Page 90 of This is Me

“Thanks. See you later!” I waved at their backs, even though I knew they weren’t looking at me.

“They seem nice,” Blaire said, hooking her arm through mine, and we followed in the footsteps of Cooper and Trent.

“Yeah. Especially Cooper.” I grinned at Blaire and gently bumped into her shoulder.

“Why Cooper specifically?” Blaire asked innocently, and I rolled my eyes.

“You don’t need to play dumb with me. It’s me. Peter. Someone who could use the distraction of what you call flirting.”

“What I call flirting?” Blaire questioned, and I looked at her raised eyebrows as we reached the near-empty parking lot and began walking across it. “You of all people cannot judge my flirting.”

“I have never tried to flirt with anybody in my life!” I lied, doing my best to defend myself.

“What a load of shit.”

“Well, I haven’t in front of you.”

“Not with words. But you do it with weird looks and horrible body language,” Blaire pointed out, causing me to shake my head.

“No, no. That isn’t flirting. That’s just me being an awkward gay mess.”

Scoffing to herself, Blaire gave me a light shove as we reached my car, and she moved around to the passenger side and waited for me to unlock the car.

“Do all the boys have that effect on you? Or is it just the ones you can’t have?” Blaire asked, and at her words, I felt my heart stutter.

“Low blow,” I muttered, unlocking the car and getting in, throwing my bag into the backseat with my other bag.

“Sorry, you wanted a distraction,” Blaire said softly, putting her seatbelt on and holding her bag in her lap. “Cooper is cute.”

“He is.”

“Hot, even,” Blaire murmured, and I tilted my head at her as I started the car. “What?”

“Nothing. Just… thought you had eyes for someone else.”

“Yeah. Riley. What I wouldn’t give to get under that body,” Blaire said dreamily, and I squinted my eyes at her before focusing my attention forward.

“Don’t flirt with Cooper if you have something for someone else.”

I didn’t think I would already be feeling this protective over Cooper, but something clicked in me after hearing Blaire’s words. I didn’t want to see Cooper get hurt, and by looking at how he acted when talking to Blaire, he thought she was cute, at least.

Blaire’s talk about another boy wasn’t my only concern about the whole thing, though. The fact that Blaire didn’t know Cooper was transgender also made me feel uneasy. I didn’t want Cooper to build his hopes up and get close to Blaire only for her to turn him down at that information.

Was it even my place to be thinking about it or worrying about it? I mean, Cooper was openly transgender. Did that put the responsibility on Blaire’s shoulders?

I had no idea. I knew nothing.

So much for a distraction.

My mind was not only focused on what would happen when I arrived at home, but also on Blaire and Cooper and the fear that it may not end well. I had faith that Blaire would never do anything to hurt someone I cared about, but emotions could be a fickle thing. If anyone knew that, it was me.

Quickly trying to clear my mind, I started driving and pulled out of the school’s parking lot. I didn’t need the holy trinity of my problems to be plaguing my mind on the trip home. My heart was already on the verge of jumping out of my chest.

However, even though I was trying harder than ever to keep my mind clear and focus on driving, Leroy managed to slip in.

Leroy and his damn smile.