Page 115 of Point of Contact

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

The others made loud exclamations of disgust and Watty put his hands up defensively. “Well, he got with chicks, didn’t he?” He glared at Jesse. “You were always braggin’ about the pussy you scored, man. Used to make me jealous, that you got to eat out of the variety pack and I was stuck with one flavor.”

“Well, here’s the thing, Watty.” Jesse twirled his empty water bottle between his palms. “I lied.”

“Fuck you!” Watty pushed to his feet and strode off into the darkness. Jesse half-stood to follow and Silvera grabbed his forearm.

“Let him go,” he said quietly. “He’s not gonna go far and I guess he needs to have a fuckin’ sulk first before he gets over it.” He waited until Jesse sat down again before releasing him with a pat.

“It doesn’t...bother you?” Jesse asked carefully, and Silvera snorted.

“Nah. My favorite uncle is gay. It ain’t no big deal to me.”

Jesse looked over to see Enriquez eyeing him. “What about you, man?”

Enriquez shrugged. “Being honest, before the Valley it would’ve bothered the hell outta me, Byrney. Now? Still no one else I’d rather have at my back in a fight.” He toasted Jesse with his water bottle.

Relief made Jesse feel weak all over, and he grinned. “Ditto.”

“So who’s Trevor?” Silvera leaned back on his elbows, light from the dying campfire dancing across his face. “Some hottie from the bar where you work?” He gave a cheeky wink, clearly amusing himself by repeating what he’d asked earlier.

Oh, boy.

Jesse considered omitting a certain pertinent detail about his new boyfriend, but then Silvera went on, “You know we’re gonna want to meet him at some point, so spill.”

Jesse gulped. So much for the lie by omission, since Enriquez would most certainly recognize Trevor, having been at Riley’s party that night. Besides, if it somehow worked out for everyone to meet in the future, he didn’t want to blindside his buddies with the truth, or for Trevor to face any painful awkwardness because of Jesse’s cowardice tonight.

Drawing in a deep breath, Jesse said, “It’s Trevor Estes.” A beat of silence. “Riley Estes’s dad.”

This time it was Enriquez who spewed his water. “What?” he choked. “That dude from the party?”

“Yes.”

“Holy shit.” Enriquez drew the last word out so that it sounded like shee-it.

Silvera looked shocked, too. “Estes’s dad? I hope you know what you’re doing, Byrney. Jesus.”

Jesse gave them an abbreviated version of the last five months, including their trip to Hawaii. The other men listened solemnly, their faces unreadable. “It just happened,” he said at last, feeling awkward as hell. “Neither one of us planned this.”

“Hey, you really don’t gotta justify it to us, Byrne,” Enriquez interjected. “It ain’t none of our business, I guess, as long as you guys found some happiness in all this.”

“Yeah, but shit, Byrney.” Silvera scrubbed one hand over the lower half of his face. “I can’t believe you’re in love with Estes’s dad.”

“I can’t believe he’s in love with a dude, period,” Enriquez shot back. “What’s your point, fuckwad?”

The insults flew fast and thick, and Jesse tuned them out, sitting there in a haze of abject relief. He’d done it. He’d come out to his closest friends, and while maybe they didn’t completely understand it, they hadn’t rejected him over it either, in large part due to their shared experiences in Afghanistan and the fierce loyalty it had engendered.

That fucking Valley had been good for something.

Silvera broke into his thoughts when he held up his water bottle mockingly. “Safe to take a drink now, Byrney? Got any more fuckin’ revelations gonna make me spew? Like you’re working as a male stripper or something?”

Laughing, Jesse reached over and punched his shoulder, hard. “Nah, fucker. Drink in peace.”

With a sigh, Jesse lay back on his sleeping bag and stared up at the brilliant starry sky, thinking over the last several days. They’d hiked into the Colorado forest with the intent of doing a straightforward three-day wilderness camping trip, but Watty had spotted what looked like a ratline leading up the side of a mountain, and they hadn’t been able to resist doing a little exploring. It turned out to be an access road for one of the railroads in the area, and they’d hiked along the tracks for a while, eventually getting run off by railroad employees who told them firmly, “Walking along a railroad spur is illegal, gentlemen.”

Well, in the face of that challenge, there was nothing else to do but see how far they could hike alongside the tracks again without getting caught. They’d gleefully undertaken the “mission,” going so far as to plan out recon sorties and evasive maneuvers. As the days went on, Jesse’d noticed all of them, and especially Watty, walking a little taller, speaking a little more confidently, as they fell back in to their individual combat roles and worked together to defeat a common enemy.