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“I’ll set it up.”
With his assuring words, I sat up pulling myself from his arms. I stared at him. He was the best friend anyone could hope for. This was probably the time to tell him about my engagement. Even if it hadn’t been a genuine proposal, this was my chance to bring it up.
Maybe he would tease me about getting engaged as quickly as I did everything else. Maybe I would then make a few quips about it and brush my moment of insanity aside. Whatever would happen, this was my opportunity to make it real.
“I think I want to go to bed,” I told him instead.
“Of course,” he said collecting my things for me and offering me his hand to help me up.
I took it and then slipped my arm around his waist. I always felt so small in his arms. For most of last year, he had been on the football team. He still had the body to show for it. He was going to make some girl a great boyfriend one day.
Did I think that there was a chance he was also into guys? Obviously. I had asked enough guys out to know they were all just a drink away from telling me how they kissed their best friend at camp or whatever? But there was a big difference between having feelings for someone and being willing to act on them.
The key was being able to tell the difference. And my gay-dar told me that Titus wasn’t there and might never be. Such a waste.
That was fine, though, because he was the best friend I had ever had. I didn’t even know that friendship like his was possible before I met him. Why would I want to do anything to mess that up?
It would be the dumbest thing I could ever do. And I have done some dumb things. There was even a time when I agreed to marry someone I had only been on two dates with. Could you even imagine that?
Titus walked me back to my dorm and followed me inside. Quin was home.
“Hey Titus,” he said cheerfully.
The two of them had met our freshman year when Quin was looking for his boyfriend’s birth parents. Quin was also the one who convinced Titus to attend East Tennessee. The two went way back.
“Why didn’t you tell me Lou’s grandmother had died?” Titus snapped at Quin.
Quin froze. “Lou, your grandmother died?”
“Yeah, it’s not a big deal,” I said trying to brush off my oversight.
“When?” Quin asked, his cute face crinkling.
“That’s what my parents came to town to tell me.”
Quin covered his mouth as tears filled his eyes.
“It’s not a big deal,” I insisted as I crossed the living room to my bedroom and crawled into bed under the weight of it all.”
“Stop saying it’s not a big deal,” Titus said following me. “It’s a big deal. Someone important passing away is a big deal. Your parents not telling you about the funeral is a big deal.”
“Your parents didn’t tell you about the funeral?” Quin asked as the tears streamed down his adorable cheeks.
“I’m sure there was a reason,” I told them hoping that there was.
That didn’t stop Quin from crawling into my bed and wrapping his arms around me. He had never done anything like this before. He has never been the touchy-feely type. But as he held me tightly, all I could think was that it felt good.
“I think you’re in good hands,” Titus said from the bedroom door.
I opened my eyes in search of his.
“Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you,” I said sincerely.
“I’ll call you in the morning to see how you’re doing,” he said filling a hole I didn’t know I needed filled.
“Umm, not too early,” I joked.
Titus smiled. “What am I, a monster?”
