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“Then what’s this about?” I murmur. My hands are twisted tightly together in my lap as I wait. He lowers his eyes to the floor as he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You know you can tell me anything, bud. What’s going on?” I rest my hand on his back and he tenses, but I keep it there and stroke my thumb back and forth.
“Enzo and I had a fight the other day,” he finally says.
“It seems you’ve made up,” I say hesitantly, and he scrubs his hand over his face.
“Yeah,” he breathes. “Kind of. Things are still weird.” His fingers dive into his hair as he continues staring at the floor.
“What was the fight about?” I murmur. He takes a shaky breath, and I scoot closer to him.
“I told him I loved him,” he whispers. My heart hammers in my chest as I stare at the side of his head. “I’m in love with him.” He doesn’t look at me, and somehow, that makes it worse. My mind reels as I try to scramble and search for the right words.
“And…he doesn’t feel the same way?”
“Did you hear what I said?” he asks, finally turning to face me. His eyes are wet and red, but no tears fall. “I said I’m in love with him.Him.”
“I heard what you said, Ian,” I say softly. “And I’m asking if he feels the same way?” His eyes search mine, and I let him.
“He didn’t at first,” he says, dropping his head again and looking at the floor. “That’s why he left. But he came back the other day, and—things were just so weird between us and I hated myself for it. I still do. I—I might’ve ruined things with my only friend, and if I would’ve just kept my mouth shut—”
“Baby, it’s okay,” I whisper as I wrap my arm around him. I try to pull him to me, but the stubborn kid holds his ground, so I drape myself against him, forcing him to let me hold him. “It’s okay.”
“Ezra overheard everything,” he says, and understanding hits me. He didn’t want to out Ian. Every time I start to worry if Ezra is the right choice, shit like this hits me in the face. He’s a good man. A really good man, and one I don’t deserve.
“And he helped you?” I ask, and he nods slightly.
“Kind of,” he says. “He helped me see things differently, you know?” He turns to look at me and I smile softly as I brush his hair away from his forehead.
“He has a way of doing that,” I say, and he snorts. “Enzo is in your room…” I trail off, leaving the questions open-ended. His face turns red and I fold my lips between my teeth.
“He came over the other day and we worked it out,” he says quickly. I press my fingers into him, lifting my brow, silently demanding more of an explanation. “It’s nothing serious. We’re just seeing where things go.”
“Wait.” I hold my hand up, my brows scrunching tightly together. “You’re dating now?” He clears his throat as he sits up, and I let my hand fall away. “I didn’t know Enzo was gay. I saw him with girls—”
“We’re not gay,” he says, and my brows flick up. “I’m—I like both.” He mumbles the words and my lips twitch. We’ve never talked about girls, or boys, or crushes. It’s new territory for us. “Enzo—I don’t even know. I think he just likes who he likes, and I guess he likes me.” He laughs awkwardly as he rubs the back of his neck.
“What’s not to like?” I tease, and he rolls his eyes. “So, you’re dating.” He shrugs again.
“We’re not labeling it,” he mutters.
“That’s never a good idea,” I say, and he pushes his brows together. “A friends with benefits thing—”
“Mom!” he groans. “I don’t want to talk about this.”
“Well, we’re going to,” I say, giving him a hard look. “Friends with benefits never works. One of you always falls for the other, and it’ll break your heart. If you want to be together but aren’t ready to take the next step, put some boundaries in place.”
“I know,” he says, his hands covering his face. “We’re exclusive to each other, but we’re keeping it a secret. We don’t want anyone to know that we’re—” He drops his hands, his face falling. “We’re not ready to come out yet.”
“Thank you for telling me,” I say, and he blinks. “What?”
“It’s just—you’re handling this really well.” He eyes me warily. “Ezra didn’t tell you?”
“I’m your mom,” I say with a shrug. “I don’t care who you like as long as they treat you right and make you happy. You were worried about telling me?”
“A little bit,” he admits, wincing slightly. “I didn’t know how you would react, and I didn’t want you to be mad.” I wrap my arms around him again, and this time he lets me tug him toward me. I press a kiss to his temple, and a bit of his tension leaves his body.
“I’d never be mad about this,” I murmur against his temple. “I love you, Ian. You can tell me anything and that won’t change.” His shoulders shake, and I hold him tighter. “I hate that you were scared to tell me this.”
“I just didn’t want to lose you,” he says, his voice thick with emotion. My heart breaks at the words and tears fill my eyes.
