Page 24 of Uncharted

“Yeah,” I muttered. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Stop guessing and just know,” he said and reached into his pillow and pulled out a bottle. “Want some?”

“Jesus,” I said, taking the bottle, drinking some, and handing it back. “More booze?”

“Eh, we’ve been sobering up for hours now, what’s another couple of drinks?” he asked with a chuckle as he set the bottle aside and looked up at the sky again. “We love you the way you are, Jake. Even if that means you defending one of us when we don’t think it’s necessary, or if we get our asses in trouble right beside you because we joined a fight.”

I beamed at him. “I guess we’ll see how everyone’s feelin’ about it after we’ve all been suffering from Xander for a few days.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he told me. “And I’m betting no one else is going to be pissed at you. If anything, it looked like Colin was going to lose his temper with Xander earlier. I’m willing to put money down and say that Xander’s going to be the one who gets chewed out.”

“Wouldn’t that be somethin’ to see?” I wondered with a chuckle.

“It would,” he agreed, and I smiled when he inched closer so we were touching, sharing heat through our thin clothes as we both felt the slight chill of the night settle into our skin.

After a few minutes, I finally said the other thing that was on my mind. “Why do people gotta be like that? I know, I know. I’m old enough to know people are shit, but man…we were just sittin’ there, havin’ a good night, mindin’ our own business…and those fuckers just… I don’t get it, I don’t think I’m ever gonna get it.”

“Maybe it’s good that you don’t,” Reno said softly, looking over at me. “Maybe you don’t understand because you’re not like them, and you’re never going to be like them. You might fight like a demon, but you’re a good man, Jake, and you’re never going to understand them, not while you’re you.”

I snorted. “You’re drunk.”

“Barely buzzed, thanks,” he said and bumped me. “Seriously. Good people like you will never truly understand what it’s like to be evil or mean. You’re not mean, Jake.”

“Guess not,” I said with a sigh. “I just…hate it.”

“I think it’s okay to hate some things,” he said, randomly squeezing my hip. It wasn’t unusual; sometimes he’d just reach out and touch me, and honestly, I liked it. My family were pretty big touchers, so it was something I was used to, and it was nice that he had grown comfortable with it when I knew physical touch had never been a thing for him growing up.

“I like this,” I told him softly. “Ya know, it’s kinda funny…I’ve been thinkin’ about what my mom said the other day.”

“We were on the phone with her for like…three hours. You’re going to have to narrow it down a little.”

“About me needin’ to find someone, ya know?”

“Ah. My mom never worried about stuff like that, but I’ve had friends before, and you wouldn’t be the first friend I know whose mom or dad was worried about their love life. I mean, some of those friends deserved their parents worrying about them. I don’t think you do.”

“Nah, I just mean I was thinkin’ about stuff earlier, like when we came out here,” I said, looking at him. “When you brought me out here. I was thinking it was insane how you know me better than a lot of the women I dated.”

“Is this where you say it’s a shame I’m not a woman?” Reno asked. “I mean, I’ve definitely had the thought myself a couple of times.”

“Ya wanna be a girl?”

“Shut up. You know what I mean.”

“I do,” I said with a smile. “And I dunno, I thought it a few times back in the day. Not anymore.”

“Really?” Reno wondered. “What changed?”

“I just…stopped thinkin’ it is all,” I said with a shrug. “Nothin’ really happened, I just⁠—”

“Stopped thinking, Gee, wouldn’t it be great if Reno was a girl, then I could date him?” Reno wondered.

“Not sure it was exactly like that, but yeah,” I chuckled.

“I mean, I might be a pretty girl, but I like being a guy,” Reno said. “And it’s a lot of work to go through turning into one last I heard, and I love you, dude, but I’m not looking to do all that just for the chance.”

“I guess it’s easier to say it’s a shame both of us weren’t lucky enough to be into guys, huh?” I asked, having asked myself that question a few times as well.

Reno laughed softly. “I mean, it does seem easier to change than going through gender reassignment. But, uh, you can change your gender, can’t actually change who you’re into. I already tried that back in college, remember?”