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I licked my lips slowly. “I came out when I was about your age,” I admitted. “Yeah, I know, I’m chasing your aunt like a dog in heat. I’m not gay. I’m pansexual, do you know what that is?”
Jago shook his head and sniffled, then wiped his nose on the back of his hand.
“Gender and sex don’t matter to me as much as who a person is. I’m drawn to things like ... laughter, and heart. Kindness and fire and depth. The things that make people ... people. My brother didn’t talk to me for a week afterward,” I said quietly. “Not because he hated me, but because he thought he’d done something wrong. I’d told him everything except for that, and he didn’t understand why. Now, I’m not telling you this to try and steal your thunder or pretend I know exactly what you’re going through, because I don’t. Everyone’s journey is different. I’m telling you this because sometimes, attraction isn’t simple, and sometimes, people act in ways that can hurt us when they’re scared or confused. Did Diego tell you he didn’t want to see you anymore because he had a girlfriend?”
“Yeah. He said he wasn’t gay and that if I told anyone we were together, he’d...”
I knew he didn’t want to say it, and I didn’t need him to. “Okay. Then fuck that guy. There are plenty of fish in the sea, and that’s the God’s honest truth. Your world is gonna get a whole lot bigger when you graduate in a couple of years and people like Diego ... they’ll just be memories. So what do you say we go back in, you splash some water on your face, and I get you a milkshake or two?”
“Can we not tell Tía? Or anyone?” he asked quickly. “I’m just not there yet.”
Keeping secrets from Mia wasn’t something I ever wanted to do, but I nodded anyway. It wasn’t my secret to tell, my life to live, or my journey to go on. It was his, and his alone. “Of course, buddy. Your secret’s safe with me.”
