Page 78 of This is Me

“My room is impeccable compared to this… war zone.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m sure.”

“Hundred bucks it is,” Jordan challenge, piquing my interest and causing me to sit up again.

“You don’t have a hundred dollars,” I stated, unsure of what game he was playing.

“I mean if you don’t want to take the bet, that’s fine. Don’t come and be proven wrong.”

Crap. That was my weakness. You can’t get me interested in something and then expect me to drop it. I needed to see it through.

Plus, I hoped it would keep my mind from going wild.

“You just want to get me into your bedroom,” I muttered, pushing myself up from the bed and following Jordan, who had begun walking down the narrow hall.

“I want to show you something.”

“It better not be a dead mouse. I hate dead things.”

“Why would I show you a dead mouse?” Jordan asked, opening the door he had stopped in front of and gesturing me inside.

“I don’t know. I’ve known this family for a while now. You all do weird shit.” I chuckled, walking inside.

Much like Blaire’s room and the rest of the house, Jordan’s room was small, though unlike Blaire’s, it didn’t have a desk or bedside table. It was almost all bed. Just one giant bed placed in the far corner that took up most of the room, leaving only enough space to access the cupboard that ran along the left side of the room.

“That’s fair. But I’m the less weird one,” Jordan confessed, before sitting on the edge of his bed.

“This bet was unfair. I didn’t know your room was just four walls and a bed.”

“Well, I told you I was confident.” Jordan smiled at me and patted the bed next to him, inviting me to sit.

Cautiously, I made my way beside him, resting myself on the spot next to him. I had never been this close to him before, and truth be told, it was weird. He was much bigger than me—not so much in height, but in muscle mass. His shoulders were broad, and his arms looked as though they could lift a horse. Knowing Jordan, he had probably tried to do that.

“I’m not saying that this is creepy or anything. But can you show me what you wanted to show me so that I can leave because this is really creepy,” I said with a chuckle, and Jordan smiled at me again.

“First of all, how was school?”

“Why do you ask?” I questioned, moving back on the bed slightly, away from Jordan.

“Well, it was your first day as an openly gay kid. Just wanted to make sure everything went good.”

“Thanks for the concern, I think?” I forced a smile. Yes, I was thankful that someone cared about my first day at school as an openly gay kid, but I would have thought it was going to be Bradly or Blaire. Not Jordan, of all people.

“So?” Jordan pushed, raising his eyebrows, and only then did I notice how neat and tidy they were.

“I didn’t go. Well… I didn’t stay,” I replied truthfully, still looking at his eyebrows, wondering if they had been done professionally.

“Yes, they have been,” Jordan stated, as he caught me staring, causing me to look away quickly.

“Oh, cool. I didn’t know you were into that,” I mumbled, unsure of what to say. I mean, it was no big deal that Jordan got his eyebrows done, I had just never known a straight guy to do it.

“I’m not really, but my boyfriend needed the practice for his job.”

Jordan’s words hung in the air as we both sat in the new-found silence of his room, and it was only then that I realised how quiet and peaceful it was. Which was very weird and made me wonder what Blaire’s other three brothers were doing.

“You’re gay?” I asked slowly, unsure if I had heard him correctly or not.

“Yes,” Jordan answered with a bright smile. “That’s what I wanted to show you.”