayer than you so that nobody will realize you’re queer too.”
“Can someone be gayer than someone else?”
“Yes.”And when Tean’s eyebrows went up again, Jem explained, “Cher.”
“What?”
“Oh!And DP.”
Tean actually felt his eyes get wider.
“There’s gay,” Jem said, “and then there’s sticking two wieners in one bun.That’s the next level.”
“That might actually be homophobic.”
“No way!If that’s your thing, great.I’m just saying, have you ever seen somebody try to fit both feet into a single sock before?That’s dedication.”
“We have to stop talking right now,” Tean said.
He wasn’t sure, but he thought maybe Jem was smiling as he continued the search.
There was nothing of interest in the desk—papers that looked like they might have dated back to Kai’s time in high school, a few loose pencils, a handful of coins and gum and receipts, like Kai had emptied his pockets one night.The books on top of the desk were even less interesting—a set of Mormon scriptures, a dictionary, and a copy ofRedwallthat looked untouched.Tean flipped through the books, but aside from the usual highlighting that you could find in most Mormon scriptures, there was nothing interesting.
“That scripture verse,” Tean said.“Remember?Zeb’s tattoo?”
Jem was testing the baseboard.“I remember he had a tattoo.”
“Tess told us that Kai talked to Zeb, and that’s why Zeb got the tattoo.It was a verse from the Book of Mormon.”
“Okay.We figured he was raised Mormon.”
“But it’s strange.Does he consider himself a member of the church?Does he believe what the church teaches?”
“Does it matter?”
“I don’t know.But it’s unusual.”
“He’s gay, and he’s religious.He wants to kill other gay dudes.That’s not exactly original.”
